Every bite of blueberry French toast casserole is full of texture and flavor… from the soft custard-soaked bread and juicy blueberries to the crisp brown sugar streusel on top. This make-ahead breakfast casserole benefits from an overnight rest in the refrigerator, so all you need to do in the morning is pop it in the oven.
I originally published this recipe in 2015, and I’ve since updated it to include new photos and extra success tips. This blueberry French toast casserole has become one of my most-loved make-ahead breakfast recipes for a reason.
In fact, this recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find a version of this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
I always thought nothing could beat the smell of homemade cinnamon rolls coming from the kitchen. Until I made a pan of this blueberry French toast casserole.
This make-ahead recipe is best made a day in advance. Do all your slicing, whisking, and combining the day before. Then top with an easy crumb streusel before baking it the next morning. Much more appealing than standing over your griddle making individual slices of French toast!
The result is a breakfast casserole with layers of flavor and texture: soft custardy bread, bursts of blueberries, and a crisp brown sugar streusel on top. The smell alone will bring everyone into the kitchen.
Whether you’re planning Christmas breakfast, Easter brunch, Mother’s Day, or a weekend family breakfast, this overnight French toast bake is always a hit.
Why You’ll Love This Make-Ahead Breakfast
- Make-ahead friendly: Assemble the night before and bake in the morning
- Perfect for brunch: Feeds a crowd with minimal effort
- Great texture: Soft custard-soaked bread with crisp streusel topping
- Juicy bursts of berries: Fresh or frozen blueberries work
- Easy to customize: Try other berries or seasonal fruit
One reader, Carole, commented: “The best French toast casserole I have ever made—and I’ve made several! My family loved it. ★★★★★”
Another reader, Michelle, commented: “I made this for Easter brunch. It was sooooo good! I wasn’t sure about the blueberries at first, but it was delicious! Everyone loved it! It was the only dish everyone went back to for seconds. Definitely recommend making this! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Cieta, commented: “I have been making this recipe for 10 years now. Thank you! It is always the most popular brunch item, the best! ★★★★★”
What Is the Best Bread for Blueberry French Toast Casserole?
Bread is the foundation of this recipe, so choose something sturdy and flavorful. Great options include:
- Challah
- Brioche
- Sourdough
- French bread
- Artisan bread
Bread to avoid: Avoid flimsy sliced sandwich bread because it tends to fall apart once it’s been soaked in the custard.
Success Tip
Whatever type of bread you choose, make sure it’s slightly stale and crusty. Slice it into cubes and let it sit for about a day before using.
Why?
Slightly stale bread works best because it absorbs the egg mixture more easily. If the bread cubes don’t absorb all the custard, your casserole will end up with a dry top and a soggy bottom—not ideal! We recommend using day-old bread for homemade brioche French toast for the same reason.
If you forgot to let it sit out and your bread is fresh, all is not lost. Cube it and toast it briefly in the oven to dry it out.
Here’s Everything Else You Need
After you have your slightly stale cubes of bread, whisk together the custard.
- Blueberries: You can use either fresh or frozen berries here, whatever’s convenient!
- Eggs: You need 8 large eggs.
- Milk & Heavy Cream: I use whole milk in this recipe, but you can use lower-fat or nondairy milk if necessary. Add a bit of cream, too, because it makes for a richer, creamier custard.
- Brown Sugar: With its higher molasses content, brown sugar is the best choice for sweetening this breakfast bread pudding.
- Lemon Zest: A little brightness that makes the blueberries pop.
- Vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, & Salt: The flavor-enhancers no French toast casserole should be without.
Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
The crumb topping is what really takes this casserole from good to unbelievable.
While it’s a simple mixture of just 4 ingredients—brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter—when baked, it creates a lightly crisp, buttery topping that contrasts beautifully with the soft custard-soaked bread.
It’s quick and easy, and similar to how I make the crumb topping for coffee cake. Use a pastry blender (or two forks) to cut cold cubed butter into the dry ingredients. You can chill this overnight, too, then sprinkle it on the casserole just before baking.
What to Serve With Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Serve your blueberry French toast casserole with maple syrup, more fresh berries, homemade blueberry sauce topping, or a generous dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
Because this dish is sweet and rich, it pairs nicely with something savory. Perfect brunch pairings include:
- Easy Breakfast Casserole (another make-ahead recipe)
- Ham & Cheese Scones
- Ham & Potato Casserole
- Breakfast Strata
- Frittata or Breakfast Egg Muffins (individual-sized frittatas!)
- Maple Chicken Breakfast Sausage
Here’s a shortcut for creating “stale” crusty bread for French toast casserole: Spread the bread chunks on a lined baking sheet and toast in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes. Your bread is now slightly dried out and ready to soak up all that egg custard.
