Orange-Pecan French Toast Casserole

I made this for my mother many times in 2008 when she was sick and dying from brain cancer. I made it so it would be easy for my family that cared for her while I was at work to prepare her breakfast. I made it the night before and they had something easy to throw in the oven and give her breakfast she loved it. I was just thinking about it and wanting to make it again

This is a Thanksgiving Brunch tradition at our house! I've been serving it for years - everyone starts early in November letting me know that it just won't be Thanksgiving without the french toast to start the day!

One of my favorite french toast casseroles, I have made it numerous times without any substitutions and it always comes out well, all though I like the idea of honey instead of corn syrup. I too, was afraid it would have an over whelming orange flavor but it does not. Would highly recommend this recipe.

awesome! great recipe! have taken to morning functions also.

This is DELICIOUS. I cut the brown sugar in half and completely did away with the other sugar it called for. I used simply orange, orange juice. Think if you cut the sugar like I did probably should use an orange juice over fresh squeezed. Make it, you'll love it!

Great. I used 1/2 the brown sugar and corn syrup and it was plenty sweat. I will also add more pecans next time. It did not need syrup so I topped with whip cream, fresh berries and dusting of powdered sugar.

I have made this a dozen times. Super simple. And 'wows' the crowd every time.

Made this for a brunch and wow! Everybody LOVED it. Very very good, although very sweet.

I hate french toast, but this was fantastic!

Made it for an office brunch and it was a huge hit. Easy as can be.

Just delicious! I only made a couple of minor changes - substituted 2T honey for the corn syrup and soaked the bread separately overnight, flipping and putting the rest of the dish together in the morning. Very easy and perfect for guests, who loved it. This is definitely a recipe I will make again.

Wow. That's all I have to say. I love this recipe. It is delicious and well-presented for special occasions and simple enough for weekday breakfast. I love that you can make it ahead (I made it the night before) and have it ready to go within an hour in the morning. I also love that it only utilizes ingredients you probably have on hand. I substituted 2T honey for 2T corn syrup for an easier/healthier dish. I juiced my zested orange instead of using store-bought orange juice and it worked out fine (even though 1 orange provides less than a full cup juice -- to compensate, I used more zest). I used challah instead of french bread, but will use french bread in the future for a cleaner presentation.

Dynamite! Assembled the night before for a fabulous Christmas breakfast. A few alterations....used unsweetened almond milk instead of the orange juice and fat free milk. Still added the orange zest though, which gave it the perfect hint of orange flavor. Also used Splenda in place of granulated sugar and added a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Used a fig french bread loaf. We will definitely be making this recipe again!

This is a fantastic recipe. Served it to guests twice and they loved it. Made it with Challah and French bread. Both were great. I would definitely soak the bread first. To fit all of the bread in, I kind of stood them up on an angle. Therefore the tops on some of them did not soak. Will definitely make it again. I also left out the orange zest and it was wonderful without it.

my variations: *6 Tablespoons brown sugar, leveled (not packed) instead of 1 cup. *Maple syrup instead of corn syrup. *Omitted the 3 tablespoons granular sugar. *Used whole wheat baguette which had been left in warm oven and flipped once to dry out (since I did not have stale bread on hand). *Rind of two oranges instead of 1 teaspoon. NOTE: I did fresh squeeze the OJ (2 1/2 med. oranges) which I think is important in cutting down sweetness. I soaked the bread in a separate casserole dish overnight & in the AM prepared step 1 & placed presoaked bread on top, baked as directed & perfect. Scoop & flip to serve. If you don't want to soak the french toast separately, I would dip bread to saturate prior to putting on top of sauce/nut mixture & then pour remaining egg mixture on top. ALSO, recommend flipping any leftover french toast after meal, sauce/nut mix hardens, so you would want to flip while still warm. Guest LOVED it - the dish does NOT need to be served with addl maple syrup.

This is very easy and very good, but I found it a little too sweet. I think next time I will cut the sugar in half. Served with fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas and cantaloupe to a group of 16-year old girls after a sleep-over and it was gone in a flash.

To avoid a soggy fumble....flip the toast AFTER you bake it, NOT before (in order to serve it properly with the syrup and nuts on top). It's also fine to bake it straight from the fridge after is has set overnight. I also used regular bread slices or thick, "Texas Toast" for excellent results. This casserole is as yummy as a homemade cinnamon roll without the work. Some will think the orange flavoring a bit much, but overall this is a family fav.

My husband and I loved this casserole! The only problem that I had was not being able to fit 12 slices of french bread in my dish. I think I could only fit 8 pieces. It was still plenty for just us two and leftovers the next day were just as wonderful!

This recipe was easy and delicious! A couple things I would do differently next time: I would dip the bread in the egg mixture before placing in the pan, eliminating the bread turn/soak time the next morning. Also, I would eliminate the orange zest, since I felt the orange flavor was a little overpowering. I love that the recipe can be made the night before and thrown in the oven the next morning - perfect for guests!

I wanted to try this since it sounded similar to a dish we had at a B&B. It was excellent. Even my husband who doesn't like french toast liked it. It had a nice citrus flavor. I did allow the bread slices to sit out overnight before soaking them, but I only soaked for about 2 hours total. It was not soggy.

This was a great dish! My kids even loved it. I could not fit all the bread in the dish so I, too, stacked it. Therefore some of the pieces got quite brown and crunchy on top. I will either use a smaller loaf next time or cut the pieces in half. Next time I will try the maple syrup as another person suggested and maybe even the orange marmalade. This is definitely a keeper.

I made this for x-mas morning and it was amazing. I got rave reviews from my guests. I did do a few things differently... First, I didn't add any more sugar to the egg mixture. With so much sugar in the topping (or bottom) why add more? I also did 1/2c fresh orange juice and 1c milk b/c my husband isn't crazy about the orange flavor. And I have to admit that I used 5 whole eggs, mainly b/c I'm lazy.

Fantastic recipe - it's really easy, and it tastes like it took a lot of work. I served it for brunch the day after Thanksgiving, and now I will always have it on hand for family gatherings. I was worried that it would taste too much like the orange juice, but it does not.