Plump juicy blueberries tangled amidst a blend of cream cheese and french toast morsels with hints of maple, cream, cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg, then smothered in a delectable blueberry sauce.
This make-ahead overnight blueberry french toast casserole style dish is perfect for breakfast casserole recipe for holiday mornings when you’d rather spend time with the family than in the kitchen!
How to Make Overnight Blueberry French Toast
Lightly butter a baking dish, and set it aside. Cut the cream cheese into slices and then into pea-sized bits. The trick to cutting them up small without them smooshing them is to ensure the cream cheese is super cold. First, I cut the cream cheese into thin slices and set it in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes. Then, take it out of the freezer and cut the slices again to create little itty bitty cubes.
Break, tear, or cut the bread into cubes. I prefer to use Italian bread for overnight French toast because it’s not chewy like french bread is. Arrange about half the bread pieces in the baking dish, and top with all of the bits of cream cheese. Sprinkle half of the blueberries over the cream cheese/bread layer and then top with remaining bread cubes.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, heavy cream, vanilla extract, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a hand or stand mixer until it is completely incorporated and smooth. Pour the entire mixture over the bread.
Cover the dish and place it in the refrigerator overnight. This gives it time to absorb all of the egg into the bread and really lets the flavors marry. I also recommend that you make your blueberry sauce the night before as well. It gives the flavors time to really meld together.
The next morning, take the casserole out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking, especially if you’re using a glass baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the overnight blueberry french toast casserole until the center is firm and surface is lightly browned, about 35 minutes.
Reheat the delicious blueberry sauce over low heat (or in the microwave) while the casserole is baking.
Overnight Blueberry French Toast
1/2 loaf Italian Bread, cut or torn into 1-inch cubes
6 oz cream cheese
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
6 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
- Lightly butter an 8.5″ x 11″ inch baking dish, set aside. Cut the cream cheese into slices and then into pea-sized bits.
- Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese bits.
- Sprinkle the blueberries over the layer, top with remaining bread cubes.
- In a large bowl, mix the eggs, heavy cream, vanilla extract, maple syrup, cinnamon & nutmeg using a hand or stand mixer until it is completely incorporated and well blended. Pour over the bread cubes.
- Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Blueberry Sauce Topping
You’ll Need:
2/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup of water
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon, dash nutmeg
- In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until mixture has thickened considerably.
- Add the blueberries, stirring gently, then reduce heat, and simmer 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in the butter, cool, refrigerate until morning.
- Remove the overnight blueberry french toast casserole from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the dish for approximately 35-40 minutes. The center should be firm and the surface lightly browned. While the french toast is baking, reheat the blueberry sauce over low heat (or in the microwave).
- Serve slices with a generous helping of blueberry sauce over the top.
Overnight Blueberry French Toast
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ loaf Italian Bread (cut or torn into 1-inch cubes)
- 6 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen )
- 6 Large eggs (beaten)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup of water
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Lightly butter baking dish, set aside.
- Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese bits.
- Sprinkle the blueberries over the layer, top with remaining bread cubes.
- In a large bowl, mix the eggs, heavy cream, vanilla extract, maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg until blended. Pour over the bread cubes.
- Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Blueberry Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, whisk to combine. Add water and turn heat to medium.
- Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until mixture has thickened considerably.
- Add the blueberries, stirring gently, then reduce heat, and simmer 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in the butter, cool, refrigerate until morning.
- Remove the overnight blueberry french toast casserole from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to baking while oven preheats to 350° F
- Bake 35-40 minutes, or until set and browned. Serve slices with a generous helping of warmed blueberry sauce over the top.
Equipment
Notes
Otherwise, the rapid change in temperature could cause the glass to shatter when you place it in the oven.
If you prefer not to wait, use a metal pan and add 5-10 minutes to the cooking time.
If you altered the ingedients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cooking/baking time.
Nutrition
Other Breakfast Casserole Recipes you may enjoy:
- Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole– this is a copycat recipe of the famous Cracker Barrel’s loaded hash brown casserole.
- Apple Cinnamon Roll Bubble Bake – loaded with bits of caramelized cinnamon apple
- Blueberry Croissant Puff Casserole
- Bacon Breakfast Casserole
- Crockpot Breakfast Casserole– perfect for Thanksgiving morn when the oven is being used for other things!
