Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Classic Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole is the perfect breakfast or brunch dish that makes for a beautiful presentation and tastes as good as it looks! This is great for an easy potluck recipe, dish to pass at a shower, or a holiday breakfast idea!
Overnight French toast casseroles have been my favorite dish at brunches since the beginning of time. Just load me up with carbs first thing in the morning and call me a happy girl. This is a classic recipe for Blueberry French Toast Casserole as I feel everyone needs to have one in their back pocket for the holidays or a dish to pass at a brunch, baby shower, and more.
November is creeping up on us and I’m still not quite sure what happened to the summer….and to September…and most of October. Anyone know? I must still be in that newborn fog – almost five months after the birth of my baby.
Does that fog ever really go away? If so, how long can I use this as an excuse to be forgetful and a total space cadet?
I love love LOVE the holiday season and am so excited for it this year and am currently making my Blueberry Banana Bread. I’m not sure how we’re going to top last year’s Thanksgiving with the family as that was the day we announced to our families that we were expecting a baby. I can’t get another use out of my “turkey in the oven” reveal shirt I guess!
Also, Christmas will not be topped this year as we took our whole family on a Royal Caribbean cruise as their gift for two Christmases in a row. That was an unforgettable time and it made my heart so happy to be fortunate enough to be able to do a once in a lifetime gift like that for the people we love.
I hope you all find what you’re looking for in this Blueberry French Toast Casserole. Have you ever tried my Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake? This blueberry French toast casserole is really is one of those recipes that is just so versatile and staple dish to bring to any special occasion. If you want to make French toast in the crock pot for something different, check out my Crock Pot Cinnamon Bun French Toast.
Everyone loves good comfort food that just warms the heart. You can even feel free to use another fruit if you aren’t fond of blueberries. A mixture of two fruits would even be super duper yummy!
If the family is coming home for the holidays and you want to make a special breakfast for them, definitely make this. There is no more special of an occasion than that, right? You can even make these Mini French Toast Sausage Roll-Ups to have on the side.
Peace, love, and blueberries. If you are more of a plain, traditional French toast person, make sure you read my How to Make French Toast post.
Check out my how-to video of me making the recipe for this Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole!
- 12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (Italian bread works best I have found)
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 12 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes. Press down the cubes a bit to sort of “soak” them and make them “French toast-like”. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25-30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned. Enjoy warm!
- In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries.
- Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries begin to burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast. Enjoy!
Recipe source: adapted from allrecipes.com
This looks delicious!
We love starting the day with French toast casserole.
We all loved this great breakfast treat. thank you
This is probably my all time favorite breakfast! Especially on the weekends, it’s so easy!
This is great to serve a house full of people! The blueberries make it extra yummy!
This is one of my favorite breakfasts to make for company!
Blueberries and cream cheese are the bomb!
I know what I’m putting together tonight! Can’t wait to dig in tomorrow morning.
My family loved it! A great addition to our holiday breakfast!
Looks great!
Wonderful dish — full of flavor, and easy. I love overnight dishes like this. Thanks!
The perfect weekend breakfast!
This looks perfect for the holiday. Thanks for sharing
Does this have to be in frig overnight? Can it work if it sets only a few hours?
Yes that should be just fine!
My bread slices are large (like each slice is actually 2 slices) should I count them as one or two slices???
I would definitely count them as 2 if they’re that big
Hi Ashley,
Can I do the first part of the bake, transport for about 20 minutes, and then finish the bake? Can the sauce be made ahead of time and reheated?
Thanks so much,
Anne
Yes, I don’t see why that would not work!
Is it possible to substitute the blueberries with strawberries? I love this recipe and have made it several times, just looking to try something new.
Yes, I have done that before actually!
Can you omit the cream cheese?
I don’t think you would get the same results if you did.
Can you make this in a slow cooker?
I’ve never tried that before so I’m not sure how it would be!
Can you freeze the leftovers?
Yes you can freeze it. The cream cheese changes consistency though just to warn you. It’s not the best thing to freeze.
I have made this using a can of blueberry pie filling instead of using real blueberries, simplifies things!
Love that idea so much!
What happens if my bread wasn’t day old? I left it out all day to get crusty but I’m hoping it still tastes good!
Try toasting the bread. Older bread is dryer, that’s all.
Can u use raspberries?
I’m sure that you can.
I made this for my dad for Sunday breakfast and I just had to let you know how much we both enjoyed it!! I left out the cream cheese and the topping – too much sodium in the cream cheese and I didn’t have the corn starch, but it was AMAZING!!! So much so, he requested to have it again. That’s really saying something because at 97 he doesn’t really have an appetite! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
If I make it and leave if fridge two days without cooking…..Would that work? It’s Thursday morning and I want it for Saturday morning. Thanks for recipes and insight into your exciting life. Josephine Ross canada
Can this be reheated since it make a lot?