Yes. In place of the blueberries, try strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries. Or try a medley of berries as I do for berries & cream French toast casserole. In the fall, try it with cranberries or thinly sliced apples or pears.
Yes, you can omit the berries & lemon zest for a classic/plain French toast casserole. If you have a copy of Sally’s Baking 101, see page 206 (French Toast Casserole: 3 Ways) for a gingerbread variation perfect for the holidays!
You don’t need to prepare the casserole in advance, but I highly recommend you do. It will need to rest for at least 3 hours, but overnight is best. This allows the bread to really soak up the custard. Both you and your blueberry French toast casserole can then get a good night’s rest… it’ll see you in the morning!
Unbelievable Blueberry French Toast Casserole
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (plus overnight time)
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This unbelievable blueberry French toast casserole is made with soft custard-soaked bread, sweet blueberries, and a buttery brown sugar streusel topping. The casserole benefits from sitting in the refrigerator overnight before baking, so this is an excellent make-ahead breakfast recipe! This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 1 (12–14-ounce/340–400g) loaf of sturdy day-old bread, such as French bread, sourdough, brioche, or challah, cut in 1-inch cubes*
- 1 cup (140g) fresh or frozen blueberries
- 2 cups (480g/ml) whole milk
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- pinch of salt
Crumb Topping
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (42g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- optional: extra blueberries, maple syrup, and/or confectioners’ sugar for topping
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13-inch pan or any 3.5—4-quart baking dish with butter or nonstick spray. Spread the cubed bread in the pan and sprinkle evenly with blueberries. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon zest, and salt until combined. Pour over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and refrigerate for 3–24 hours. Overnight is best.
- Make the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the cold butter. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut the butter into the brown sugar mixture until pea-sized crumbles form. Cover and refrigerate the topping for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 day. Chilling it helps ensure that it won’t sink into the casserole.
- Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the casserole. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and continue to bake until the center appears set, 25 to 35 minutes more.
- Cool the casserole for 5 minutes before serving. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare the topping in advance, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Sprinkle over the soaked bread before baking. For freezing, prepare the recipe through step 4 (without preheating the oven), and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bake as directed. Baked casserole can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 35 minutes or until warm in the center.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Half Batch: This recipe can easily be halved in an 8-inch baking pan or 9-inch baking pan. The bake time will be slightly less, around 30–35 minutes.
- Bread: Day-old, crusty bread is perfect for French toast casseroles so it can soak up the egg custard. I typically use a loaf of challah bread that I slice and let sit out overnight. If you only have fresh bread, here’s a shortcut for creating “stale” crusty bread: Spread the bread chunks on a baking sheet and toast in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes.
- Fruit: Instead of blueberries, try strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries. In the fall, try cranberries or thinly sliced apples or pears. So many options!
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made this for our Christmas Eve brunch – everyone loved it! Said it was so good. Such a time saver too to make it the day before!
Amazing! This casserole was the hightlight of my buffet! Everybody loved it and I will be making it again! Great (small) leftovers this morning and good cold. Thank you!
My daughter can’t have dairy. Would this recipe work with almond milk
Yep, should be fine.
I’ve made this at least three times already and it is always unbelievable. I do use dark brown sugar since it’s my weakness, but besides that everything is the same. Thanks so much!
I had almost a pound of leftover, slightly freezer-burned bread taking up precious freezer space, but I felt bad wasting it, so I tried this recipe out. Sooooo good, as always! I used frozen mixed berries and 2c nonfat milk + 0.25c half and half since I didn’t have anything else. The outside came out chewy and caramellized while the inside stayed creamy and custardy. Definitely will make again!!!
This was delicious! Made this for family that stayed overnight. All I had to do is put it in the oven in the morning. I did add walnuts to the topping. May add some orange or lemon zest to egg mixture next time just for a bit more flavor but really this was perfect the way it was. Company loved it and went back for seconds. Thanks again for a wonderful recipe.
You’re welcome, Penny! I love things I can make the night before when I have company. And it would be great to try to lemon or orange zest!
Made this for Easter Brunch. Everyone loved it. So delicious. I will definitely make this again and again.
My daughters graduating grad school and we are celebrating. Having a big brunch and trying to make it easier with as much make ahead and freeze dishes as I can. Which way will it be better? Cook and freeze or prepare and freeze? I can do both. Thanks
Honestly I’ve done both ways, but prefer cooking THEN freezing.
Sooooo good! I’ve made several other blueberry French toast recipes but none compare to this 🙂 Not too sweet either with just the right hint of cinnamon and sugar. That streusel topping is key!!!!! Love, love, love this recipe 🙂 Thanks Sally!!!!
Hi. Would raisin bread work well with this ?
Yes, definitely!
I have lots of rolls and croissants left over from Christmas, can those be used?
