Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Vanilla Glaze
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No need to slave away over the stove flipping French toast. Serve everyone at once with this easy and DELICIOUS Blueberry French Toast Casserole. Prep this fabulous make-ahead breakfast casserole ahead and store in the fridge or freezer for busy mornings or even for Christmas Breakfast.
Ingredients
I love the simplicity of the ingredients. You likely have all of them in your pantry and fridge already!
For French Toast:
- Stale loaf of sourdough bread (or whatever bread you have on hand)
- Eggs
- Milk
- Butter
- Maple syrup – No fake stuff!
- Vanilla extract (here is how to make homemade vanilla extract!)
- Fresh or frozen blueberries
For Vanilla Glaze: (optional)
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Make the Egg Mixture
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Assemble & Refrigerate the Casserole
Spray an 8×8-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Add the bread and 1 cup of the blueberries (reserve 1/2 cup). Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread and blueberries and toss to make sure every piece of bread is moist. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries on top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours, if not freezing.
Bake It!
Preheat the oven to 350°F, while the casserole sits on the counter to warm slightly. Bake, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown on top and set in the middle. (If it’s browning too much on top, tent the casserole with foil.) Let the casserole cool for about 10 minutes.
Make a Vanilla Glaze (Optional)
While the casserole cools, stir together the milk, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until a thin, white glaze forms.
Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the casserole (you don’t have to use all of it).
Side Dish Ideas
Here are some serving suggestions for a baked french toast recipe. Serve warm alongside other brunch or breakfast favorites like…
How to Freeze a French Toast Casserole
One of the beauties of this recipe is it can be made ahead of time. It’s a perfect recipe to serve to groups of people since you can assemble it the night before and just pop it in the oven the morning you want to cook it.
Freeze For Later: Assemble the recipe as directed but don’t bake it. Tightly wrap the dish in a few layers of plastic wrap or foil (or a tight-fitting lid), fill out and tape on the freezer label, and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: Note: You will need to have the ingredients to make the Vanilla Glaze on hand. Thaw completely using one of these safe thawing methods. Bake as instructed!
Substitutions and Variations
You can also mix this recipe up in a variety of ways. Here are some ideas:
- If you want to skip the Vanilla Glaze, just serve with real maple syrup on the side instead.
- Swap raspberries or chopped-up strawberries for the blueberries.
- Add some toasted sliced almonds to the top for a little crunch.
FAQs
If you don’t have stale bread on hand, preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut your favorite bread into cubes and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring at least once, until toasted. Let the bread cool before using.
Brioche, French bread, Challah, and crusty sourdough are excellent choices.
Avoid soft, pre-sliced sandwich bread. It can get soggy in a casserole.
French toast casserole keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, or in a 325°F oven until warmed through.
More Blueberry Recipes You’ll Love
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Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Vanilla Glaze
No need to slave away over the stove flipping French toast. What’s even better is this is a fabulous make-ahead breakfast casserole. Keep it in the fridge or pop it in the freezer for an easy breakfast on a busy morning.
Ingredients
For French Toast:
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup milk (your choice)
- 1/4 cup melted salted butter (DF option: Use ghee or melted coconut oil.)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, plus more (optional) for serving
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Cooking spray
- 1 (10-ounce) loaf of sourdough bread* (GF option: Use gluten-free bread.)
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen** blueberries
For Vanilla Glaze: (optional)
- 1 tablespoon milk (your choice)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Make It Now:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla.
- Spray an 8×8-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Add the bread and 1 cup of blueberries (reserve 1/2 cup). Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread and blueberries and toss to make sure every piece of bread is moist. Spread the remaining ½ cup of blueberries on top. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours, if not freezing.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, while the casserole sits on the counter to warm slightly. Bake, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown on top and set in the middle. (If it’s browning too much on top, tent the casserole with foil.)
- Make the Vanilla Glaze. In a small bowl, stir together the milk, vanilla, and salt. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until a thin, white glaze forms.
- Let the casserole cool for about 10 minutes. Then, use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the casserole (you don’t have to use all of it). Serve warm, with more maple syrup, if desired.
Freeze For Later: Follow Steps 1-2, tightly wrap the casserole in plastic wrap or foil, and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: Note: You will need to have the ingredients to make the Vanilla Glaze on hand. Thaw completely. Follow Steps 4-6.
