In this super easy Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole With Challah Bread, slices of challah bread French toast are filled with pockets of blueberry jam. Fresh blueberries are added right at the end so that the blueberries warm through and burst right in your mouth.
This blueberry french toast casserole is crispy and golden on top, soft and decadent in the middle, and yet not overly sweet. It’s a great way to make a weekend or special occasion breakfast with minimal work or morning distractions.
If you have extra blueberries on hand, these Lemon Poppyseed Blueberry Muffins and this Blueberry Ricotta Toast are both great for brunch and can be made ahead and frozen. Or for a lemon, blueberry dessert try these Lemon Blueberry Cookies.
Jump to:
- ☀️ Making it Ahead
- 🫐 Fresh Blueberries
- 🍞 Challah Bread
- 🛒 Ingredients
- 📝 How to Make Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole With Challah Bread
- 🍴 How To Serve, Store, Reheat
- ✏️ Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole FAQ
- If You're Looking For More Breakfast Recipes, You May Love These
- Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole With Challah Bread
☀️ Making it Ahead
The best thing about an overnight dish is that, unlike Classic Challah Bread French Toast, it can be prepared ahead of time. This Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole takes the craziness out of a busy morning. It allows you to have the time and space to have a calmer morning and still have a special breakfast. All without having to run around the kitchen trying to put it together when you’d rather be spending time with your family.
Prep the slices of challah bread by creating pockets with blueberry jam, soaking them in an egg and milk mixture, and allowing the casserole to sit overnight. It’s pretty simple to throw together.
🫐 Fresh Blueberries
The trick to getting the brightest juiciest blueberry flavor is to add the fresh blueberries at the end – 10 minutes before the casserole is done!
If you add them earlier, they will get overcooked and dried out. They really only need a short time in the oven to get extra sweet and juicy. That way when you eat the blueberries they will burst in your mouth – super satisfying! I coat them in a little bit of cinnamon sugar, but you could reduce the sugar from 1 tablespoon to ½ tablespoon or even skip the sugar all together. I use a similar technique in my recipe for a Dutch Baby with Cinnamon Sugar Blueberries.
🍞 Challah Bread
Challah bread comes in all different sizes and prices. Depending on where you get a loaf, it can be pretty pricey or pretty reasonable. The most expensive ones I’ve seen are at Whole Foods, and they are middle of the range when it comes to size. I’ve seen loaves of challah bread at some, but not all Trader Joe’s across the country, where they tend to be cheaper, but smaller.
My preference is either at a local bakery or a regional grocery store near us in New England where a loaf is twice the size of the ones at Whole Foods and half the cost. Though its a bit of a drive for us, so sometimes we’ll pay the extra money for one at Whole Foods (which is super close to us).
The amount of bread that you’ll use will really just depend on the size of the loaf. Some loaves are longer or fatter than others. You may have 10 slices that are 1-inch thick but with a small circumference, or six 1-inch slices that are quite large in circumference. This recipe feeds 4-6 people with about 8 medium slices. If you have a larger loaf, double the milk-egg mixture and use a larger rectangular casserole dish.
🛒 Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make this Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Challah Bread.
- Butter: For buttering the dish.
- Eggs: Use large eggs, pasture-raised if possible.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk is preferred, but you can use 1% or 2% in a pinch.
- Vanilla Extract: Use real vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla. If you don't have it on hand you can omit it.
- Maple Syrup: Use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
- Salt: For balancing flavor.
- Challah Bread: Challah bread is a denser, thicker bread than brioche. The two are not easily substituted for each other. The brioche does not hold up as well given the amount of milk and eggs in this recipe. If substituting challah bread for brioche, reduce the amount of milk and eggs by a third, and only dip the brioche in the mixture. Do not let it sit for the 1-2 minutes called for in the recipe.
- Blueberry Jam: This is for filling each of the challah bread slices, but it is completely optional and can be left out, especially if you prefer it to be less sweet.
- Blueberries: These are coated in cinnamon sugar and warmed through for blueberries that burst in your mouth when eaten.
- Granulated Sugar and Cinnamon: For coating the fresh blueberries. If you prefer a dish that is less sweet, you can skip this.
- Powdered Sugar (optional): Adds a festive touch, but this is optional.
- Whipped Cream (optional): Feel free to add whipped cream for a little extra decadence.
📝 How to Make Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole With Challah Bread
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Overnight French Toast Casserole with Challah Bread.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Prepare the Baking Dish: Butter a 9x9 square ceramic baking dish.
Step 2. Make the Egg Mixture: In a large flat rectangular dish combine the milk, eggs, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and salt.
Step 3. Prepare the Challah Bread: Cut the challah bread into 1-inch slices. For each 1-inch slice, cut a slit down the middle. It should resemble a brioche hot dog bun. Fill the middle with a spoonful of blueberry jam.
Tip: Filling the slices with blueberry jam takes this dish over the top. However, it does make it extra sweet. So if you prefer a less sweet French toast casserole, skip this step. You will still be topping the casserole with fresh blueberries towards the end of the recipe for plenty of blueberry flavor.
