A sweet and simple breakfast, this Blueberry French Toast Casserole is perfect for a special occasion or for a make-ahead meal! Full of blueberries and French bread, this casserole is a sweet treat any time of the year!
When you are looking for breakfast for brunch recipes, a French toast bake is a delicious breakfast to make! Take a slice of this delicious blueberry French toast casserole with high quality maple syrup for an amazing breakfast on the weekend, Easter, or Mother's Day!
If this is your first time making a French toast casserole, you are in for a real treat! This recipe is easy to make and can be made ahead of time! Serve this alongside a fruit rainbow, blueberry Bisquick coffee cake, cinnamon hot cross buns, and carrot cake muffins for a colorful breakfast!
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Why This Recipe Works
- It's easy to make ahead! You can put the whole recipe together, let the bread soak overnight in the refrigerator, and then bake it off in the morning!
- It's full of Spring flavors! Sweet, juicy blueberries add a kick of tartness and sweet Spring flavors to this casserole.
- It's easy to make! Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and bake it off!
Ingredients
- Bread. Stale bread or day old bread is best as it will hold up to the egg custard instead of falling apart. Do not use sliced bread as it will disintegrate in the mixture.
- Milk. Whole milk, 2% milk, or a mixture of half and half and whole milk can be used.
- Juicy Blueberries. Fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries can work in this recipe.
- Sugar. Both granulated sugar and brown sugar will be used.
- Eggs. The eggs will keep the casserole together. Just like in a cinnamon raisin bread pudding, the egg and milk give the casserole a creamy texture.
See printable recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Change the bread. I like using French bread or Italian bread because it is crusty and holds up to the soak of the milk and egg mixture. Sourdough bread or Cinnamon raisin sourdough bread would be delicious changes to the bread. Challah bread or your favorite crusty, gluten-free bread would work too!
- Add different berries! If you have raspberries or strawberries, feel free to use those instead of blueberries or alongside the blueberries.
- Add cream cheese! To make this French toast bake even more decadent, add cream cheese cubes to the mixture.
- Add nuts! To add some texture to this casserole, add slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, or chopped pecans into the casserole.
How To Make Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Make Ahead Tips
The best way to make this casserole day before is to put the casserole together completely and then cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. The next morning when you are ready to bake, simply place the baking dish in the oven and bake.
To freeze the casserole, make sure to use a freezer friendly pan. Make this French toast casserole recipe and then cover it with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. To defrost, place the casserole in the refrigerator up to 24 hours before. When you are ready, bake the casserole as normal.
Recipe FAQs
There are few reasons why your French toast casserole may be soggy. First, make sure you are using a thick bread. Do not use regular white bread as that will cause the casserole to be too soggy and soak up too much moisture. Also, the egg mixture may not have been mixed well enough.
That will help to keep the casserole from being too soggy. If you are using a thick, crusty bread you do not have to. If you are using a stale bread, you do not have to. When the bread you are using is fresh, you can add it to a baking sheet and place it in the oven for 20 minutes at 300 degrees to get the bread pieces hard.
If you find that the top of the casserole is moving past golden brown, cover with aluminum foil for the last few minutes of baking.
Yes! Instead of using a baking dish, use muffin tins. Make sure to grease the muffin tins well so the bread pieces do not stick.
Keep leftover in an airtight container. Reheat the casserole in a microwave safe dish for 1-2 minutes and top with maple syrup.
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📖 Recipe
Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 5 cups French Bread Cut into 1 inch cubes
- 6 Eggs
- 2 cups Milk Whole Milk
- ½ cup Butter Melted
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups Blueberries Fresh or Frozen
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking dish with melted butter or cooking spray. Mix together the milk and the eggs in a large mixing bowl or a liquid measuring cup.
- Add the melted butter to the milk mixture and mix well.
- Add the sugars, vanilla, and cinnamon to the milk mixture and mix well until all the ingredients are combined and a smooth egg custard forms.
- In an even layer, add the cubed bread to the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle the blueberries over the bread.
- Pour the egg custard over the bread cubes. Press the bread into the egg mixture to make sure all the bread is coated. Let that sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Bake the casserole for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let it cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- If the top of the casserole begins to brown too fast, cover the casserole with aluminum foil and continue baking.
- The casserole is done when there is still a little jiggle in the middle of the baking dish. As the casserole cools, it will stiffen up.
- Let the casserole cool for at least 20 minutes so it can set and will not fall apart when you cut it.
- Serve this casserole with maple syrup, homemade whipped cream, or simply powdered sugar.
- To make this casserole day before is to put the casserole together completely and then cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. The next morning when you are ready to bake, simply place the baking dish in the oven and bake.
Melissa
Made this recipe regular and then gluten-free. My husband is gluten-free and he said that his was good. I made it with sourdough sandwich bread that we buy from Costco. The bread held up good for him. I used a regular French loaf from Ralph’s grocery store and that worked well also. I just made another one right now for swimathon tomorrow so it’s going to sit in the fridge overnight. Looking forward to it. It’s very yummy. Thank you for the recipe.