Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Juicy berries, crunchy walnuts, yummy cream cheese, and warmed-up maple syrup make this Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole a fantastic breakfast or brunch dish for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and any day of the year. It can easily be doubled to accommodate a crowd! It’s a make-ahead dish, so you can just pop it in the oven for breakfast the next morning.
If you love blueberries, check out our other delicious, tried and tested blueberry recipes like these scrumptious Blueberry Zucchini Muffins, easy French-style dessert Blueberry Clafoutis and ricotta cheese filled Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake!
It is an established fact that my family loves French Toast (or eggy bread as my British hubby would say) for breakfast and especially for brunch. I have a few versions of it including 3 in this blog!
We surely cannot get enough of it. I have tried many variations of this delicious American-style stuffed French toast but the blueberry version is one of our favorites.
It is just so wonderful to bite into this warm overnight-soaked baked bread and then into your mouth suddenly burst delicious juices from the berries!
The crunch from pecans or walnuts is an added delight to your tastebuds, too!
But that’s not all – the almost melted cream cheese provides a delightful contrast of texture and flavor which makes your palate truly dance with joy!
As if that’s not enough, it’s made even better by drizzling your freshly baked french toast with warmed-up pure Maple syrup and then helping yourself with a generous dusting of powdered sugar on top to add extra sweetness and love! Aren’t you hungry yet?
Did I mention you drizzle it with some melted butter on top, too? Don’t forget that!!!
This version is good for about 4-6 servings. I only have a small family of 4 and to leave any guesswork every time I make it, I have finally decided to jot down my exact measurements and how I make it.
Of course, this can easily be doubled when you are serving more. Just use a 9 x 13 baking dish instead. Please enjoy!
This is perfect to make during berry season especially when blueberries are in their best and sweetest form! Pick the best quality blueberries you can find – I am an avid fan of Michigan blueberries and think they are the best.
I’ve done a lot of blueberry picking when I lived there for 10 years so you can imagine how many times I have made this dish before – a lot!!!
Ok, so you are probably getting so hungry at this point so let’s go on to the method of how to make this most delicious Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole!
WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS FOR OVERNIGHT BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE?
- Brioche or Hawaiian Sweet Rolls – I love using this instead of french bread because the end product is a soft and fluffy french toast.
- cream cheese – buy a good quality cream cheese
- chopped pecans or walnuts – optional if you can’t have it or don’t fancy it. It does add a lot to the casserole so if you can have it – do!
- Blueberries – pick the best!
- Eggs
- Milk
- Brown Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Spices (Cinnamon, Nutmeg, ground Cloves) – add at least one of the spices or all three for some yummy hints of warm spice
- melted Butter (to be used after baking) – anything is better with Butter, right?
To serve
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Pure maple syrup, for drizzling
HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE? – To print and see full instructions check out the recipe card below!
Butter or grease an 8 x 8 square baking dish. Place half the bread cubes in a single layer, filling in all the gaps.
Evenly scatter the cream cheese cubes, nuts, and blueberries on top. Cover completely with the remaining bread cubes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Evenly pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes.
Gently press down on the cubes with your palms to allow the top layer of bread to absorb the liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Meanwhile, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let sit for 20-30 minutes at room temperature. Bake the French toast covered for 20 minutes.
Take the dish out of the oven, uncover and then take the remaining blueberries and gently press them into the bread evenly spreading them all over.
Return to the oven and bake for another 18-20 minutes or until the cubes are nicely toasted and there’s no more liquid at the bottom.
Transfer the dish to a rack and drizzle the melted butter on top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the rim of the pan to release the French toast.
Cut into squares. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and warmed maple syrup drizzled on top. Enjoy this lavish breakfast or brunch dish!
Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- butter, as needed to grease baking dish
- 1 loaf brioche or Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (about 12 oz), sliced into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 block 8-ounce package cream cheese, halved then sliced into cubes
- 1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
- 1 cup fresh blueberries, plus an extra handful (separate for topping)
- 4 large eggs, (5, if your egg yolks are quite small)
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground Nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground cloves (optional)
- 3 tbsp butter, melted (for drizzling after baking)
- maple syrup, as needed
- powdered sugar, as needed
Instructions
- Butter or grease an 8 x 8 square baking dish. Place half the bread cubes in a single layer, filling in all the gaps.
