Double Chocolate Croissant French Toast Casserole

French toast has always been one of my favorite breakfast/brunch dishes. I blame my childhood best friend. When I was younger, I used to sleep over at her house every other weekend. Her household always had a ton of snacks that were contraband in my own, so during our sleepovers I would feast on all the soda, Pop-Tarts, and candy they had in their pantry.

In the morning, my friend’s mom would make me, my friend, and her two little sisters French toast from scratch. We’d wait impatiently as she griddled slices of brioche one by one. When she finally handed us each of our plates, we’d yell excitedly and promptly douse our servings with maple syrup and whipped cream.

In an attempt to recreate this fond childhood memory in my adult years, I invited a handful of friends over for brunch with the promise of fresh French toast. It was only then that I realized what an ABSOLUTE chore it was to make French toast for a group! I was stuck at the stovetop, griddling individual servings, missing out on all the mimosas and fun conversations at the dining table. I thought to myself that there had to be a better way.

And there is! This recipe lets you to make several servings all at once by baking multiple servings of French toast as a casserole. This particular recipe is adapted from my cookbook, Weeknight Baking, but with a decadent, holiday-worthy twist. 

To make it extra special, I subbed in croissants (in place of stale bread) and added lots of chocolate by way of chocolate milk and chocolate chips. The best part about this recipe is that it’s easily customizable — feel free to throw in other mix-ins, like chopped nuts and dried fruit, and use whatever kind of bread and milk you have on hand. 

Note that it’s normal for the croissants to absorb about 80% of the custard. There will likely be some custard still in the bottom of the pan when you place the casserole in the oven. Once baked, the casserole is like bread pudding with a breakfasty twist!