Blueberry and Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole! – With the easiest homemade blueberry sauce ever!
We love this brunch casserole and so do our guests! You make it the night before and just pop it in the oven in the morning.
If I was a blueberry…this is how I’d like to be remembered :).
I’ve been thinking about this recipe for some time and I was saving it for special. Special is here! It’s the first dry day in like forever in Seattle and I’m feeling all carby and stuff. I’m not sure what that means, but if carby is a feeling…I’m having it. These particular carbs come with fruit…it’s all about balance ya know.
How to make delicious Blueberry and Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole!
First, the bread. I used a loaf of the stuff they bake up at your local grocery store. Cheap and cheerful! But you can sub with brioche or texas toast type if ya wanna get fancy. Anything that you can cut into big chunks. If you can find day old bread, even better. Or just leave it out overnight if you have the time.
What would I serve with this Blueberry French Toast casserole?
- Mimosas….kinda goes without saying…
- crisp bacon
- sausage
- fruit platter
TIP: Freeze your cream cheese for 15 minutes before cutting into cubes. You will be glad you did, cuts so much easier!
How to make our Easy blueberry sauce:
Water, sugar, cornstarch and blueberries. Thats it! Whisk it up in a sauce pan until it’s simmers and done. It makes a big batch because who wants to run out of syrup?
Can I make the blueberry sauce in advance?
Yes! Simply cool it to room temp and store in the refrigerator. You can make this up to 3 days in advance.
Here’s a video to show you how we made this delicious Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Fresh Blueberry Sauce!
Tips to make this Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Fresh Blueberry Sauce:
- The egg and bread has to sit at least 2 hours or overnight. Can be made up to 2 days in advance.
- Freeze the cream cheese for 15 minutes to make cutting into cubes much easier.
- Feeds 8-10 people.
- Comes with a blueberry sauce recipe that takes only 10 minutes, is super simple and makes enough to out last the last bite of this casserole …thats always a problem with sauce isn’t it? Never enough. But I got ya covered on this one!
- We used fresh blueberries, but frozen is okay. (If using frozen, just toss them in 2 tablespoons of flour, so they don’t bleed all over your pretty little casserole. After tossing them in the flour, shake off the excess). But fresh is best for this recipe.
- We sprinkled it with raw sugar so the top was all crunchy and stuff…yum.
To Brunch and Blueberries!
Clink!
Kathi
If your feeling like a savory brunch casserole…try our Easy Breakfast Casserole. Made with sausage, egg, cheese and frozen hash brown cubes. Who knew there was such good stuff in the frozen food aisle!
Check out all of our Breakfast and Brunch Recipes HERE!
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An overnight breakfast or brunch casserole that comes together quickly along with an easy recipe for Blueberry syrup!
- 1 large loaf french bread - about 8 cups day old is best
- 8 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups half and half
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries that have been tossed in 1 tablespoon of flour to keep them from bleeding
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese, light or regular cubed. (for easier cutting put in freezer for 15 minutes)
- 1/4 cup raw sugar for sprinkling on top optional
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups blueberries
- Butter a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- Cut french bread into 2 inch cubes and set aside.
In large bowl, combine eggs, half and half, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Whisk until completely mixed.
- Put one half of bread cubes in prepared dish.
Top with half cream cheese cubes and half cup of blueberries.
Add remaining bread cubes and top with remaining cream cheese and additional half cup of blueberries.
- Pour egg mixture over bread cubes. Pressing mixture down so completely soaked by egg mixture.
Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle casserole with raw sugar.
- Cover casserole with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until center is firm and bread is slightly brown on top.
- Cool slightly and serve with blueberry sauce.
- Blueberry Sauce
- In small saucepan, combine sugar, water and cornstarch until simmering.
Add blueberries and simmer for 10 minutes. Using a fork or whisk, slightly break up the blueberries to desired consistency.
- Cool slightly before serving or store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Make in advance. The egg and bread has to sit 2 hours or overnight. Can be made 2 days in advance.
- Freeze the cream cheese for 20 minutes to make cutting into cubes easier.
- Feeds 8-10 people.
