Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe
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This blueberry french toast casserole recipe is a perfect breakfast for a special occasion or just a lovely brunch. It’s light and scrumptious while still being filling.
I mean, who doesn’t like french toast? And good breakfast casseroles are nothing to sneeze at either. Put them together, and it’s incredible stuff! Add to that some superpower berries (yes, I said superpower), and you’ve got yourself an amazing breakfast for a special occasion, or just a normal day of the week. Either way, you’re going to love this. And if you don’t think you can handle 12 servings, make it anyway. You can nosh on it all week and stick the leftovers in the freezer!
And don’t worry, if blueberries are out of season for you, frozen blueberries will work too! Of course, fresh berries are always best. But in a pinch, you can still have your blueberry french toast and eat it too!
Can You Make This Blueberry French Toast Casserole Ahead Of Time?
You can! And there are two ways.
- Prep now, bake later – You can easily prep this a day or two ahead of time by doing everything but actually baking it. (Just don’t prep more than 2 days ahead.) Then just bake it in the morning and serve as usual.
- Prep and bake now, serve later – You can fully make this entire recipe and keep it in the fridge for up to three days. However, you will want to time it so that you eat it no later than the third day. 3 days in the fridge is the limit on this one.
French Toast Casserole Variations
There are many variations for French toast casserole. Most of them revolve around fruit. But there are other options as well. Here are some ideas:
- Change the berries – Try strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries. Even cranberries will work here!
- Change the fruit completely – Try peaches, apples, or even mangos.
- Change the extracts – There are so many extracts available! Everything from mint (mint chocolate chip french toast, anyone?) to maple, almond, lemon, and orange. Get creative!
- Change the spices – While cinnamon is a standard spice in french toast, it doesn’t have to be. Try cardamom, nutmeg, or allspice.
What To Serve With Blueberry French Toast Casserole
This dish does pretty well on its own. But if you want to serve something with it, you could try:
- healthy bacon or sausage
- a side of scrambled eggs
- a separate bowl of fruit or fruit salad
- a smoothie
For garnish, try a pat of butter while the casserole is still hot, sprinkle some desiccated coconut over the top, or even sprinkle a bit of fresh lemon juice over the top, or enjoy this with a dollop of cream cheese or homemade blueberry sauce.
Recipe Extras
- Try sprinkling a bit of fresh lemon zest over this at serving.
- You can play around with the bread for different flavors. Try whole wheat sourdough bread or french bread for example. Some people enjoy using Challah, but I haven’t found one that’s made with whole wheat, so I’ve never tried it.
- One thing to remember is that this is best made with day-old bread. Don’t use fresh-baked bread for this. It won’t turn out as well.
Dietary Options
This is pretty adjustable to most dietary needs. Here’s how to make adjustments.
Dairy-Free
This recipe uses almond milk, or you can use any non-dairy milk you prefer.
Gluten-Free
Use good quality, gluten-free bread.
Egg-Free
While I haven’t tried these, you could use either a vegan egg substitute or try a flax egg.
Sugar-Free
While there are naturally occurring sugars in the recipe ingredients here, you do not have to add excess if you prefer not to. Simply omit the honey, and serve this with mashed bananas as a “sauce” to sweeten things up, or enjoy as is with just the blueberries for sweetness.
Low-Carb Or Keto
While this wouldn’t be considered “clean eating”, you could make a low-carb bread to use here, and then use a low-carb sweetener. Everything else would be perfectly fine on a low-carb eating plan.
Vegan
Use maple syrup instead of honey and use a vegan egg substitute or flax egg.
About The Ingredients
(Print recipe from recipe card below.)
Whole grain bread – Use a clean, whole grain bread with no added sugar. If you can find an unsliced loaf, that’s best. But in a pinch, a sliced loaf will work too. Your bread cubes will just be smaller.
Egg whites (or whole eggs) – Use egg whites to cut down on fat content, or whole eggs to cut down on sodium content.
Unsweetened almond milk – You can use regular dairy milk or other non-dairy milk as well. Use the milk you usually drink.
Honey – You can also use maple syrup, but the finished dish won’t taste as sweet.
Pure vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract, not vanilla flavoring. Vanilla extract is made with real ingredients while vanilla flavoring is made with synthetic ingredients.
Almond extract – Here again, use real extract. Not flavoring.
Ground cinnamon – Make sure there is no sugar mixed in. You just want cinnamon.
Blueberries – fresh or frozen. But if you use frozen, make sure there is no sugar added.
How To Make Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, almond milk, honey, extracts, and cinnamon. Whisk well.
Oil a baking dish (about 9 x 13), and fill it with the bread.
Mix in the blueberries., then pour the egg mixture over the bread and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes, mixing once or twice to be sure all parts of the bread are moistened.
Bake the casserole for about 45 minutes or until there is no longer any liquid between the bread. Cool a bit and serve.
Can You Freeze French Toast Casserole?
Absolutely! It freezes quite well! Make sure you pack it up in an air-tight, freezer-safe container though. If packaged properly, you can freeze french toast casserole for up to two months.