Yes it definitely can be!
May be a dumb question, but what’s the difference between Italian and French bread?
I use French bread and it is simply amazing!! I think the crust on french bread and Italian bread is softer and sweeter….. Italian bread has sugar in it and French doesn’t… either one will work fine.
Oops- that should say the crust on French Bread is crispier and Italian is softer and sweeter!
I have made this many times. I have done it with Fresh Blueberries, fresh peaches, and fresh Strawberries all three are awesome. I use true sourdough made at a local bakery and let it sit out for a,day or 2. Simply amazing I serve it with warm maple syrup and vanilla ice cream. Basically it’s Breakfast , brunch and dessert rolled all into to one!!! Amazimg!!!!
Ahas anyone tried this with gluten free bread
Yes, very delicious. Very sweet, I thought it was a dessert at the brunch in was attending. Planning to add this to my recipe for a brunch or a dessert ideas for crowds. No ones will know it’s gluten free.
Unless you’re using a gluten free bread, this isn’t gluten free lol
This recipe was published as Blueberry French Toast in Taste of Home June/July 1996 (it was a contest winner). I’ve been making this for over 20 years.
Ashley…I see you have designated yourself as “author” of this recipe?
Haha NO. The recipe card automatically puts “author” as my name for who wrote the post. If you look at and read the whole the post I give credit to where I got the recipe from which was allrecipes.com and I changed it to my liking. I always ALWAYS credit the source of where I find my recipes. Thanks for the comment and happy holidays!
This recipe is different than the one that was in Taste of Home. Just slightly. This one from All recipes was mine and was published in two of their book.s The recipe was my grandmothers and she passed away in 1961.
Karan, how wonderful that hundreds if not thousands of people have now been introduced to your grandmother and her casserole! I’m planning to make it this weekend – my grandkids are coming for the weekend. Grandson doesn’t like cream cheese, so I’m just not going to let him find out there’s any in there! 🙂
In the beginning it says cook time 25 mins but in the instructions it says 55-60 mins (half covered and half uncovered). Which is correct??
Can you give the amount of bread as mass (grams or ounces)? Or even volume of cubes would be helpful, as a “slice” of one bread does not necessarily equal a slice of another bread.
Sherrill, I made it just yesterday. The bread I used was Arnold Premium Italian Bread. It’s already sliced and I used 12 slices. If you Google it, you’ll see exactly what it looks like and can even order it online if no retailers near you have it.
The entire loaf is 20 ounces, I think. The label says that each slice is 32 grams. So that would be 384 grams total weight for 12 slices.
Has anyone made this using crutons?
I haven’t tried it that way, sorry 🙁
Should frozen blueberries be thawed first? May use pie filling as suggested.
Either way is totally fine!
I made this dish for the men’s morning Bible study today. It was a big hit! I did use 1 cream cheese block and cut it up into smaller pieces as my preference. Next time I’ll try the 2 blocks and do the same.
I was wondering if you could cut it back to one cream cheese how was it? It just seems like a lot of cream cheese I made it today and it’s good but I thought maybe I could cut back to one block of cream cheese. I love the someone’s idea of using blueberry pie filling for the top.
I used one block of cream cheese and it was delicious.
I’m so glad to hear that!
Can I use fresh blueberries instead of frozen?
Yes you can use those.
Easy and absolutely delish… ’nuff said!
Can this be made ahead and frozen? Should I bake it first and freeze or should I just stick it in the freezer and let it thaw overnight on the eve before I want to serve it?
I would freeze it and bring it to room temperature and THEN bake it. Hope that helps!
Do you think I could use the comparable amount of egg whites instead of 12 whole eggs?
I was wondering if eggbeaters might work.
That I am not sure of. Sorry!
Has anyone tried this in a Bundt pan? I was thinking it would look pretty and be easy to slice/serve, but I’m sure it would mess with the baking time…. not a baker, anyone have tips for that change up?
If you cut this in half and do a 8×8 how should you adjust baking time?
It would take less time to bake but not sure on the exact time. Sorry!
Can’t wait to try this! How long is too long in the refrigerator?
I wouldn’t do it more than a day in advance.
Made this for Christmas morning breakfast for the family. Wonderful,easy and delicious!!! I feed my entire family and they loved it. Will make this again.
I loved the flavors here but I clearly did something wrong because the cream cheese didn’t “melt” well. It was like chunks of warm cheese. I feel like 2 bricks is too much (for me) even thought I love cream cheese. So I think next time I will cut back further. That warm sauce though — delish!!
This was a huge hit! I sprinkled a little cinnamon on top, my only addition- it was fantastic!!!
I always love using brioche for special French toast, would this work?