Step 4. Soak the Bread: Place each blueberry jam-filled slice in the egg mixture. Let the slice soak for 1 minute, then flip and let it soak for 1 more minute on the other side. I recommend setting a timer.
Tip: If you're using brioche or any bread softer than challah bread (which is fairly soft to begin with), do not let it sit in the egg mixture. Only dip it in the egg mixture for 1 second, then place it in the casserole dish. If brioche sits in the egg mixture for 1 minute it will start to fall apart.
Step 5. Assemble the Casserole: Place the slices upright at a slight angle in the square baking dish. Pour any remaining egg mixture over the slices of bread in the baking dish.
Refrigerate the French toast casserole overnight.
Tip: While there are benefits to letting this sit overnight, you can bake it the same day if you're in a pinch. Keep on eye on the timing and pull it out before the bread gets too toasty on the top.
Letting it sit overnight does help the flavors to meld and the bread to soak longer, which will create a softer texture but it is not strictly necessary. Setting everything up the night before to place in the oven the morning of can also really help to streamline a morning.
Step 6: Prep the Blueberries: In a small bowl combine the ½ tablespoon granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Wash the blueberries, then toss them in the cinnamon and sugar.
Tip: Washing the blueberries helps the cinnamon sugar to stick to the blueberries.
Step 7. Bake: Preheat the oven to 350℉. Bake the Blueberry French Toast Casserole for 35 minutes. Remove it from the oven, pour the blueberries on top, then bake it for another 15 minutes. If the tops start to brown, cover the dish with aluminum foil.
Tip: Adding the blueberries 15 minutes before the casserole is done allows the blueberries to warm through, but not overbake and shrivel. They will become almost like jam and burst in your mouth.
🍴 How To Serve, Store, Reheat
- To Serve: Serve warm topped with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and whipped cream. Or just on its own, which is plenty sweet and delicious.
- To Store: Cover any leftovers in the dish in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- To Reheat: Bake at 350℉ for 10 minutes to warm through.
✏️ Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole FAQ
If you make this with any bread other than challah bread you'll have to adjust some of the quantities and timing. Some types of bread, like brioche, are much softer and do not hold up to the amount or soaking time of the egg-milk mixture.
Brioche will start to fall apart if soaked in the mixture for 1-2 minutes. If using brioche, reduce the egg-milk mixture by ⅓ and only dip it in the mixture, do not let it sit.
Yes, this is a great recipe to double. Double the egg-milk mixture and use a larger rectangular baking dish.
Yes, you can certainly make it with other berries or fruit. However, I would recommend not adding the berries or fruit directly to the casserole like the blueberries. Blueberries warm through and burst when bitten in to, but other fruit won't act exactly the same. You could sauté other berries or fruit, like apples, with a little sugar in a saucepan on the side and top the finished casserole with them.
If You're Looking For More Breakfast Recipes, You May Love These
If you tried this Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole With Challah Bread
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon butter
- 6 large eggs
- 1½ cups whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tbsps maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 loaf challah bread, about 8 slices
- 8 tbsps blueberry jam (½ cup)
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- powdered sugar optional
- whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Butter a 9x9 square casserole dish.
- Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, maple syrup, and salt in a separate large shallow baking dish.
- Slice the challah bread into pieces about 1 inch thick. Then cut a small slit in the top of each slice of challah bread so that it looks like a hot dog bun. Add 1 tablespoon of blueberry jam inside each slice of challah bread.
- Place each slice flat in the baking dish with the egg mixture. Flip over after 1 minute, and remove after 1 more minute. Then place in the prepared square baking dish standing upright and tilted slightly at an angle.
- Once all the bread has soaked in the mixture and been placed in the baking dish, pour the remaining egg yolk mixture over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Bake the French toast casserole for 35 minutes. In a small bowl combine the fresh blueberries, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Remove the casserole and add the blueberries on top.
- Bake for an additional 15 minutes until the top is golden brown. Cool slightly and top with powdered sugar and whipped cream (optional).
Notes
- Blueberry Jam: Filling the slices with blueberry jam takes this dish over the top. However, it does make it extra sweet. So if you prefer a less sweet French toast casserole, skip this step. You will still be topping the casserole with fresh blueberries towards the end of the recipe for plenty of blueberry flavor.
- Challah Bread vs. Brioche: If you're using brioche or any bread softer than challah bread (which is fairly soft to begin with), do not let it sit in the egg mixture. Only dip it in the egg mixture for 1 second, then place it in the casserole dish. If brioche sits in the egg mixture for 1 minute it will start to fall apart.
- Same Day vs. Overnight: While there are benefits to letting this sit overnight, you can bake it the same day if you're in a pinch. Keep on eye on the timing and pull it out before the bread gets too toasty on the top.
- Letting it sit overnight does help the flavors to meld and the bread to soak longer, which will create a softer texture but it is not strictly necessary. Setting everything up the night before to place in the oven the morning of can also really help to streamline a morning.
- Fresh Blueberries:
- Washing the blueberries helps the cinnamon sugar to stick to the blueberries.
- Adding the blueberries 15 minutes before the casserole is done allows the blueberries to warm through, but not overbake and shrivel. They will become almost like jam and burst in your mouth.
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