This blueberry French toast has a blueberry filling with chunks of cream cheese sprinkled throughout. It is a great brunch option and easy to make for the whole family to enjoy. Topped with additional blueberry sauce, maple syrup, and whipped cream will make this a brunch treat that isn’t soon forgotten.
There is something to be said about making baked French toast casseroles. I started wanting to play around with the flavors and wound up choosing blueberries and cream cheese. What makes this recipe fun is when you cut into it. There is a wonderful blueberry layer right in the middle of the casserole. With little chunks of cream cheese every bite will be a surprise. If you have some extra blueberries then go ahead and make some extra sauce instead of using maple syrup if you would like.
The lost bread
One of the coolest things I learned about French toast was that it would be referred to as pain perdu which means lost bread. It is bread that wasn’t eaten and is a day or more old. This was a way to use up any remaining bread that going stale. It started as a simple and practical way to make sure that food was not wasted. However now this humble dish is a quintessential breakfast/brunch menu item. It has been modified and changed over the years going from fried to now even baked.
Soaking the bread
It really is important to make sure that the bread has been given a chance to dry out a bit. If you use fresh bread it will not absorb all of the liquid and you will a pool of cooked eggs on the bottom. You will also find that the bread will disintegrate under the weight of the egg and milk mixture. The cream cheese will give additional richness to the liquid. You will want to use a blender to make sure that the cream cheese is blended well with the milk before adding the rest of the ingredients. Then pour over the bread gently toss to coat and let soak for at least 2 hours but up to overnight.
Making the blueberry sauce
It is great to make this while the French toast is soaking. The best part is that you just need to let the sugar do the work. Add the sugar, blueberries and lemon juice into a saucepan and let the cook on medium high heat until they release their juices. Once that has happened make sure you keep stirring so that nothing burns. Once the sauce has reduced by at least a third and has become thicker you will want to strain the solids out. I suggest you keep them and set the aside for later.
Assembling the blueberry French toast
One of the special parts about this recipe is the surprise layer of blueberry sauce in the middle with little chunks of cream cheese. You want to spread a layer of bread across the bottom of the baking dish, Then drizzle half of the sauce over the bread. If you kept the blueberry solids then place them in the layer as well. Then add half of the cream cheese chunks. Top with the remaining bread and cream cheese. Save the rest of the blueberry sauce until after the French toast is done baking. Top with your favorite toppings and the remaining blueberries.
Looking for additional brunch ideas?
Baked Cream Cheese and Blueberry French Toast
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Blender
- Mixing Bowl
- Fine mesh sieve
- 9 x 13 inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 pounds French bread day old, cut into 1 in cubes
- 7 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup cream cheese ½ softened, ½ cut into cubes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
Blueberry sauce
- 2 cups blueberry rinsed and picked over, fresh or fozen
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- In blender add half a cup of the cream cheese and the milk. Blend until smooth and then add the heavy cream, eggs, cinnamon, honey, salt, and vanilla. Blend on low until completely combined. Place the bread in a mixing bowl and then pour the egg mixture over the bread. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but can be left overnight.
- In a saucepan heat the sugar, 1 and 3/4 blueberries, and lemon juice over medium high heat. Stir until the blueberries breakdown and release their juices. Cook until the sauce has thickened. Using a fine mesh sieve to strain the solid parts from the sauce.
- Preheat oven to 350F, 177C, or gas mark 4.
- Pour half of the bread into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and spread out to a single layer. Top with half of the blueberry sauce and half of the cubed cream cheese. You can use the strained solids as well. Top with the remaining bread and cream cheese.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the top of the French toast is golden brown. Pour the remaining blueberry sauce over the top and sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top.
Nutrition
Your baked cream cheese and blueberry french toast recipe is perfect for our outdoor breakfast. It looks delicious!
Wow! This French toast casserole looks absolutely delicious! The combination of blueberry flavor and cream cheese is such an awesome idea! I totally loved it!
I made this the other morning for breakfast, and it was a hit! I didn’t even have any leftovers! Will definitely make this again!
Perfect for a Sunday brunch! I also think it could be a great dessert with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream on top.
This is a perfect brunch recipe and i cant wait to make it! I love all the flavors in this dish, it looks delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Made this over the weekend to eat for brunch! So good that we finished it all with none leftover.
Goodness this looks so beautiful and delicious! Such a perfect morning treat to make on weekends..I know my family will absolutely LOVE this!
I made this recipe yesterday and it came out amazing! It was so easy to prep and has great flavors 😉
This was pure decadence! I served this for Sunday brunch and no one said a word since they couldn’t stop eating this fantastic French Toast. And so easy! This will def be on my menu for holiday breakfasts.
This sounds like a great breakfast option! I love blueberry French toast but have never tried a baked version before!
This French toast bake is divine! We had some family over for brunch last weekend and made this — huge hit for everyone. I especially loved the extra decadent touch the cream cheese added. Delicious.
It looks like a perfect brunch for me to make.
It looks delicious and easy to make!
My kids will definitely love this!
This baked cream cheese blueberry french toast was phenomenal and can’t wait to make this again soon.
This baked cream cheese and blueberry french toast was a huge hit for our family brunch this past weekend. I loved how easy it was to prepare and cook.