Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Blueberry French Toast Casserole is the ultimate make-ahead breakfast that’s bursting with juicy berries, custardy bread, and a buttery cinnamon streusel topping! It’s perfect for lazy weekend mornings, and holiday brunches.

Love More Breakfast Casseroles? Try My Pumpkin French Toast Casserole or this Farmer’s Casserole next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Sweet, soft, and bursting with juicy berries, this Blueberry French Toast Casserole is a breakfast favorite that feels like dessert. Made with layers of buttery bread, fresh blueberries, and a creamy custard, it bakes into golden perfection. Topped with a drizzle of syrup or powdered sugar, it’s perfect for brunch, holidays, or cozy mornings.

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Ingredient List

For the Casserole:

• 1 loaf sturdy bread (12–14 oz): French, sourdough, brioche, or challah, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 12 cups)
• 1 cup blueberries: fresh or frozen (don’t thaw if using frozen!)
• 8 large eggs
• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Streusel Topping:

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar: light or dark works great
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter: cold and cubed

Optional for Serving:

• Pure maple syrup
• Extra fresh blueberries
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Why These Ingredients Work

First time I made this I used regular sandwich bread and it turned into baby food. Completely fell apart. You need actual bread from the bakery—the kind that has some chew to it. French bread works. Sourdough works. Even those round boules they sell at Costco work. If it’s been sitting on your counter for a day or two that’s actually better.

Brown sugar instead of white makes it taste less like you just dumped sugar on toast. There’s a molasses thing happening that tastes more interesting. And you gotta use whole milk—I tried 2% once because that’s all I had and it was thin and sad.

That crumbly topping is why people eat three servings. The butter has to be cold and you have to mash it up with the flour and sugar until it looks like gravel. If your butter is melty this part doesn’t work and you just get paste.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• 9×13-inch baking dish (mine is glass but whatever)
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Medium bowl
• Pastry blender or two forks
• Foil or plastic wrap
• Bread knife

How To Make Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Step 1: Prep Your Pan and Bread

Spray your pan or smear butter around. Hack up the bread into chunks. They should be like an inch or so but I’ve never measured. Throw it all in the pan. Scatter the blueberries over it. If they’re frozen just use them frozen—don’t wait for them to thaw.

If your bread is super fresh from the store today you can dry it out by sticking it in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes but I usually forget to do this and it turns out fine anyway.

Step 2: Make the Custard

Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with the milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix it till you don’t see egg whites floating around. Pour it over the bread. Mash the bread down with a big spoon so it soaks up the liquid. Some pieces float back up and that’s fine—those are gonna be the crispy ones everyone fights over.

Step 3: Chill Overnight

Cover it with plastic wrap or foil and stick it in the fridge. Needs to be in there at least 3 hours but I always do overnight because who has 3 hours in the middle of the day. The bread has to really soak or you get crunchy dry bits mixed with soggy bits and it’s gross.

Step 4: Make the Streusel Topping

Mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut up your cold butter into little cubes and throw them in. Use a pastry cutter or just stab at it with two forks until it looks like crumbly wet sand. Keep this in the fridge until you need it.

Your butter really needs to be cold from the fridge. Room temp butter makes this weird and oily.

Step 5: Bake to Golden Perfection

Heat the oven to 350. Pull the casserole out and take the cover off. Dump the crumbly topping all over it. Try to spread it around but don’t stress about making it perfect. Bake it 45 to 55 minutes. I check at 45 and if I want it really soft I take it out then. If I want cleaner slices I wait till 55.

You know it’s done when the sides look set and when you jiggle the pan the middle only moves a little bit. Top should be brown.

Step 6: Rest and Serve

Leave it on the counter for 5 or 10 minutes or when you try to scoop it out it’ll be soupy. We dump maple syrup on ours. If people are coming over I’ll put powdered sugar on top because it looks fancier.

You Must Know

Do not use soft white bread in a plastic bag. Just don’t. It will ruin your whole morning. Get real bread from a bakery. I get French bread for like three bucks. Sourdough is better but costs more and I’m cheap. Challah is what my neighbor uses and hers always looks really good but that bread is like eight dollars.

You can’t skip the overnight part. My sister tried to make this and only soaked it for an hour and it came out dry in the middle with soggy edges. You need the full time. Just make it the night before and forget about it.