- Evenly scatter the cream cheese cubes, nuts, and blueberries on top. Cover completely with the remaining bread cubes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Evenly pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes. Gently press down on the cubes with your palms to allow the top layer of bread to absorb the liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Meanwhile, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let sit for 20-30 minutes at room temperature. Bake the French toast covered for 20 minutes.
- Take the dish out of the oven, uncover and then take the remaining blueberries and gently press them into the bread evenly spreading them all over.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 18-20 minutes or until the cubes are nicely toasted and there’s no more liquid at the bottom.Transfer the dish to a rack and drizzle the melted butter on top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the rim of the pan to release the French toast.
- Cut into squares. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and warmed maple syrup drizzled on top. Enjoy this lavish breakfast or brunch dish!
Notes
Nutrition
Last updated on April 10th, 2025 at 10:31 pm
Hi Manila Spoon, your post made me realize I haven't had my breakfast yet. Yummy post. When are you swinging by Manila again?
Am not sure yet, hopefully soon. Thanks, January Roads. I do miss the Philippines.
Those are fresh blueberries, yummy!
I haven't tried baking but when I decided to, gonna use this recipe for my first piece.
Oh, you're going to love this iAn! Please enjoy!
Abby, this french toast bake looks SO good! I love those sweet blueberries studded through it.
Thanks, Cindy! Adding those blueberries on top was a last minute whim but am so glad I did it, it made this already yummy dish even better, for me at least. Glad you stopped by.
Did you cover the casserole with foil the 2nd time you baked it for another 18-20 mins.?
Not anymore, Tinay 'cause you want it to brown and become a little crispy on top. Please enjoy!
Wow!!! Wonderful….can't wait to make this one and soon.
Hope you enjoy it William!
I made this wonderful dish today. I made a few slight alterations which included: Gluten Free Brioche Bread (8 oz), Blueberry Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and reduced the eggs to 3. My family absolutely loved it. When they say, "This is going on the menu", you know you have a winning dish. Thank you for sharing new family favorite.
I am so delighted to know that your family enjoyed it. Thanks for the kind feedback. Love the use of Blueberry Cream Cheese, oh yum! Have to use that next time. 🙂
Where did you find gluten free brioche bread? I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
I didn’t use gluten-free brioche. It is either regular brioche or Hawaiian sweet rolls. But perhaps if you google, you may find a recipe for gluten-free brioche.
Where did you find GF Brioche? Sounds so good
I didn’t use a gluten-free brioche but perhaps you can find that in bakeries near you.
This sounds amazing!! I will definitely have to try this next weekend 🙂
Thanks, Nicole! I hope you enjoy it.
I made this as well! New favorite i used chocolate cream cheese and was delicious!
I am so delighted to know that Becky. Thank you very much.
Just finished putting two casseroles for my daughter's bridal shower. Even unbaked they look and smell wonderful. I can hardly wait to pop them in the oven. Thank you!
Wonderful, Denise! I do hope you all enjoy it! Thanks for trying it out.
A perfect brunch recipe for the upcoming holidays, Abby. This New England girl loves anything with blueberries and maple syrup. And now I'm hungry!!! 🙂
Yum!! This sounds like the perfect brunch dish, especially while we have guest staying with us over the holidays!
I can't wait to try this out! I LOVE blueberry flavored sweets! 🙂 Thanks for this great idea!
Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by!
could you use frozen blueberry's? or would that not turn out the same
I haven't tried it with frozen blueberries but I think it should be fine provided you thaw it first as it will sit on the fridge overnight so better to remove excess liquid from it before using.
WOW !!!!! Awesome recipes, going to try it this Sunday ! EASTER BRUNCH !!!!!!!
Any suggestions if we have nut allergies? Would it work with leaving them out or should there be some sort of substitution?
You may leave it out, Marti. It should be fine. Hope you like it.
Seriously it really looks delicous. Gonna let my mom make this for us.
Brioche bread seems so expensive. How is it with the Hawaiian sweet rolls ? Is it much different ??
I have used Hawaiian sweet rolls and they're perfect for this! Enjoy!!!
What a fabulous breakfast!!! My family will love it! Happy New Year!
Blueberry cream cheese anything is delicious! Can't wait to try this!
Can I use strawberries instead of blueberries?
Yes, that’s fine. Choose the berries you like.
wow! it looks very yummy! thank you for this!
Do you have to make it the night before?
You can make it the same day but doing it ahead is more convenient plus the bread absorbs the custard sauce better that way.
Any breakfast with blueberries is good with me. This looks amazing.
Such a great recipe for a weekend brunch!