This Berry French Toast Casserole is easy to throw together the night before and then pop in the oven the next morning. Perfect for holiday brunches and lazy weekends, everyone will love this great brunch recipe.
One of my ultimate weaknesses is an egg bake made with bread. Whether it is stuffing, a breakfast casserole, bread pudding, or my ultimate favorite, French toast casserole, I’m absolutely in.
This Berry French Toast Casserole is a spin on my traditional French Toast Casserole. It can be made the night before or the morning of and is a nice mix between a breakfast dish and a dessert, which makes it perfect for brunch, especially if you are celebrating.
French Toast Casserole Recipe
How to Make French Toast Casserole With Berries
Here is a brief overview of how simple this french toast casserole recipe comes together. For the full recipe including all measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Dry out the bread. Read more about this below.
- Make the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and granulated sugar.
- Add the bread to the batter. Make sure all of the bread cubes are fully coated with the mixture.
- Add the berries. Mix in your berries and place in a lightly greased baking dish and pour the mixture into a lightly greased baking dish.
- Make streusel topping. Combine your brown sugar, butter, and quick oats and sprinkle the mixture over the french toast.
- Bake. While it bakes up, make some homemade whipped cream! You will have plenty of heavy cream left to whip some up and it literally could not be easier to make.
Drying Bread For French Toast Casserole
Dry bread is a key for making any french toast recipe, including this baked french toast casserole. The dryer it is, the more of the egg batter goodness it can soak up.
You can dry out the bread by cutting it up into cubes and leaving it out overnight. Or to dry it out quicker, you can pop it in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 45 minutes. If you put it in the oven, make sure to flip it once during baking so that it is dried out all around.
The Best Bread For French Toast Casserole
My favorite type of bread for this Berry French Toast Casserole recipe is French Bread. I buy a 16 ounce loaf from the grocery store which makes 10 cups of bread cubes once it is cut up and dried out.
Make Ahead
Making this overnight french toast casserole recipe the night before is such a gift when the morning rolls around and all you have to do is put it in the oven. Follow these simple steps:
- Follow the recipe card as written through step four.
- Cover and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
- When you are ready to bake it, it can go right from the refrigerator to the oven.
- Bake the dish for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the edges begin to pull away from the side of the dish.
Powdered Sugar Duster
Serving French Toast Casserole
I love this recipe just as is, but there are some fun ways to serve it. These are especially great if you are serving this as part of a holiday brunch.
- Add some powdered sugar on top. I love using this wand want do sprinkle it over the top.
- Make some Homemade Whipped Cream. This recipe is a stabilized whipped cream, which is fantastic, but you can make this without the gelatin if you are serving it right away.
- Add some fresh berries. I love the pop of color they bring.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure that your bread is dry. As mentioned above, you want it totally dried out so it can really absorb the batter.
- Use frozen berries. I love using frozen berries for this recipe because they are so easy to keep on hand. You can use fresh berries too, but do not thaw the frozen berries before adding them to the batter.
- Use cold butter. This will help it hold up to baking.
- Use forks if you don’t own a pastry cutter. Cutting the butter into the sugar is key for the streusel, that can be done with a pastry cutter, but forks work great too!
Freezing
This berry french toast casserole is great to freeze if you want to prepare it in advance. Build the recipe through step three on the recipe card. Wrap the casserole dish at least two times with aluminum foil and place it in the freezer for up to three months.
Be cautious when using glass or ceramic baking dishes as they can shatter. It is best to use an aluminum baking dish if you want to freeze it.
Other Brunch Recipes
If you try this baked french toast recipe or any of my other brunch ideas, please leave a comment and tell me what you think. I love hearing from you!
Berry French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
For French Toast
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 16 ounces French bread cut into cubes and dried
- 12 ounces frozen berries
For Topping
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup oats (quick cooking and old fashioned both work well here)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a 9 by 13 inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and granulated sugar.8 large eggs, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 1/2 cup whole milk, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Add the dried French bread and stir to coat all the bread. Then gently stir in the frozen berries.16 ounces French bread, 12 ounces frozen berries
- Combine the brown sugar, butter, and quick oats together in a bowl using the back of a fork. Sprinkle the mixture over the french toast.1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup oats
- Bake for 50 minutes or until the edges begin to pull away from the pan. There will be excess liquid there but you should still be able to see the bake pulling away at the end. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Mir says
Ideally, dads will heed your sage advice and make this happen. Reality? I will be making this myself the night before Mother’s Day while my husband dozes on the couch. :)
It looks amazing, Lisa!
Heather Kinnaird says
i am passing this delicious little nugget on to Ian and the kids :) and I WILL be sleeping in n Sunday! hope you get the royal treatment this weekend
I slept in Sunday too, it was AMAZING!
Holly N @Spend With Pennies says
This looks incredibly delicious!! I love overnight breakfasts!
Thanks Holly!
Julie@Cooks with Cocktails says
Same here. It will be me making it too, but actually, if I make it, I know it will be good lol. This looks so great and I was looking for a make ahead recipe just like this!
Thanks Julie!