Donna, I wondered if you’ve ended up using brioche for this? I have three loaves and am looking for an overnight French toast recipe that will hold up when using them! Thanks!
I used brioche and I actually have it in the oven at the moment. I think it’s going to turn out good, BUT this is my first time baking , so I have nothing to compare it to. I’m a little worried about all the comments about the cream cheese though, I did use 2…oh well, we will just have to see!
Do you think I could make the blueberry tooping sauce the night before, refrigerate, then heat it up to pour over the next morning?
Yes you can do that.
Okay, Ashley and Karan – I prepped this Saturday night after the picky grandson went upstairs to bed. The 4 of us had it for brunch on Sunday and it was MARVELOUS. My grandson never once said, “Is this white stuff cream cheese?” Not even after his little sister said, “Grandma, is this white stuff cream cheese?” Grandma replied, “No, Claire, it’s just custard.” She ate a few more bites and said, “It sure does taste like cream cheese.”
The grandson who doesn’t like cream cheese ate TWO servings, AND asked me to send some home with him! And then asked if I could make it again (of course I will). And THEN asked if I could make it at Christmas only with gluten-free bread so his mommy (my daughter) can eat it. (Of course I will.)
I used Arnold’s sliced Italian bread, 2 blocks of cream cheese, regular sized eggs, and it was almost more than my 9 x 13 pan would hold!
The grandkids have asked that at Christmas I make 2 pans – one with raspberries or strawberries, and one with blueberries. Then make 2 sauces, one for each fruit. When your recipe has a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old thinking of of new ways to try it, you know it’s a hit.
My husband wants me to try it with sliced peaches. I think I’ll sprinkle some brown sugar on the cream cheese and add some pecans as well.
I love this review, Donna 🙂
I made this for my book club brunch back in December and came back to it for another brunch I am going to today at my son’s fiancee’s house. It got rave reviews! I usually add cinnamon and nutmeg to my regular French toast so I added those to this batch that is baking right now! I would ask that you adjust the cooking time in your description, as it says 25 minutes baking time and that is incorrect. It’s 30 minutes covered and 25 uncovered for a total of 55 minutes. It is quite delicious!!
This is fabulous. My husband begs for it. I used regular white bread the first time, the entire loaf. The next time a loaf of Italian from the bakery. Now we use whatever day old bread or rolls is on the sale rack at our Walmart bakery. I don’t always let it sit overnight, but at least 30 minutes to saok up the liquid. We microwave it for several days. I sometimes only use half the cream cheese since my husband does not love it as much as I do! Amazing!
Don’t you need to change the ingredients to 2 cups of blueberries?
Deborah, the blueberries are listed twice. If I wrote it , I’d say 2 Cups blueberries, divided.
if i use italian bread do i use the whole loaf or cut into 12 slices?
Made this a womens brunch at it was amazing. Everyone loved it. It is mow my go to recipe for any potlucks 😉
Thanks so much for sharing
How would this hold up if it was baked but not served for 4-5 hrs later. Wondering for a work potluck!
I love this recipe, but I use the soft spreadable cream cheese and spread it on the slices of bread and then cut it into cubes. A bit messy, but I didn’t like the big chunks of cream cheese. Yummy!
What a great idea! I didn’t like the lumps of cheese either. Going to get some spreadable cheese now. I’m putting a cup of strawberries inside the casserole then topping the with the blueberry mixture. We love this Casserole!! ?Making it as a Father’s Day treat.
I’m wondering what I did wrong because the cream cheese didn’t melt AT ALL- it just stayed in cubes throughout the dish and ends up lumpy when you reheat the leftovers. Blech. The consistency of the cream cheese ruined the dish for me! What can I do to fix this in the future? The rest of it was delicious!
I’m made this for a community Christmas Brunch. After reading all of the comments both here and on the original Taste of Home site, I realized I also didn’t want “chunks” of cream cheese. Also didn’t want to drag out my mixer to mix it with wet ingredients to make it spreadable. So, here’s what I did. I bought 2 8 oz containers of whipped cream cheese, put it in a pastry bag (or in this case a ziploc baggie w/the tip cut off. Piped it on, then spread it lightly with spatula. Worked a treat, and now every bite will have cream cheesy yummieness!! Also, on a whim, I used cinnamon raisin bread, and it was delicious!
I made this for my daughter’s baby shower brunch. It was delicious! The recipe is easy to follow and it was nice to have most of the dish prepared the night before. I had a lot of the ladies ask for the recipe. This is a winner!!
Amazing post thanks for sharing the French toast recipe! Your blog is admirable and full of cooking knowledge.
I thought it was delicious! However, my husband thought it was mushy in the middle and wasn’t the biggest fan.