- Comes with a blueberry sauce recipe that takes only 10 minutes, is super simple and makes enough to out last the last bite of this casserole ...thats always a problem with sauce isn't it? Never enough. But I got ya covered on this one!
- We used fresh bluebs, but frozen is okay. (If using frozen, just toss them in 2 tablespoons of flour, so they don't bleed all over your pretty little casserole. After tossing them in the flour, shake off the excess). But fresh is best for this recipe.
- We sprinkled it with raw sugar so the top was all crunchy and stuff...yum.
Anyway this recipe could be modified to be cooked in a crockpot? Want to bring it to Easter Brunch after church to my daughter’s home. Thinking I could bake it in the removal crockpot baking insert then return it to the crockpot and leave on keep warm for the 2 hours before we eat it.
Hello Barb! – I did some searching and found a couple recipes similar to ours that cooked in the slow cooker. The bread and eggs were soaked overnight per recipe, but then put into a slow cooker and cooked for 4 hours on low. I have not tried this…I repeat…I have not tried this! :). But it seems to me it would work. I would love love a report back if you give it a try!
Just talked with my blue berry growers a few days ago and cannot wait til May to get my hands on them!! The price is outrageous in my area so I going to buy a flat and freeze them. If anyone else wants to freeze some do NOT wash them, just pick out stems, leaves and put them in zippy bags and lay flat in the freezer. Of course you should date them.
Good advice Judy! I paid over 8.00 for a container of them. Whats up with blueberry prices? Let me know when you try this and hoping you love it!
Made this for Christmas morning! A huge hit with everyone and no work needed. Spent the morning with family and friends; not cooking!!!!
That makes me really happy! Thank you for taking the time to send such a nice note Tracy!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now for get-togethers and should have complimented you a long time ago. Each time challah was substituted for the French bread.
Tonight it’s being prepared for a special morning tomorrow and all the stars aligned. After following a low-fibre, low-residue diet for a month after an acute diverticulitis attack, tomorrow will be my first transition day out of it. Yes, my husband had to suffer too. A loaf of white bread was going stale and daring me to do something with it other than feeding squirrels, we had a glut of half and half after a shopping “mistake”, and there was half a package of cream cheese already in the freezer along with frozen blueberries.
Blueberries have skins, but no seeds, so it’s a chance to transition out gently. I’m really looking forward to having it again thank you!
Dear Carol, Thank you so much for your sweet note! We hope you are fully recovered and enjoy every bite! We have quite a few healthy recipes on this site, it’s kinda our specialty. You can check them all out here!
This looks so amazing! I will be making it tonight for our potluck at work tomorrow and I’m so excited! Is it okay to warm up the blueberry sauce in the microwave because I will be making it tonight and storing it in the refrigerator before the potluck?
You bet! That should work fine Kat. Hope you love it!
someone I met at the grocery store (bread aisle) suggested this recipe and I made it this morning. I halved the recipe as there are only 3 of us eating it. FANTASTIC! This recipe is a keeper.
I love that there are people that talk about my recipe at a grocery store! Yay! Thanks for taking the time to write such a nice note!
How much blueberries are needed for the sauce? It doesn’t have seperate amounts for the casserole + sauce.
Hi Julia! 2 cups of blueberries for the sauce. I can see where the recipe was hard to read and I fixed it to be a bit more clear. Please take a look and let me know if I can help any further!
Thanks! A friend made this once and it was a hit! I’m about to pull it out of the oven!
Should this be stored in the refrigerator, or is sitting out ok? Can’t wait to try it!
Hi CJ – I’d store it in the fridge…all those eggs and cream :). Hope you get a chance to try it!
Could this soak Friday-Sunday morning? Trying to make ahead for Easter.
Hi Keisha – I have not tried it but I think it would be fine. Maybe you could assemble on Friday and pour the egg mixture over it on Saturday? Again, sure it would be okay but I haven’t tried it so makes me unable to recommend.
Is it possible to make a double batch in the same pan if the container is deep enough or would you suggest using 2 pans?
Hi Chris – two pans. I would be concerned that the middle might not get all the way cooked through and be doughy.