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
Literally don’t change a thing. It’s absolutely perfect! The top was crispy and delicious and the bottom was soft and yummy!
This was very delicious, especially the streusel topping. My family and I really enjoyed it.
Absolutely delicious! Made this for my husband’s birthday breakfast and it was so good. Very easy to make and so nice to make most of it the night before! Loved the blueberries but will try strawberries the next time I make this – or maybe a mix! Yum!
Made this for my birthday breakfast today. Wonderful. I did add another 1/2 cup blueberries to the mix and about a third less flour in the topping. Next time I’ll try some lemon zest and maybe walnuts in the topping and call it dessert. I used big crusty chunks of sourdough french bread and it wasn’t at all soggy. Perfect. I call this bread pudding! Thank you.
Do you have any advice for baking this directly from frozen? Time and temperature recommended?
Hi Jean! We don’t recommend baking this casserole from frozen – it’s best to thaw overnight before baking, see details in recipe notes!
I have tried every overnight french toast cassserole I could find with no luck. I will tell you that this is the most delicious breakfast casserole I have ever made. I will make it again and again. Thank you so much!!
Still confusing. Do you freeze with the topping on it, or add topping after thawing and before baking?
Hi Rose, you can freeze the entire casserole with the topping on it.
I am planning to freeze the casserole for a couple of days, but I’m confused. The original directions say to bake for 45 -55 minutes, but for the freezer method,it says to warm for 30 min till it’s warm in the center. Am is missing something?
Hi Cathie! There’s two options for the freezer method – prepare the recipe through step 4 (without preheating the oven) and freeze for up to 2 months (unbaked), then proceed with thawing and baking the full bake time (45-55 minutes). The second option is to freeze the already baked casserole. Then thawing and warming the already baked casserole in the oven which will take less time. Hope this helps clear up the make ahead instructions!
Sally! Approximately how many cups of cubed bread is this? I have about half a loaf of sour dough, so I don’t want to end up with too little/too much.
Hi Donna, you’ll wind up with about 12 cups of cubed bread. A little more or less is OK.
Love this , it is my go to recipe for brunch for special occasions. For something different, how do you think chocolate chips and pecans would work in place of fruit?
That sounds amazing, Marilyn! Let us know if you give that combo a try.
I made this for a birthday brunch yesterday, and… perfection!! Everyone LOVED it! Will be making this again and again! Thanks!!
I have made this recipe multiple times and it is always a hit with our family. A fun tip–use a loaf of ‘day old’ Jimmy John’s bread–reasonably priced and quite delicious.
This was the best! Everyone loved it. I followed the recipe as written. Easy to make and loved that it can be made the night before. It’s a keeper. Thanks!
Hi ,I want to make this without any fruit. Do I need to adjust any thing to make up for the moisture the fruit provides?
Hi Gina, you can simply omit the blueberries with no other changes to the recipe. Enjoy!
Hey Natasha, made this for Christmas and it awesome. I want to make this or the strawberry french toast casserole for Easter at church. I will be baking it at home but breakfast won’t be until about an hour after I get it out of the oven. I will be using a warmer but need to know which may hold up better. Love your recipes! Thanks.
Could you substitute sliced strawberries or sliced blueberries for the whole blueberries? I would like to feed this to my toddler but worry about choking.
We don’t see why not! They may release more color and moisture into the casserole, but should taste delicious still.
I’ve made this for Christmas breakfast the last 2 years, and I’ll make it again this year. It’s delicious!! I double the amount of blueberries because we love them. YUM
I’m making this for a girl’s trip this weekend. I am taking all the ingredients and making it there. I have a 16 oz bottle of milk, which is 2 cups, and the recipe calls for 2 1/4 c of milk. Do you think if I add one more egg the liquid amount would be the same or should I just get another bottle of milk?
Hi Pam, I’m sorry I’m just now seeing this question. I assume it’s too late but if you run into this again you can try using an extra egg or even just using a bit less bread. How did it turn out?
My new favorite baked French toast recipe. Amazing flavor and texture. Just delicious.
We picked fresh blueberries last weekend and made the Blueberry French Toast Casserole for my grandkids. I had to add extra blueberries. Very good recipe. I loved the streusel on the top.
So yummy! Made this and froze to take to the beach. Great make-ahead recipe that everyone loved. It didn’t thaw all the way before I baked it, so it did take closer to 2 hours to bake, but soooo worth the wait!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE SO MUCH! Due to the quarantine and only wanting to make limited runs to the grocery store, I only have a bag of frozen mixed fruit at home. Would frozen fruit work instead of fresh blueberries, or would it make it too liquidy? Thank you ahead of time!
Hi Andrea! So glad you enjoy this french toast casserole. You can use frozen mixed fruit. Do not thaw them. The bake time will be a little longer.
Not often I make something everyone raves about but I hit it out of the park with this!!! I’ve made this now 5 times and each time it’s a huge hit. The only changes I make are I use half and half instead of milk and I double the blueberries. I also use challah bread thanks for the great recipe!!!
This has become a family favorite since I first made it for a baby shower!!! I just recently doubled the recipe and used 3 8×8 pans to cook it. Perfect, once again!
One question: Could you provide a nutritional chart?
Hi Sally, I won’t have time to dry the bread out before assembling this recipe. Is there a way to fast track the bread-drying process, like toasting the cubes in the oven?
Absolutely! Feel free to toast the cubes/pieces in a 300F or 350F oven for about 10 minutes.
Oh my word…I had to come back and comment on this fabulous breakfast treat. I made this for Christmas morning and it is so yummy! Cut the recipe in half, baked in an 8×8 pan and it was superb. Sally, you never let me down!
Hi, I’d like to make this for a very belated Chanukah party. I’ve never made an overnight french toast for fear it would be soggy. I’ve read tons of your reviews and although almost all of them were incredible, some had issues with that very problem of wet/soggy. Any tips to be certain I have the right ratio of bread to mixture? I’d like to use challah. Thanks a ton!
Hi Lauren, If you follow the recipe as written it is the right ratio of bread to mixture! If the top is getting too brown before the center/bottom fully bakes you can cover the top with aluminum foil and bake a bit longer. Enjoy!
Used brioche bread and it was delicious. Can you freeze leftovers ?
Yes, you can! Just wrap it tightly and you can freeze it up to 3 months.
Love this recipe, I have made it many times now. I use broche bread and leave it overnight. I like mine more done, I usually cook it for closer to 1.5 hours at 350 to get it done in a 9×13 dish. It is good with or without the blueberries.
What about adding mascarpone or cream cheese on top before baking?
Hi Paula, I love layering cream cheese in! I explain how I do it (it’s best to mix it with some vanilla and confectioners sugar) in my recipe for Strawberry French Toast Casserole.