A French Toast Casserole studded with fresh blueberries, which is super easy to prepare and topped with warm homemade Blueberry Syrup.
Hi! How was your weekend?
I thought I’d post this recipe today to savor the weekend a little bit longer. We had a jam-packed couple of days including tackling some projects around the house, squeezing in a couple of runs and going on a fun date together. Time sure seems to be flying by when the weather is improving and you can finally step outside without having to worry about frostbite or slipping on a piece of ice.
Late Friday night, I decided that we would be enjoying our much loved Blueberry French Toast the following morning. Never mind that it was getting kind of late since this breakfast casserole can be whipped up in mere minutes.
I didn’t really have any intentions of posting this recipe. Not because I didn’t want to share it, but this recipe has been around for so long now, that it simply didn’t occur to me to put it on the blog. Until I pulled out the recipe and realized that the original is nothing like the one I use now to make this casserole. It has undergone many changes over time, all of which were stashed in my memory. So I proceeded to write everything down step-by-step and was holding the perfect recipe to share with all of you!
This casserole definitely falls into the oldie but goodie category. There are many reasons why this is a family favorite, but the best part is that it requires almost no work the following day. I am all about spending as much time as possible with my loved ones instead of in the kitchen.
There is nothing like sitting down for a meal and enjoying every minute of good food, good conversation and perfect company. Sitting down for a meal is really important in our house. Both my husband and I eat supper together pretty much every night at our dinner table. It’s something we have done since day one of our marriage and still look forward to the most each and every day.
As soon as this dish comes out of the oven, the entire family will be able to enjoy a delicious meal together.
Not only does it make for a nice presentation with perfectly toasted French bread pieces and caramelized blueberries on top, but it tastes even better. This French toast casserole is crunchy, fruity, sweet and has a soft & creamy middle. It comes out just right every time.
I happen to think that this is the quintessential breakfast or brunch food or if you’re anything like me, this is more than appropriate for dinner as well :).
We top our French toast with a fabulous homemade Blueberry Syrup. Making the syrup is completely optional as you could totally serve this with regular syrup or even powdered sugar instead. But if you love blueberries or fruity syrups, this one is for you. And a must-try if you’ve never had it before.
Alright, friends. Hope you have a great start to your week!!
- 1 1/2 loaves French Bread, cut into cubes
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup milk
- 5 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1. Spray an 8-x-8 inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- 2. Spread half of the French Bread cubes in an even layer over the bottom of the casserole dish.
- 3. Mix together cream cheese, milk, and powdered sugar until well combined. Mixture should be somewhat thick and not watery. Add more powdered sugar if mixture seems too thin. Pour over bread cubes and sprinkle with blueberries.
- 4. Add remaining bread cubes over the top.
- 5. Combine 1 cup milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and syrup. Pour mixture over bread cubes and sprinkle with additional blueberries. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- 6. Remove casserole from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake covered for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until the center is set.
- 7. During the last 10 minutes of baking time, prepare the blueberry syrup. In a small saucepan, combine cold water, corn starch and sugar. Heat mixture and bring to a simmer. Add blueberries and continue simmering for 10 minutes. Serve casserole with warm syrup immediately.
- Syrup can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge until needed. Simply reheat in a microwave until warm.
- Casserole is best enjoyed served immediately, but can be stored in the fridge for 2 days.
- You can substitute frozen berries. Also, you can use any type of berry you prefer.
Can you make the syrup from frozen blueberries? Looks delicious!
Looks like a bread pudding, a delicious, fruity bread pudding. Must try.
I’m thinking that substituting some blueberry wine for all or some of the water would put the syrup over the top in flavor. Of course it would have to be simmered long enough to cook the alcohol out, especially if children will be served the casserole.
Cook the alcohol out? No way! Hahahaha!
The recipe sounds delicious. I can’t wait to make this, but I have a question. This might sound crazy, but my family does not like maple syrup. Do I have to add that or can I substitute it with something else?
Could I use texas toast instead of french bread? If so, how much? And can you tell me how to expand the recipe for a 9×13 dish? And how much ingredients to use. I just discovered this website and will be visiting it frequently! The recipes look great!! If you could get back to me on this, I would really appreciate it. My email address is listed above!!
Thank You So Much!
Daphne Caldwell 🙂
What size loaves of French bread??
Well, not the 1-lb. loaf I bought. I am making it now, and won’t even be able to fit the whole loaf into the 8×8 pan. Glad I didn’t buy the extra half! So I would guess the ones they sell as two half-pounds each.
Hope it turns out well for you! I would make French Toast with the extra (uncubed) bread (& maybe save a slice or 2 for the birds & squirrels!!
Could you send me the recipe for 9X13 pan ? I ave some big eaters at my house . It sounds wonderful, I do love blueberries!
I always half casserole recipes for 9×13 pans and use an 8×8 pan. So I assume it would be the reverse. Just double the ingredients.
Hi,
I have seen the recipe above and it looks great – I just have a couple of questions about the ingredients.
Could you tell me what French Bread and powdered sugar are please. Also is corn starch the same as corn flour? I live in Qld – Australia.
Translating from the US terms…
“French bread” is a basic white French-style bakery loaf (flour, water, salt and yeast). A big baguette.
“Powdered sugar” = confectioner’s sugar, also called “icing sugar.”
“Corn starch” is the same as what Aussies ands Kiwis call corn flour.