Can French Toast Soak Overnight?
Absolutely! This is an easy-prep breakfast you can make the night before. Let it soak overnight and bake it first thing in the morning!
Recipe Supplies
More Healthy French Toast Recipes
- Coconut French Toast
- French Toast Strips
- Apple French Toast Casserole
- Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole
- Eggnog French Toast Casserole
Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe Card + Video
Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe
CLICK TO WATCH THIS RECIPE IN ACTION!
Equipment
- Casserole pan
Ingredients
- 6 cups cubed, whole grain bread
- 8 large egg whites (or 4 whole eggs)
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup honey (or maple syrup, though it won’t be as sweet)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. almond extract
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen works too as do other berries)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, almond milk, honey, extracts and cinnamon. Whisk well.
- Oil a baking dish (about 9 x 13), and fill it with the bread.
- Mix in the blueberries., then pour the liquid mixture over the bread and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes, mixing once or twice to be sure all parts of the bread are moistened.
- Bake the casserole for about 45 minutes or until there is no longer any liquid between the bread. Cool a bit and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted 9/18/12.
Love your recipes! About to try this one..how do you think fresh raspberries will hold up? I’ve made a similar raspberry casserole that was soaked overnight first but I’m excited to find a clean version!
Kylee – I’m sure they will do just fine. Enjoy!
How could I incorporate cranberries instead of blueberries? I made jam over the holidays and I have extra cranberries that I am trying to use. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Melinda – I assume you mean fresh cranberries? If so, just mix them in instead of blueberries. They will, of course, be much more tart. But it would probably be a yummy twist on an already sweet dish.
After you freeze the leftovers, should you dethaw to reheat or how would you suggest serving the leftovers?
Tara – I would thaw a bit in the fridge, and then warm it in the oven.
Thank you!
Hey,
First of all, I love your website! It’s made my life easier for sure.
Secondly, can this casserole sit over night in the fridge before adding blueberries and baking? Also, would frozen blueberries be okay? I was considering making this for our Easter breakfast at church.
Tasha – Sure! It’s pretty versatile. Enjoy! 🙂
I want to make this for a group of people Easter Sunday for breakfast. Someone in the group has an allergy to nuts so I plan to use regular milk. What do you suggest in place of the almond extract?
Ashley – You could just use vanilla extract. Enjoy!
How much vanilla extract should I use?
Ashley – The same amount as the almond extract unless you prefer a stronger vanilla flavor.
Love this recipe. Did you work together in making clean eating cookbook? I think this recipe is in it.
Keeley – I’m not sure what you mean. This is my recipe. I created it. It’s not in a cookbook. Just here on my blog. Glad you like it though! 😀
Loved it, ate it for breakfast all last week!
Cleaneatingmagazine used it then :/
Keeley – Do you know which cookbook it was in?
What is the nutritional information for this?
Sarah – You would have to input that into an online calculator. MyFitnessPal.com makes it really easy.
Thank you Tiffany. I found this today on FB and made a few small adjustments on my Weight Watchers Recipe Builder. Cut into 12 portions it was 2 SmartPoints. My changes were to use sugar free whole grain bread and half the honey. House smelled wonderful and family loved it. ????
Erica – Fantastic!! I’m happy that worked so well! 😀
Would this also work for peaches??
Susan – I’m sure it would, although peaches may add a tiny bit more liquid.
This was amazing! We had left over baguette I didnt want to throw out. I thought why not look up a clean eating french toast casserole dish. I found this, sent it to my bf and he had it out on the stove when I got home from the gym 🙂 Just as good as leftovers too!
Christina – How wonderful!!! So happy you enjoyed it! 😀
What whole grain bread do u recommend
Joan – The best thing you can do is go to the store and read labels. For this particular one, I got a large, half loaf of whole wheat bread at Trader Joes. But here are more suggestions: https://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-bread/
Hi Tiffany! Just discovered your blog. I’ve been making blueberry french toast casserole for brunches and Christmas morning for years. We used to make it with fluffy white challah bread. These days I’m a health coach and our family eats whole grains and reduced sugar. Love this recipe! Going to try it this holiday. Thanks!!
Bita – Fabulous! Let me know how it turns out for you!
Hi. I need to make this a few days ahead for company. Should I make , bake, then freeze or make, freeze, thaw then bake?!
Thanks!
Cheryl – How many days is a few? I would make this the night before if you can. Let the break soak everything up overnight in the fridge, then bake the next day.
My fella’s asked me what I wanted for Mother’s Day breakfast, so I searched online and found your recipe! I made sure we had everything, only thing I bought were blueberries! 👍. Had everything else! I prepared it tonight so all they have to do is set it in the oven & bake it! ☺️
I will send a follow up!
Nikki – That’s wonderful! I hope you enjoy it. Happy Mother’s Day! 😀
This is so good! Great breakfast or snack! I used gluten free bread, hemp milk, and maple syrup to sweeten it. Easy to put together. Delish! Thank you! Ellen
Ellen – Yay!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the feedback!!