Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake without any overnight chilling is the perfect cross between a french toast bake and blueberry cream cheese danish.
French Toast Bake doesn’t have to be intimidating or made a day ahead of time. Like our favorite Classic Easy French Toast Bake, this is ready in no time at all!
Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake
We love the classic variety for it’s ease and delicious crunchy brown sugar topping, but this blueberry cream cheese variety is as deliciously creamy and full of blueberry flavor as it is crispy like the original version.
We like to make this french toast bake (some call it a french toast casserole) for most holidays. This specific one is our go to for all spring brunches including the all important Easter brunch.
There’s a lot of recipes out there for make ahead casseroles or make ahead french toast with an overnight soaking time. But this is altogether different with a soft middle but a crunchy crispy topping.
Don’t forget to serve it with some delicious maple syrup! OR…
This is how we make it every Easter morning with a Lemon Glaze:
- Mix confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) with just a couple tablespoons of milk to make a thick icing.
- Add some lemon juice and zest to it to thin it to a maple syrup consistency.
Make Ahead Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake:
- Cube the bread and leave it out overnight uncovered.
- Mix the egg custard ingredients and keep covered in the refrigerator.
- You can certainly prewash the blueberries and cut the cream cheese ahead of time.
- The brown sugar topping can be made and kept covered in the refrigerator.
- In the morning turn on the oven, toss the bread with the egg mixture, layer and cook as directed in in the recipe card.
Looking for more breakfast options for a crowd?
What to serve with this french toast casserole:
Oven baked bacon or sausage are easy side dish options along with bowls of fresh fruit.
Tools Used in the Making of this Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake:
9×13 Baking Pan: The perfect baking pan, it has high sides and bakes evenly. Plus when you cut into it you get picture perfect squares.
Maple Syrup: Love serving this with real maple syrup. I keep this brand and Trader Joe’s brand (buy that in store, it is 1/3 the price) on hand at all times if I can.
Nutmeg: The only way I use Nutmeg is with whole nuts. The flavor is completely different than the pre-ground variety and adds another dimension to baked goods. You can also buy these in bulk from your local grocer (I like Sprouts whole Nutmeg) or from Penzey’s online. Then you can grate the nutmeg with a handheld grater.
Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake
Ingredients
FRENCH TOAST BAKE
- 1 loaf French bread (I also routinely use a loaf of Texas Toast)
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (half and half would work too)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 8 ounces cream cheese cut into 16 pieces
- 1 pint blueberries washed and dried
BROWN SUGAR TOPPING
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold and cut into small squares
Instructions
FRENCH TOAST BAKE:
- Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Chop the bread into 3/4 – 1 inch cubes and put it in the bowl with the egg mixture and toss well until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Pour half of the bread and egg mixture into the pan, top with half of the cream cheese and blueberries.
- Pour over the remaining bread mixture then top with remaining cream cheese and blueberries.
BROWN SUGAR TOPPING:
- In a small bowl or a food processor add the flour, remaining brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt and mix.
Cut in the butter with a fork or pulse in the food processor for 5-10 seconds or until the butter and brown sugar mixture is crumbly.
Cover evenly with the brown sugar-butter topping and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is crispy and the center is no longer wet.
I made it for our family Christmas breakfast with side serving of fresh fruits, and it was a big hit with everyone. They all said it was the best French toast they have ever tasted. I didn’t have any milk, so I substituted with oat milk. I had leftover cream cheese frosting, so I omitted the granulated sugar, and spread it on top of the layers. The sweetness was just right. This is definitely a keeper!
I’m glad everyone enjoy it!
A….Amazing!!!! I make it everyThanksgiving morning.
Glad to know it’s such a hit in your house.
Dinner, Dessert & Delicious! Mine was more of a bread pudding/cake because I soaked the bread for a while. I used blackberries instead of blue, added half again the amount of cinnamon and not quite a whole loaf of Dave’s White Bread. It was a little moist even after cooking much longer than called for. I also didn’t have heavy cream so I found the substitution of 1/4 cup melted butter, 3/4 cup of milk and if low fat (which it was) to add a Tbsp. flour. I used half of that. Next time I think I will blend the cream cheese and do more of a spread so there is a layer throughout rather than squares.
Sounds divine!
This recipe is a flavor explosion of goodness..right down to the lemon glaze I sparingly added!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I’m going to make this recipe for the first time on Easter. Question – French bread loaves can vary so much by size, approximately how many cups of bread cubes should I use?
I use a 16 ounce loaf, I’d guess you’ll have between 7-8 cups of bread.
OMG, this was amazing! I was looking for something that would remind me of the cream cheese stuffed blueberry french toast that we had at a B&B one vacation. This far exceeded that memory! I didn’t make the sugar topping to put on it and it was still incredible!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed it.
I’d actually like it better if the cream cheese was creamed into the recipe rather than chunks.
Will this work with frozen blueberries?
Yes, but I would toss them in flour before adding them and you may need to add an additional 5 minutes or so to the bake time since it’ll lower the temperature of the dish. Hope this helps!
Perfect addition and quick throw together for an impromptu holiday birthday brunch. I’m making this for all my clients fridges for Christmas morning! Awesome recipe!
How awesome! Thanks for letting me know.
Do I use self rising flour or all purpose flour?
All-purpose.