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Inside: This orange croissant breakfast bake is an indulgent combination of flaky croissants, luscious cream cheese custard, and sweet orange marmalade. Assemble in minutes that morning or even the night before for a special breakfast treat!
What do you get when you combine cream cheese, buttery croissants, and sweet orange marmalade? A delicious breakfast casserole with the flaky texture of croissants nestled in a luscious custard, plus a punch of bright, citrus flavor.😋
This sweet croissant breakfast casserole is sure to impress for any special brunch or breakfast. It’s a scrumptious dessert-like indulgence similar to bread pudding, French toast, or a cream cheese danish. Despite its “fanciness“, the great news is it’s such a simple recipe that goes together quickly!
Orange Croissant Breakfast Casserole Ingredients.
- 4 Croissants (from the bakery section of the grocery store, not the canned kind)
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 Cup Whole Milk
- Zest of One Orange
- 1/2 Tsp. Almond Extract
- 3/4 – 1 Cup Orange Marmalade
- Optional: Powdered Sugar for Dusting
Orange Croissant Breakfast Bake Instructions.
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease an 8″ square baking dish or deep pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Cut or tear the croissants into pieces and lay them in the prepared baking dish.
4. Place dollops of marmalade in between the croissant pieces throughout. If you like a lot of sweet, go for the full cup—I chose to use a tad less.
SH&H Tip: Take care to leave plenty of the crust of the croissants bare when adding the marmalade and cream cheese mixture so you’ll get a lovely golden brown on the bread with some crusty peaks.
5. Beat the room temperature cream cheese in a large bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand electric mixer on low speed for 3 minutes, until it’s smooth and creamy.
SH&H Tip: To avoid lumpy cream cheese and achieve a smooth custard, make sure to follow these steps! Don’t cut time corners and dump everything in at once or the cream cheese won’t incorporate.
6. Add the sugar and beat for one minute, until fully combined.
7. Add the eggs, beating again on low until mixed.
8. Slowly add the milk to the egg mixture, mixing on low until fully incorporated.
9. Add the orange zest and the almond extract (or vanilla extract if you don’t have almond) and mix until everything is well combined.
10. Slowly and carefully pour the cream cheese mixture between the croissant pieces throughout the dish.
11. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
12. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes more or until the croissants are a deep golden brown and a knife or toothpick comes out clean.
13. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for five minutes. Dust with powdered sugar to dress it up even more with a little added sweetness.
Can You Make this Orange Croissant Breakfast Bake the Night Before?
This makes a great overnight breakfast casserole! Assemble it the night before up to the point before you bake it, then cover it with foil and refrigerate it overnight. The next day, remove it from the fridge and let it sit out for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Storage.
Refrigerate the leftovers covered with the same foil, or in an airtight container. Consume within 3 to 5 days.
My niece introduced our family to this treat and it’s become a second staple of our Christmas morning. It’s a perfect compliment to one of my other favorite make-ahead recipes for breakfast—this overnight Cheesy Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole. They both go together in a flash on Christmas Eve before we go to bed.
But this sweet breakfast casserole is wonderful for a special breakfast any time of year. It would be a lovely treat on Easter morning or Mother’s Day!
Printable Recipe.
Orange Croissant Breakfast Bake
This orange croissant breakfast bake is an indulgent combination of flaky croissants, luscious cream cheese custard, and sweet orange marmalade. Assemble in minutes that morning or even the night before for a special breakfast treat!
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Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Course Breakfast
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 4 Croissants from the bakery section of the grocery store, not the canned kind
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese at room temperature
- 1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 Cup Whole Milk
- Zest of One Orange
- 1/2 Tsp. Almond Extract or vanilla extract if you don't have almond
- 3/4 – 1 Cup Orange Marmalade
- Optional: Powdered Sugar for Dusting
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease an 8″ square baking dish or deep pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
Cut or tear the croissants into pieces. Place croissant pieces in the prepared baking dish.
Place dollops of marmalade in between the croissant pieces throughout. (Orange marmalade is very sweet, so adjust the amount according to your sweetness preference.
With a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, beat the room temperature cream cheese on low speed for 3 minutes, until it’s smooth and creamy.
Add one cup sugar and beat for one minute, until fully combined.
Add the eggs, beating again on low until mixed.
Slowly add the milk to the egg mixture, beating on low until fully incorporated.
Add the orange zest and the almond extract and mix until everything is well combined.
Slowly and carefully pour cream cheese mixture in between the croissant pieces throughout the dish.
Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes more or until the croissants are a deep golden brown and until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.
Take it out of the oven and let it cool for five minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar to dress it up even more with a little added sweetness.
Notes
- Take care to leave plenty of the crusts of the croissants bare when adding the marmalade and cream cheese mixture so you’ll get a lovely golden brown on the bread with some crusty peaks.
- To avoid lumpy cream cheese and achieve a smooth custard, make sure to follow these individual steps. Don’t cut time corners and dump everything in at once or the cream cheese won’t incorporate.
- To start this dish the night before, assemble it up to the baking step, cover it with foil, and refrigerate overnight. Set it out 20-30 minutes while you heat oven, then bake item according to the instructions.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
The beauty of this breakfast casserole is you can substitute the orange marmalade with so many other fruit flavors. Next time, I think I’ll switch it up and try it with peach preserves. Experiment with your favorite fruit jam or preserves and let us know in the comments how it came out!
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