Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

This was such a great weekend for us! We had our really good friends come in town for a visit. Whenever they come in to town, I know that it is going to be a weekend full of really late nights, movies and girl talk, while the guys play some Call of Duty.  Good times! This is why I LOVE overnight breakfasts!  We don’t have to go out for breakfast and can just sleep late and enjoy each others company while enjoying delicious breakfast together at home.  Everyone was so impressed and it was so simple and easy to prepare!

If you have not experienced an overnight breakfast casserole, this is the one to try! I was able to throw it together before we went to bed, and pull it out in the morning and have a delicious breakfast ready for all of us! I sure do love my peaches and cream french toast but I think this one became my new favorite! It is heavenly with the blueberry topping and the bits of cream cheese throughout. Serve it up with some real whipped cream and you are sure to have a crowd pleaser!

Blueberry French Toast Ingredients:

French Toast:

• Texas Toast or French Bread: Cut into 1 inch cubes, a day old bread is best for this so that your toast isn’t too soft.
• Cream cheese:Cut into 1 inch cubes.
• Blueberries:I used 1/2 fresh and 1/2 canned
• Milk: Use any type you prefer, almond or soy would work fine as well.
• Eggs: Beaten with milk, vanilla, and syrup to bind ingredients together.
• Vanilla extract: You get what you pay for with vanilla. Spending a little more to get a high-quality vanilla to keep on hand will result in more depth of flavor in your dishes. The vanilla not only gives its on flavor but also enhances all the other flavors.
• Maple syrup: Keep in mind there is a difference between pure maple syrup and pancake syrup. Pure maple syrup is made with one ingredient -tree sap- that has been boiled down to a thicker consistency.  Pancake syrup on the other hand is made with mostly corn syrup and artificial maple extract.  For best results use pure maple syrup.

Topping:

• White sugar: Add to water and corn starch for sauce.
• Cornstarch: Used to thicken the sauce.
• Water: The water and sugar together with the cornstarch will make the perfect glaze for the French toast!
• Blueberries: I used canned, swap out for other fruit or thawed frozen fruit if you prefer.
• Salted butter: This will give the glaze a little salty and buttery flavor.

Prepare Overnight French Toast:

1. Prepare baking dish: Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish and place half of the bread cubes in the bottom.
2. Layer ingredients: Place cream cheese cubes and spread 1 cup blueberries with the remaining bread cubes on top.
3. Mix liquid ingredients: In large bowl mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and syrup. Pour evenly over the top of the bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Baking the French Toast:

1. Remove from the refrigerator: Take out of refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bake: Cover the mixture with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil from the top and cook for another 25-30 minutes until center is firm.
3. Begin making the glaze: For topping, in medium saucepan mix the cornstarch, sugar, and water and bring to a boil. Cook mixture for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Add blueberries: Mix in remaining cup of blueberries. If you use canned blueberries just let it simmer for a few minutes. If you use fresh blueberries simmer for about 10 minutes until they burst.
5. Add butter: Stir in the butter and pour over the french toast. Enjoy!!

Variations of French Toast:

• Can you use frozen blueberries instead of fresh? Maybe.  Many people have asked if you can use frozen blueberries for this recipe. I don’t really know how to answer that since I have never tried it. My hunch is that frozen blueberries might have a bit too much moisture in them… but I’d be okay with trying it if the blueberries didn’t have big ice crystals attached to them or anything. Let me know if you try using frozen!
• Do you have to refrigerate overnight? Yes! It’s covered and refrigerated overnight to let the bread soak up all of that eggy mixture. This is an important step. I like to place a heavy book on top of the plastic wrap- covered casserole so it really gets that bread all down in there in the liquid. You need an overnight soak to really let that egg mixture soak into all of that bread!
• Make it your own: Mix in your favorite fruit or whatever fruit is in season to make this breakfast unique to you.  For example, add chopped fresh peaches for a peach and blueberry overnight french toast!

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Overnight Blueberry French Toast

5 from 2 votes

By: Alyssa Rivers

Warm, fruity, soft bites of breakfast perfection is what you get when you make this overnight blueberry french toast!  I love going to bed knowing that when I wake up I will have breakfast ready to pop in the oven and enjoy!  What a great way to start the day!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Refrigerate Overnight: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 Slices

Ingredients 

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French Toast

• ▢ 12 slices day old Texas toast, cut into 1-inch cubes (or 1 loaf of French bread)
• ▢ 2 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
• ▢ 1 cup blueberries, fresh or canned
• ▢ 2 cups milk
• ▢ 12 eggs, beaten
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ⅓ cup maple syrup

Topping

• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 1 cup blueberries, fresh or canned
• ▢ 1 tablespoon salted butter

Instructions 

French Toast

• Spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place half of the bread pieces in the bottom of the prepared dish.
• Evenly distribute the cream cheese cubes on top of the bread, sprinkle on 1 cup of blueberries, and top with the remaining bread pieces.
• In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and maple syrup. Pour evenly over the French toast. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• The next morning, remove the French toast from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook an additional 25-30 minutes until the center has set.

Topping

• For the topping, in a medium saucepan, mix the cornstarch, sugar, and water. Heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Mix in the remaining cup of blueberries. If you use canned blueberries just let it simmer for a few minutes. If you use fresh blueberries simmer for about 10 minutes until they burst.
• Stir in the butter and pour the blueberry topping over the French toast.

Video

Notes

Updated on

Originally Posted on December 31, 2012

Nutrition

Calories: 346kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 10gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 170mgSodium: 301mgPotassium: 154mgFiber: 2gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 346IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, French

Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!