Description
This Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole is a decadent make-ahead breakfast dish featuring toasted brioche bread cubes layered with fresh blueberries and a creamy custard made from cream cheese, eggs, and half and half. Baked to a golden perfection and served with optional blueberry sauce or syrups, it’s perfect for brunch or special occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
Casserole
- 1 loaf (16 ounces) brioche or challah sliced into 1-inch cubes
- 12 ounces blueberries (2 6-ounce half pints)
Custard
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened (2 8-ounce blocks)
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 2 cups half and half at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For Serving (Pick One)
- Blueberry sauce
- Berry syrup like boysenberry (store-bought)
- Maple syrup
- Strawberry syrup
Instructions
- Toast bread: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the cubed brioche or challah in a single layer on a large baking sheet or two half sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes until the bread is toasted on the outside but still soft in the center. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Remove and set aside.
- Make custard: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sugar together with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Then add the half and half, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt, mixing until smooth and evenly combined.
- Assemble the casserole: Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Layer half of the toasted bread cubes evenly in the dish, then sprinkle half the blueberries over the bread. Pour half of the custard mixture evenly over the layers. Repeat with the remaining bread cubes, berries, and custard. Press down gently with a spatula or your hands so the bread is mostly submerged in the custard but the tops can remain slightly visible. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- Bake the casserole: When ready to bake, remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Make blueberry sauce (optional): While the casserole bakes, prepare blueberry sauce according to your preferred recipe or use store-bought syrup options.
- Serve: Serve the French toast casserole warm topped with blueberry sauce, berry syrup, maple syrup, or strawberry syrup as preferred.
Notes
- The sliced side of store-bought brioche from the bread section may be thinner than bakery brioche but works well for this recipe.
- Use frozen blueberries straight from the freezer without thawing; just brush off any excess ice.
- Ensure cream cheese, eggs, and half and half are at room temperature to avoid lumps in the custard. To quickly warm eggs, submerge them in warm (not hot) water for 20 minutes. Warm the half and half in the microwave if needed.
- For a smaller batch, halve the recipe and bake in an 8×8-inch pan for about 30-35 minutes.
- If baking immediately without overnight soaking, skip toasting the bread, mix bread cubes with custard in a bowl to fully saturate, let sit 30-60 minutes at room temperature or longer in the fridge, then layer with blueberries and bake.
- Store leftover casserole tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days; reheat in the microwave or oven.
- Freeze baked casserole wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and foil for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 230 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 150 mg
