Description
A delicious Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole combining toasted brioche, sweet cream cheese custard, and fresh blueberries, perfect for a make-ahead breakfast or brunch crowd-pleaser. It's easy to prepare, can be assembled the night before, and baked to a golden, custardy perfection with a choice of various syrups for serving.
Ingredients
Scale
Casserole
- 1 loaf (16 ounces) brioche or challah, sliced into 1-inch cubes
- 2 6 oz. half pints blueberries (12 ounces total)
Custard
- 2 8 ounce blocks cream cheese, softened (16 ounces total)
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups half and half, 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 the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the cubed bread 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 inside. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Set aside.
- Prepare custard: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar with a hand mixer until smooth. Beat in the eggs until fully incorporated and smooth. Then add the half and half, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt, mixing until combined.
- Assemble casserole: Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Spread half of the toasted bread cubes evenly in the dish and top with half of the blueberries. Pour half of the custard mixture over the top. Repeat layers with remaining bread, berries, and custard. Press gently with a spatula or your hands to submerge most of the bread in the custard, leaving some tops exposed. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- Bake casserole: Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in 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.
- Serve: Serve the casserole warm topped with blueberry sauce, maple syrup, berry syrup, or strawberry syrup as desired.
Notes
- If using sliced brioche from the bread section rather than bakery, the slices may be thinner but this works fine.
- Use frozen blueberries without thawing, just brush off excess ice.
- Ensure cream cheese, eggs, and half and half are at room temperature for smooth custard; warm water bath works for eggs, microwave for half and half.
- To make a half batch, bake in an 8×8 inch pan for about 30-35 minutes.
- To bake immediately without overnight rest, skip toasting bread. Mix bread cubes and custard together in a bowl to saturate, then let sit 30-60 minutes at room temperature or longer refrigerated before layering and baking.
- Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and reheat in microwave or oven.
- Freeze baked casserole wrapped tightly in 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: 200 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