Looking forward to baking this tomorrow! One point of clarification for those who might not already know this – but the first reference to milk (to be mixed with the cream cheese and powdered sugar) is the 1 tablespoon (NOT the 1 cup)! I kept adding sugar to make it less watery until I realized my mistake! Hope that helps folks out there!
I’d like to make this for our family reunion in a 9×13 pan. Do you have a recipe for this size. This sounds delicious–can’t wait to try it.
How can I expand it to a 9×13 pan??
Looking froward to trying this looks so good
Double the recipe…..that’s what I did for my 9×13
hello, confectioners sugar is 10X or ultra fine sugar. Cornstarch is a thickening agent, used to make a clear thick liquid, instead of the milky color that flour gives.
To make this fill a 9X13 pan, double the recipe.
French bread in the US is usually one pound loaves.
Does the cream cheese need to be at room temp to properly mix into the milk and powdered sugar? And, do you use an electric mixer or mix by hand? This looks incredibly delicious.
I always make bread pudding. I don’t believe I never think to add berries what is wrong with me ! ! and yet I always add them to pancakes.
We went to brunch at my nieces home this past Sunday she made it from Food.com almost the same recipe. Soo GOOD. Oh I like it a bit moist.
It’s always best to use room tempeture ingredients in all baking
Thanks for the recipe!
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Has anyone tried this with gluten free bread? I wonder if it would stand up to the overnight soaking?
Yes and yes!! I recommend Udi’s!!
Hi! Is there any way to convert this recipe into a slow cooker/crockpot recipe? Thanks! 🙂
Made this casserole today for Mother’s Day -2015; big hit and very easy to make. Just make sure you read the part about only using 1 tbsp. of mile first; not the whole cup!
Could this be made without cream cheese. I hate it.
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I am making this for the second time this morning. My family loves it! Since I have a gluten allergy, I use Udi’s gf raisin bread. I grab it when it’s on sale, freeze it and safe it just for this. It’s very dry, so this dish makes it deliciousness that I can enjoy with my kids!!! Thank you for sharing!
Jexi, from what I’ve read, there are a LOT of variations in the slow cooker recipe, so I’m going to keep this the same as written – just doubled for a large crockpot! Christmas morning, here we come!
How long should this cook in a crock pot? I would love to have this ready to go Christmas morning!
Hi Kathi – does this need to sit in refrigerator overnight or can I just refrigerate it for a couple of hours and then bake???
Cool. Thanks for sharing but you listed only 1 cup of milk. Is that 1 cup suppose to be divided between step 3 and step 5? Or are you mixing the ingredients in step 3 WITH step 5. Or is like, 1 cup of milk for step 5, and about 1/2 cups milk more or less for step three since we are going off discretion?
Made this for my family because my husband loves blueberry. Neither my husband or daughter will eat bread pudding…which I love so of course I never make it. This is called Overnight Blueberry French Toast. They both at it and LOVED it. We all loved it. My husband said “I’ll eat breadpudding anyday when it tasts like this. Making this again tonight. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Made this for today’s breakfast. Really good. I read the recipes as 1 and 1/2 loaves of French bread. I actually used 1/2 of 1 loaf. That seems to be correct. The quantity is not clearly listed in the recipe.
I made this but had trouble with the cream cheese mixture. Mine turned into a thick glob! The recipe says ‘pour’ so I thought it would have to be at least a pouring consistency! So I added more milk until I could pour it (but not real runny!). So, was I supposed to spoon the thick mixture over the first layer (it won’t cover all the bread?)? Thanks!
Is the recipe as given for an 8×8 pan or a 9×13? An 8×8 doesn’t seem enough to serve 12.
I made this for a brunch today and it was a big hit!
I doubled everything except the sugar and used my large Pyrex casserole dish. Measures 15″ L x 10″ W x 2″ H. I bought my French bread at Costco and only 1-1/2 loaves would fit. Baking time was the same for the larger pan.
I saw recipes with more sugar, eggs and cream cheese, but this was perfect, I thought.
Thanks for posting.
Has anyone tried to double this for a 9×13? Just wondering if the middle is cooked through or was it too gooey?
I tried this recipe out for my cousin’s bridal shower brunch. I have never seen women devour shower food like that before. Some ladies took some home to share with their families and a few others would not leave until I shared the recipe. This recipe is absolutely delicious. I tried it first without the blueberry syrup because I thought it was unnecessary. After trying it with the blueberry syrup I’d never be so foolish as to not make it again. This recipe is one to hold tightly on to. Thank you so much for sharing such a gem.
I made this for a potluck at work and it is SO GOOD!! I would definitely make it again for brunch at home with family and friends! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Kathi, blueberry anything is my favorite. It’s so nice to make an overnight dish, cause then in the morning you can eat something fabulous without spending a couple hours doing it (even though that is nice sometimes!) Nice addition with the cream cheese…and blueberry syrup is the best, especially when you make your own. Pinned for later. Thank you dear, enjoy
Can you make this ahead and freeze it? Thx
Btw, I’ve made it, ate it, and love it ❤️
Can you use Challah bread with this recipe?
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I’d like to try this with my homemade sourdough bread — has anyone measured the amount of bread used in cups?
I made this for a potluck at work and it is SO GOOD!! I would definitely make it again for brunch at home with family and friends! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Looks very nice. My kids are going to love these Blueberry French Toast Casserole
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