This croissant breakfast casserole is made with flaky pastry, a sweet creamy custard, fresh fruit, and sweet glaze. Make it the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning for brunch!
More sweet breakfast recipes we love include this croffle recipe, overnight cinnamon rolls and French bread French toast.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Amazing flavor. A flaky buttery croissant, a sweet custard, fresh berries, and an orange and almond-flavored glaze makes it difficult to stick to just one serving.
- Perfect for special occasions. Whether a lazy weekend of holiday brunch, add scrambled eggs and bacon for a feast.
- Make ahead. It’s reminiscent of cream cheese danish and a French toast casserole meets bread pudding plus it is a great make-ahead or overnight casserole.
Croissant Breakfast Casserole Ingredients
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap the berries for your favorite combination. Strawberries or blackberries would be great too.
- Instead of orange flavors in this casserole, swap the juice and zest for lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Try a different glaze. Use a classic vanilla glaze, a maple glaze, or a cream cheese glaze for a change.
How to Make Croissant Breakfast Casserole
Toast the croissant cubes. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Mix in eggs and follow this with a slow addition of the cream. Then pour in the milk and add almond extract, salt, orange juice, and zest.
Add croissants to the bowl of custard and mix well until then add 1/2 of the croissant cubes to the greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with fresh berries. Add remaining croissants, extra custard mixture, and some berries on top. Chill in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning.
Remove baking dish from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature while the oven pre-heats to 350°F. Bake covered 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the custard is set.
Storage
Keep any leftover breakfast croissant casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure to keep it covered otherwise, it will dry out.
Reheat large portions in the oven or small portions in microwave until reheated.
More make-ahead breakfast casseroles include overnight breakfast casserole, breakfast casserole with biscuits and breakfast hashbrown casserole.
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Croissant Breakfast Casserole
Video
Ingredients
French Toast
- 8 large bakery croissants , cubed into 1-inch pieces
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter , melted
- 12 ounces cream cheese , softened *see note
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs , at room temperature
- ¾ cup heavy cream , at room temperature
- ¾ cup whole milk , at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons orange zest
- 1 pint fresh blueberries , divided
- ½ pint fresh raspberries , divided
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice
- 1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- Sliced almonds , optional
Instructions
French Toast
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Spread the croissants evenly on a baking sheet. Drizzle the butter over the top and lightly toss together with your hands. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once or twice for an even toast without burning. Let cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Mix in the eggs. Slowly mix in the heavy cream. Mix in the milk, almond extract, salt, orange juice, and orange zest until well combined.
- Using a wooden spoon, fold the croissants into the custard mixture until well coated. Let sit 5 minutes and gently stir again.
- Add 1/2 of the croissants to the baking dish. Top with 1/2 pint blueberries and 1/4 pint raspberries. Spread the remaining croissants and any extra custard mixture over the fruit. Top with the remaining 1/2 pint blueberries and 1/4 pint raspberries. Cover with foil and chill at least 8 hours or up to 12 hours.
- When ready to bake, remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake covered 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking 15 to 20minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the custard is set.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, almond extract, orange juice, and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream until smooth and can be easily drizzled. If too thick, add additional heavy cream. If too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Drizzle the glaze over the warm casserole and sprinkle with sliced almonds, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Breakfast, Christmas, Easter, Sweet Breakfast, Thanksgiving
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is also the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook. Here you will find easy family-friendly recipes for every occasion.
This was SO good and a great way to use up leftover croissants!
I knew this would be good when it called for croissants. However, that orange glaze took it over the top. Don’t skip it!
Seriously so delicious! Thanks for the review :)
I love this recipe! So easy and delicious. I also love how i can make this ahead. Comes in handy on busy weekdays.
I’m so glad you love it! It’s really so yummy :)