Personal Secret: I save some blueberries back and push them down into the topping before it goes in the oven. They pop while it’s baking and look really nice.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Don’t shove all the bread under the liquid. Let some stick up because those pieces get crunchy and they’re the best ones.
• My oven is old and runs hot so I check stuff early. If yours is like that look at it at 40 minutes.
• The clearance bakery section at the grocery store is perfect for this. Day old French bread for two dollars. That’s what I use every time.
• Frozen blueberries sink to the bottom if you’re not careful. Shake them in a bag with a spoon of flour before you use them.
• If the top gets too brown stick foil on it.
• I pull mine out of the fridge like 20 minutes before I bake it so it’s not ice cold going in. Seems to bake more evenly.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Mixed berries: Throw in raspberries and blackberries with the blueberries. Looks pretty when you cut it.

Apple cinnamon: Swap berries for thin apple slices. Use Granny Smith because they’re tart and don’t turn to mush. Add more cinnamon.

Cream cheese swirl: Beat up cream cheese with sugar and lemon juice and drop blobs of it around before the berries go in. Tastes like cheesecake. People lose their minds over this version.

Chocolate chip: My kid wants this with chocolate chips instead of fruit every time. I think it’s too sweet but he’s 12.

Lemon blueberry: Grate lemon peel into the egg stuff. Tastes fresh.

Cranberry orange: I make this at Christmas with cranberries and orange zest.

Strawberry: Works fine just cut them small.

Make-Ahead Options

Every single time I make this I do it the night before without putting the topping on. Keep the topping separate in the fridge. Morning comes and I just sprinkle it on and bake. Takes like 30 seconds.

You can freeze it after soaking before baking. Wrap it good and it lasts two months in the freezer. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, make new topping, bake normal.

Or bake it first, cool it down, wrap it up tight and freeze it. When you want it stick it in the oven at 350 covered for like 35 minutes.

Half batch uses a square pan and half of everything. Done in 30 minutes or so.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

• At 45 minutes it’s soft and custardy. At 55 it’s firmer and you can cut nice squares. Depends what you like.
• Brioche makes it really rich. Sourdough has that sour taste I like. French bread is basic and everyone likes it.
• Never tried egg replacer don’t know if it works. Someone told me flax eggs work but I can’t say for sure.
• High altitude might need longer.
• If your bread seems really fresh and soft leave the chunks out on the counter overnight before you make this. Helps them dry out.

Serving Suggestions

I make this on Saturdays with bacon. Also Christmas morning, Easter, Mother’s Day—basically any time I have to feed people breakfast and don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen. My mom makes it when my brothers come home.

We use real maple syrup not Mrs Butterworth. Costs more but tastes way better. Sometimes I put out whipped cream and extra berries if I’m trying to impress someone.

Goes with bacon, sausage links, turkey sausage, whatever breakfast meat you like. Some people eat it with yogurt on the side which is weird to me.

How to Store Your Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Leftovers go in the fridge covered. Lasts maybe 3 days. The topping gets soft after the first day but still tastes good. Microwave a piece for a minute or heat the whole thing covered at 300 for 15 minutes.

You can freeze leftovers. Wrap it really good in plastic and foil or it gets freezer burned. Had some in my freezer for 3 months and it was still okay.

Don’t leave it sitting out all morning because eggs and milk go bad. Put it back in the fridge when breakfast is over.

Allergy Information

Contains: Eggs, milk, butter, wheat

Dairy-free: My neighbor uses almond milk and that Earth Balance vegan butter. Says it’s not as creamy but works if you have to.

Gluten-free: Buy gluten-free bread. Has to be the sturdy kind not soft sandwich type. Probably needs more drying out than regular bread.

Egg-free: No idea. Never made it without eggs. You could try those flax eggs people use but I can’t promise it’ll work right.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Do I need to cover this while baking?

Nope! Bake it uncovered so that beautiful streusel topping gets golden and crispy. If the top is browning too quickly, you can tent it with foil for the last 10–15 minutes.

Can I use frozen blueberries?

Absolutely! In fact, frozen berries work beautifully and won’t burst as easily during mixing. Do NOT thaw them first—use them straight from frozen. Some people like to toss them in a tablespoon of flour to prevent them from sinking.

Why is my casserole soggy in the middle?

This usually happens when the bread is too fresh and soft, or if you didn’t let it soak long enough. Make sure you’re using hearty, slightly stale bread, and give it that full overnight soak for best results. Also, don’t bake it straight from the fridge—let it sit at room temp for 20–30 minutes before baking.

Can I make this without the streusel topping?

If you want a simpler version, skip the streusel and dust with cinnamon sugar before baking, or just leave it plain and serve with lots of maple syrup.

What’s the best bread to use?

My personal favorite is a sturdy sourdough or French bread from the bakery section. Challah and brioche work beautifully if you want something richer. Avoid soft sandwich bread or anything too delicate—it’ll turn mushy. Day-old or slightly stale bread is actually BETTER than fresh!

💬 Make this yet? Tell me how it went in the comments!