Notes/Tips
*If you don’t have stale bread on hand, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place your bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring at least once, until toasted. Let the bread cool before using.
**If using frozen blueberries, add them to the casserole while still frozen (do not thaw first). This helps prevent the berries from coloring the casserole too much.
If you want to double this recipe, make it in a 9×13 pan and bake for a bit longer, until set in the middle and golden brown on top.
I made this on Christmas! It was amazing! The whole family loved it!
Yay! Thanks for letting us know Samantha.
Thriving Home! Oh. My. Goodness. This casserole lives up to all the hype! It is amazingly delicious….even with GF bread! I meant to snap a pic after I got it out of the oven and iced. By the time I remembered, it was gobbled up! My husband was so thrilled and surprised that is was GF. Thank you!!!!
What a wonderful review Laura! So glad it lived up to the hype and you found a winner for your family. Thank you for leaving a review.
Delicious, easy and great to freeze for later or travel with
Glad you like it Penny and have taken it on the road!
Made this at home first. Everyone loved it! Now I make it and freeze it ahead of time to take camping. Love this recipe. So easy!
I’m glad you’ve found a good make-ahead meal for camping! Thanks for taking time to leave a review Rachel.
The second time I made it, I actually mixed every thing together in a large bowl, then spooned the bread in individual serving size dishes, poured the remaining egg mixture into the bowls along with the blueberries, then froze them. It worked out great! Will be making another batch this week!
Love this idea. Thanks for sharing Natalie!
My son really enjoyed this the first time I made it about 2 weeks ago. Getting ready to make more now!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Awesome to hear that, Natalie! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review.
I don’t like regular french toast but love this
Always fun to hear when someone generally doesn’t like something, like french toast, but then enjoys our twist on it! Thank you for leaving a review Jackie.
So yummy and easy to make! Was great for a Saturday morning with the family!
Yay… yummy AND easy are words we love to hear together. Thanks Tricia!
This recipe was SO delicious! I made an extra batch to give as a gift to new parents – freezer meal. I did add cinnamon to the egg mixture based off other comments – turned out great!
Awesome Stephanie! What a blessing to have friends like you who gift meals to others.
Excelente variante del pan francés tradicional. Gracias!
Thank you Karla!
One of our favorites. Makes a wonderful breakfast for dinner.
Yes! This is one of my favorites… it’s so easy to make more than one pan and freeze with hardly any extra time. I love giving them to moms with new babies. Thanks for the review Kristia!
Deliciosas!!!
Thanks so much!
Hi there! This looks delicious and I’m looking to make it for my friend who just had a baby. It looks like I can prepared ahead and freeze it. Would I then make the glaze and give both the casserole and the glazed to her to bake on her own? Just trying to figure out the best way to gift it so that it tastes fresh! Thanks so much.
This would make a great meal for new parents. How thoughtful! I think you could make the glaze and freeze it in a small baggie. Then, they would just thaw with the casserole, bake the casserole, and then snip the corner of the baggie and spread it on top at the very end.
Thank you SO much for responding and that feedback!! Sounds like a plan. 😀 <3
This is tasty! I like to lean on the early side of bake times and checked at 35 minutes and it was already done. I added frozen berries just before baking so they wouldn’t thaw in the fridge overnight and bleed. I added cinnamon and it was a great addition.
Great tips, Stephani. I’m sure glad you liked it! Thanks for the review. Appreciate it!
If freezing, do I let it thaw before baking or bake it frozen? If baking frozen, how long do I bake it for?
Sorry! I see it saws thaw completely, totally missed it. Can’t wait to eat 😀
No worries. Let us know if you have any other questions!
How long can you freeze this for?
If you wrap it tightly with several layers of plastic wrap and/or foil, squeeze out as much air as possible, and stick it in the back of your freezer, I’d say it’s good for 3-6 months. But, as long as it’s stayed completely frozen, it’s safe to eat indefinitely according to the USDA!
So good! I made this for a birthday breakfast brunch for a work colleague and it was so yummy. I did add cinnamon because I love cinnamon, and it was great even without the glaze. There were no leftovers!!
Great idea to add cinnamon. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Linda!