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
Hi Sally, I want to use a challah bread that is 20 oz. Should I add another 50% to existing recipe amounts? So 12 eggs etc? Made this for Easter and it was amazing so back on the menu for Christmas brunch. Thank you!
Hi Rachel! 1.5x the other ingredients may be a little too much with the 20 oz loaf, but the recipe will still turn out just fine– it may need a bit longer in the oven to set up.
Discovered this recipe about 3 years ago While frantically searching for an overnight blueberry breakfast casserole for Christmas morning. It was a hit and now I make it whenever I have left over bread and blueberries. Thank you for this great easy recipe.
I made this today for my kids they loved it will be making it again
I made this recently when we visited some friends who live in the ‘blueberry capital’. I assembled it in her kitchen, left it overnight and baked it in the morning. Everyone loved it. I had bought some delicious blueberry syrup to serve with it. We made some eggs and bacon to complete our breakfast, and our friends are still talking about It! I am making it again tonight. I especially love the addition of the streusal topping. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Dear Sally,
I’ve been a silent fan of your page for a long time but while I’m waiting for this to finish bake I thought I would use this time to say thank you for all the wonderful recipes. I’ve always been able to rely on your well thought through recipes – they always turn out great and I get tons of compliments!
(Oh thanks for adding the extra infos on the ingredient lists for non-US followers )
Hi Sally! This was so incredibly delicious! Thank you!
I want to try using apples this time instead of blueberries. You say to use thinly sliced apples, but I was wondering if using chopped apples instead. I’m thinking of keeping the size similar to the blueberries. Do you think that would work? Or would the apples get mushy? I am making it for my mother in law who is visiting and don’t want to ruin a good thing, but since it is fall…
I think apple chunks would work also! Please let me know if you try it – apple would be so perfect for the fall!
I have made this once before and everyone at work loved it. I will making again for tomorrow but this time instead of milk I have Kerry gold Irish Irish cream and I need to use up.
Hi Sally! I just wanted to thank you for always providing so many extra details with your recipes! I am always wondering about freezing something and baking it at a later time and your instructions are so descriptive! I am going to make this tonight and freeze it to bring to the cabin with family next weekend and I know everyone will love it!
Has anyone ever added a banana(s)? I’m afraid it will mess it up but my family said they think it will work.
I think the addition of bananas would be delicious!
Hi can I prepare this and leave overnight for 2 nights? Or is that too long?
Thank you.
Rita
Hi Rita! For best taste and texture, I recommend only about 1 night.
Hi! A friend made this a few days ago, and I just had to have more! I’ve been baking it for over an hour, and the custard hasn’t set…It’s still very wet, but the top is done. I put foil over it and have the heat cranked up to 375. I originally baked it on the middle rack, but I’ve since moved it down to the bottom rack. Where should I have placed this casserole in the first place?
So glad you enjoy this French toast casserole! I recommend baking closer to the top heat element, so the center rack would be best. The casserole will bake more evenly this way.
Unbelievable is an understatement. I doubled the recipe for a family getaway for 20 people. Everyone was begging for the recipe even though I forgot the flour for the crumb topping. I ended up using half and half and a mixture of water on top of the dried out brioche. People who don’t enjoy breakfast or sweets fell in love. I’ve been baking off of your blog since 2012 and this is the first review I’ve posted and I’m so sorry for not saying anything sooner. This will be a family recipe from here on out and I will definitely start posting more reviews of your recipes because I’ve tried A LOT of them and they’re always a huge hit. Thank you sooooooo much for all of your incredible recipes!
Hi Kelly! Thank you so much for saying hi 🙂 Thrilled that your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your loyal readership over all of these years! xo
I made this for Sunday brunch today, it was absolutely delicious ! I used the Challah bread and it was phenomenal. One suggestion, add blueberries just before baking and I added chopped toasted pecans to the topping. SOOOO good !
Can I bake it the day before and reheat in the morning?
Absolutely! I usually reheat covered at 300F for 15 minutes.
Hello. I’ve made this 3 times in 2 weeks and absolutely love it. A friend recommended pecans instead of blueberries. Do you think that would work? Would I need to make any changes? Every recipe of yours that I have tried have been incredible. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Tina! Pecans are a wonderful substitution for the blueberries. No changes to the recipe necessary.
Can you add cream cheese?
Yes! You can make a cross between this recipe and this one: https://route-span.live/baked-cream-cheese-french-toast-casserole/%3C/p%3E
I love your recipes! I’m making the Bisucit Breakfast Casserole and Unbelievable Blueberry French Toast for New Years Day brunch. I only have one oven and want to make them at the same time – how would you suggest adjusting the temperatures (one is at 350 and the other at 375) and baking time? Thank you!!
Hi Ann! I recommend baking both at 350F. The bake time will be a little longer regardless because the oven is a little more crowded. 🙂
I made this for Christmas morning and it was AMAZING!!!! Thank you!!!
Just wanna say I’ve made this before, several times now. It is just sooooo good, that streusel topping takes it to a whole other level (though it is good without too, which I’ve done!). I love that you can make it ahead, and it’s very easy to make too. Thanks for giving me a recipe for my collection!
I find I need more egg/custard mixture in order to cover the bread… I’ve done it with less, but it seems pretty crusty on top for those bread pieces that didn’t really get soaked. Thoughts?
Can I use brioche bread ?
Absolutely!
Either should be just fine.