Absolutely!
I’m seeing that it looks somewhat soupy before it bakes. Is this normal?
Yep!
I made this just as the recipe was written…….but I added about a tablespoon of grated lemon zest. Everyone LOVED it!!
I made this for Mother’s Day brunch, used a loaf of chocolate chip brioche, sprinkled with blueberries. So delicious, mom and family loved it. Thanks!
We love this french toast casserole! I make a loaf of challah in the bread machine, cut it and leave it out overnight. The next day I prepare the casserole and let it sit overnight in the fridge and we eat it on the third day. It’s delicious and my whole family love it! Today I’m assembling one and putting it in the freezer as one of my “get ready for baby #4” meals. It’s sweet and flavorful enough on its own that it doesn’t need syrup! MY family request this often and we’ve even had it for dinner a few times! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
I made this last week for my family and they loved it. Instead of doing it over night, I made it in the morning and had it for supper. I also combined your two french toast recipes, so there was a cream cheese layer with blueberries. It was awesome…even the left overs tasted good! By the way, I am a distant relative in Michigan. Your grandma passed out your cook book at a family coffee. I enjoyed looking at it.
I’ve made this recipe several times, and everyone always loves it! My stepmother said “this might be the best thing I ever put in my mouth”! high praise, and it goes all to you!
Hi Sally, I have cubed (generous sized cubes) a lovely challah loaf; about 14oz. I have them in sort of 2 layers in a ~7×11 Pyrex dish drying out for the next few hours. Do you rec’d that I do a single layer to bake? Or can I leave it in this dish and will it bake up just fine in 2 layers? Thanks in advance!
Btw, I made several of your cookies over Christmas – every single one was just delish, as always! Thank you for bringing your readers just the very best.
Two layers is completely fine, Faye. I have no fear the about the french toast casserole; it will be wonderful. You might need to add a couple extra minutes to the bake time though!
What can I say except…WOW. Made this for Christmas brunch at a lake home for six people Easy and delicious I made a mistake and made this with skim mIlk (had half-and half but was so tired when I prepped this I forgot about it!). Woke up at 2:00a.m. Thought I had ruined it but knew it was too late. Turned out great anyway. Making it for New Year’s brunch (at the same lake place) and will use the 1/2 and 1/2. Made a blueberry syrup which was the perfect complement. Definitely a keeper!
Sally, I am planning on making this tonight, do I need to thaw the frozen blueberries before?
Thanks!
No need to thaw them.
Must this have the streusal topping?
I’m afraid of it being too sweet.
You can leave it off!
I’m making this for Father’s Day Sunday Brunch! One questions…when you cut the cold butter, is it supposed to be chunky or liquid? I feel like that is going to be the hardest part for me.
Make sure there are some chunks of butter.
Hi Sally! I actually had leftover challah bread from the weekend that was a bit old and therefore didn’t go as well as it usually does….so I made this casserole for breakfast today 🙂 YUM! Only problem is, my struessel topping seems to get messed up during cooking. It kindof melts together and turns really dark and hard looking instead of looking like crumbs (still TASTES great though). Any thoughts of what I could be doing wrong?
Is your butter very cold and is the streusel broken up into small crumbs? It sounds like the streusel is melting too much, too quickly. Try frozen butter. That should help!
For the streusel, did you melt the butter? I just made mine and after combining flour, cinnamon, brown sugar and butter it wasn’t much of a liquidy mixer to pour on the bread. It was thick so I used a brush to spread it over the bread. I did use dark brown sugar so I don’t know if maybe that was the difference or not.
It needs to be cold and cubed, then cut in.
Made this for my son’s rowing meet yesterday and everyone LOVED it! Added diced banana to the blueberries and used half&half instead of whole milk. Doubled the recipe, using 2 loaves of challah and baked for an hour. HUGE HIT with the kids and the parents…seems I have found my staple item!!
This recipe is a keeper! I made the casserole for Easter brunch and it was a huge hit. My daughter asked how many eggs I used because she noticed it wasn’t dry like some other recipes I’ve tried. I added an extra handful of blueberries. Also used French bread which worked fine. Will try it with Challah bread the next time because there will be a next time!
Made this last night for my coworkers today. Everyone raved about it! I’m usually not a big French toast person…but I think I may have been converted. Thanks!
Hi Sally,
Happy Friday! Can I cut the recipe in half? I would only want 6 servings?
Yep! In an 8 or 9-inch square pan.
If your guests have problems with whole milk, would almond milk work. Any other suggestions.
Whole milk is preferred for its rich and creamy texture in the custard. Keeping that in mind, almond milk should be fine.
Just finished devouring this, and it was delicious! I used French Bread but I can’t wait to try it with Sourdough, or Challah if I can get my hands on it!