Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Lemon Cheesecake Filling
This Blueberry French Toast Casserole recipe is one of my favorite brunch recipes! It’s baked to golden brown with juicy blueberries and a lemon cheesecake filling, then topped with fresh blueberry syrup.
Looking for the perfect Blueberry French Toast Casserole for Mother’s Day, Christmas morning or any special occasion? This is it! I like to prep this sweet breakfast casserole on a Saturday night and throw it in the oven to Sunday morning while I get ready for the day.
I have to admit, I struggled with the right name for this recipe! It’s technically a stuffed French toast casserole recipe, because it’s stuffed with a lemon cheesecake filling (yum), baked and then drizzled with a homemade blueberry sauce!
Both the cream cheese filling and blueberry sauce are extra steps, so if you’re short on time, skip them! Just work with the torn bread, blueberries and egg custard. It’s still delicious, promise! When it’s baked, drizzle warm maple syrup or dust powdered sugar on the top of the casserole.
As an added bonus, I really love that baked French toast recipes are the best way to use up old bread! No waste in this house.
Substitutions
The best recipes are the ones that use what you have at home! Here are a few ingredient substitution ideas:
- Powdered Sugar: Use granulated white sugar or brown sugar instead.
- Half and half: For the milk mixture, you can use whole milk (lighter) or heavy cream (more decadent)
- Vanilla extract: Use almond extract instead.
- Maple syrup: Substitute honey or agave syrup. Either pure maple syrup or imitation syrup will work!
- French bread: Substitute sourdough bread, brioche bread, Italian bread or challah bread. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover bread. If you have homemade bread or regular white bread, use it!
- Blueberries: You can use frozen blueberries but make sure they are thawed and drained!
- Lemon: Don’t like lemon? Omit it. Or replace the lemon zest and lemon juice with orange zest and orange juice!
Looking for something you can make today? Try my Brioche Baked French Toast recipe.
Do I have to make this overnight?
Yes! One of the crucial aspects of this recipe is allowing the casserole to sit in the refrigerator overnight before baking it. This gives the stale bread a chance to soak up all of the yummy flavors in the egg mixture.
Why did my French toast casserole turn out soupy?
The most common cause of soupy overnight French toast is using frozen blueberries. You need to thaw and thoroughly drain them on paper towels before you add them to the baking dish. Otherwise, they will leak liquid into the casserole, making it runny.
Check out the other breakfast recipes on Blackberry Babe.
Serving Suggestions:
This overnight breakfast casserole is best served warm. I like to serve it with egg casserole, my favorite fruit and candied bacon.
Storing Leftover French Toast Bake:
Once the French toast casserole has completely cooled, wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap, or transfer individual slices to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for 3 months.
To reheat, allow the casserole to thaw in the refrigerator, then cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
Can I make this ahead of time and freeze it?
Yes, you can!
Assemble the overnight French toast, cover it in a double layer of plastic wrap, and store it in the freezer before baking. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to bake it, allow the unbaked casserole to completely thaw before baking. If this is your plan, you may want to omit the cheesecake filling, as it gets a bit watery when frozen.
Serving Suggestions
This sweet breakfast casserole is perfect for breakfast or brunch! Serve on Mother’s Day or for any special occasion.
If you’re looking for some dishes to compliment your Blueberry French Toast Casserole, I recommend my Easy Million Dollar Bacon, Sausage Egg Casserole with Tator Tots (No Bread) and this beautiful Breakfast Charcuterie Board!
Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Lemon Cheesecake Filling
This Blueberry French Toast Casserole recipe is one of my favorite brunch recipes! It's baked to golden brown with juicy blueberries and a lemon cheesecake filling, then topped with fresh blueberry syrup!
Ingredients
For the lemon cheesecake filling:
- 16 ounces block cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the casserole:
- 12 eggs
- 2 cups half and half
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 large loaf French bread, preferably a bit stale, torn into 1–2-inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
For the easy blueberry sauce:
- 2 cups blueberries (frozen is okay, but they should be thawed)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For garnish (optional)
- Fresh blueberries or lemon wedges
Instructions
- First, grease a 9x13'' casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Next, make the cheesecake filling. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside. Don't like lemon flavor? Just omit the zest and juice!
- Next, make the egg custard that will soak the bread pieces. In a large bowl, make the eggs, half and half, vanilla extract and maple syrup. Whisk vigorously until combined.
- Layer ½ of the torn bread pieces and ½ of the blueberries into the prepared casserole dish.
- Add the cheesecake filling and spread into an even layer using a spatula.
- Top with the remaining bread chunks and blueberries.
- Pour the egg custard over the top of the casserole. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
The next morning:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the plastic wrap and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Add casserole to oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the aluminum foil, and bake the casserole for 25-30 additional minutes, until the top of the casserole is golden brown and the egg custard is set.
- While the casserole is baking, make the blueberry syrup. Place blueberries, honey, sugar and cornstarch into a saucepan. Cook over medium hit until the blueberries start to break down and release juice, about 10 minutes. Once the mixture starts to simmer, it is done.
- Serve casserole warm, topped with blueberry syrup.
Notes
You can absolutely drizzle the casserole with maple syrup instead of the homemade blueberry syrup if you want to save a step!
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 440Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 238mgSodium 249mgCarbohydrates 51gFiber 1gSugar 43gProtein 11g
The nutrition for this recipe is calculated by an app and may be incorrect.
