Growing up, French toast was one of my absolute favorite breakfasts. My dad used to make the BEST French toast.
His secret? Extra vanilla.
I always liked my French toast with a little crispy edge and lots of maple syrup on top. I’ll take French toast over pancakes any day, though I’m realizing most people don’t agree!
So whenever there’s a special breakfast or brunch, I always make something French toast inspired.
This Lemon Blueberry French Toast Casserole is so simple and easy to make, and can be done the night before you plan on serving it. It’s absolutely perfect for Mother’s Day because of that! And I find it holds up well after baking for at least a few hours too.
The texture is really a cross between French toast and bread pudding. The exterior has a slight crunch, but the inside is ultra rich, soft, and almost like custard.
My absolute favorite bread to use for this recipe is day old Challah. It’s rich and soaks up all of the eggy goodness. If you can’t find Challah you can also use a good French or Italian loaf. OR, you can use my favorite Challah recipe with step-by-step video to make your own!
The blueberry topping on top is definitely worth the extra effort. It can be made, cooled, covered, and refrigerated for a few days. Just rewarm when ready to serve!
If you make this Lemon Blueberry French Toast recipe, be sure to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram and use #handletheheat so I can see!
For the French toast::
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1
loaf (about 13 ounces) Challah, French, or Italian bread cut into cubes
-
6
large eggs
-
1
cup
blueberries
-
2
cups
milk (any kind)
-
1/4
cup
granulated sugar
-
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
-
1
teaspoon
vanilla extract
For the sauce::
-
1
cup
granulated sugar
-
2
tablespoons
cornstarch
-
1/4
cup
fresh lemon juice
-
1 1/2
cups
blueberries
Make the French toast:
-
Grease a 13-by-9-inch or similarly sized baking pan.
-
Place the bread cubes in the prepared pan. In a large bowl whisk together all the remaining ingredients until very well combined. Pour half of the egg-milk mixture over the bread and stir to moisten.
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Top with the remaining egg-milk mixture to cover completely. Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
Make the sauce:
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While the French toast is baking, combine the sugar, cornstarch, 3/4 cup water, and the lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil or medium heat. Add the blueberries and continue to boil, stirring often, until the syrup thickens and the blueberries begin to burst. Keep warm until ready to use.
Photos by Constance Higley.
Hi Tessa,
Love your new design! And also love this recipe. Anything with bread is good, will keep this for a weekend.
I’m still on a diet but screw that! How can I not make this?!? I’m totally with you when it comes to French toast over pancakes, let the haters hate! I need to go buy the blueberries asap
Haha! 🙂
This was delicious!!!!! Tessa you are quite something! I’m ready to eat it again!! I strongly recommend this dish to all!!!
Can I use frozen blueberries for the sauce?
Ohmigosh! This turned out so well! Divine. I doubled the recipe and made this in a 10 x 15 casserole dish. I also made double the sauce which really wasn’t necessary. Both were just so delicious and a huge hit at my Mother’s Day brunch. I used fresh blueberries for the casserole and frozen blueberries for the sauce. Huge organic blueberries in both cases. Worked great. Thank you!
Wonderful!! So happy to hear that. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Not bad, had good flavour and it strue that its a cross between bread pudding and french toast. I would omit the syrup as it was really sweet with good flavor.
I am totally missing something…..
Place the bread cubes in the prepared pan. In a…… Pour half of the egg-milk mixture over the bread.
Top with the remaining egg-milk mixture to cover completely. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
What do I do between the two halves of egg milk mixture?
Hi Tessa!
Your Lemmon Blueberry French Toast sound heavenly and would be a perfect accompaniment for my Easter brunch. I’m a little confused though as to if I should keep it covered when it goes in the oven or do I uncover to bake it?
I, too, was wondering why the egg/milk mixture is added in two steps – should I stir before adding the second half? Like another commenter, was also wondering if I need to cover the dish when baking. Thanks!
Terrific recipe, worth making – we had it for brinner!
For anyone questioning covering the dish or not, the recipe clearly states that the dish is covered before refrigeration and baked uncovered. Really not trying to be snarky, but bloggers can’t answer every question about things that are already clearly stated in the recipe:
“Top with the remaining egg-milk mixture to cover completely. Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, or until golden brown.”
Tessa,
Wondering why you don’t respond to viewer’s questions, yet you’ll respond to viewer’s who only have a comment? This isn’t the first time this has happened on here. It’s very disappointing as well as discouraging. I’ve ended up going to other sites to find recipes just because they are easier to understand. At the very least, the blogger will answer any and all questions, no matter how stupid they may think they are! Just a little food for thought! Have a nice day!☺
I am with you – french toast is so much better than pancakes (my opinion). This is such a great recipe and I appreciate the video to make my own challah. What a wonderful plus! Thank you for all your great recipes and your wonderful instruction videos.