I made this for my daughter’s birthday brunch and everyone RAVED over it. So so so so good.
i was a bad cook last year but after searching on internet about recipes now i know and have learnt to differentiate between main course appetizers and all these kind of recipe i really loved it and thank you alot for contributing indirectly in my life 🙂 love the recipe 🙂
Can corn syrup be used instead of maple syrup? I hate maple syrup.
There are lots of syrup options out there from berry to pecan to blueberry, etc. Use what you prefer.
This recipe looked delicious so I thought I’d try it. I read all the comments and realized that I didn’t want big chunks of cream cheese so…I let the cheese sit out until it was room temperature then I put it in my mixer and beat it until it was smooth and fluffy. Then I added one egg and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.
I lined the lightly greased 13 x 9 dish with uncut slices of bread , trimming and filling in where necessary. Then I just spread the cream cheese filling over the bread like frosting.
When I mixed up the liquids, I used only 11 eggs since I had already used one with the cream cheese and also added a little cinnamon. I then gently lifted up the edges of the bread layer and poured about half of the egg mixture into the baking dish, making sure all the bread was soaked.
Then I added the blueberries, cut up the remaining bread, put it on top of the blueberries and poured on the rest of the egg mixture. I then followed the recipe the rest of the way. I found I needed 30 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered to fully set up.
It was delicious!! The cream cheese layer puffed up during baking and you could taste it in every bite. My family loved it and I loved that I could make it the night before!
If I cut all ingredients in half for a 1/2 batch, would it come out right?
Yes! Just use a smaller pan!
Do you have to use whole milk or will 2% milk work?
That will work out fine!
I made this Blueberry French Toast for breakfast last Christmas and it was wonderful!!! The whole family loved it. I’ve been asked to make it again this Christmas. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with all of us.
Made this today for Christmas brunch. Used a bag of frozen strawberries (kids won’t eat blueberries) It was delightful!
Can this be made in a crockpot?
Can you use any fruit or fruits or mix fruits?
Yes you can use any fruit!
Have you tried with a sugar substitute or honey?
I made this today and loved it. It was sooooooo good.
Can you please give me a half version? Only two of us. Thanks
Just cut everything in half and use a smaller pan
You need to fix the total cook time. It shows 25 minutes but has to be baked an additional 30 minutes.
My family loves this recipe. I’m making it tonight for Father’s Day tomorrow. I can’t wait!
Can you use strawberries?
Yes, that would be a great option!
Has anyone alter this recipe to make it savory? For example:
– mix softened cream cheese with carmelized onion and chives
– replace cinnamon with allspice
– replace blueberries with crumbled breakfast sausage or bacon
This was just what I was looking for a family gathering next weekend! It looks delicious – can’t wait to try it!
What a yummy idea for when we have company sleeping over! Can’t wait to try it out.
My topping turned out blue not purple any idea why? Also, I recommended decreasing the egg/milk/vanilla significantly because the end product is too guey/liquidy in the middle. Top looks great middle is mush. Too much liquid for bread to soak up. Tastes good tho!
Is 12 eggs the right amount? It seem like a lots of eggs?
Yes, it is the right number!
So it says cook time 25 min but the directions are…. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25-30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned. Enjoy warm! Is this correct bake time is 50-55 min
This is a good recipe. I will definitely try it again, decreasing the cream cheese and increasing blueberries. Also, I will serve it with real maple syrup on the side and something salty, like breakfast sausage or bacon.
When I discovered this recipe on Pinterest I had to check it out. I’m always on the lookout for quick breakfast recipes and this goes to my favourite list.
Recipe looks good, but I noticed that 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries is listed twice. Is this an error?
Hi! no, one cup of blueberries gets mixed in and 1 cup gets added later on (see directions). Hope that helps!
Saw this recipe on Facebook and can’t wait to try it. I wanted to mention something about the cream cheese problems people described in their comments. Cream cheese melts because of the amount of fat used in making it. Lower-fat cream cheese will not melt as easily, partly because of the lower amount of fat and water and partly because stabilizers are used to keep it firm. So if you prefer low fat cream cheese and don’t want to get high fat for this recipe, you could try melting some butter and stirring in your cream cheese until it melts. When it cools, you could dollop it onto the bread cubes. Some acid like wine or vinegar may also help it to melt. Otherwise, whipped cream cheese is your best bet.
Definitely good with pound cake or lemon loaf as well
I have been making this for about 3 years now. I use the french bread from Walmart, slice one inch thick and spread the slices with the cream cheese, using only one package. Then I cube the bread up and spread in the pan (I found the first time that the cream cheese didn’t fully melt and we were biting through chunks of cream cheese). Other than that, I follow the recipe to a ‘T’, and it is the most requested dish at every work brunch. Thanks for the awesome recipe!!
I love this! Thank you!