Berry French Toast Casserole (Make Ahead Overnight) - Joyous Apron (2024)

Make this Berry French Toast Casserole for your weekend brunch!

Prepare the night before, pop into the oven when you wake up in the morning, and you’ll get yourself a moist on the inside, slightly crispy on the top French toast bake with loads of fresh strawberries and blueberries.

Then you drizzle that maple syrup all over it, because truly, YOU MUST.

If you love Berry French Toast Casserole, don’t forget to also check out my Apple French Toast Casserole recipe! For a savory breakfast casserole, these are my favorites: Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole and Ham and Cheese Croissant Casserole.

Why Berry French Toast Casserole?

Friends, are you a brunch person? Well, I am.

I love waking up slowly on Saturday morning and indulge in some hearty brunch food while I sip coffee, all in my pajamas… Ah, gotta love a nice and slow weekend.

Every now and then, on the menu for weekend brunch is french toast. I would wake up in the morning and cut up bread and dip them into the egg mixture and pan fry these bread.

That is, until I was introduced to the concept of french toast casserole.

Then it all happened – my weekend brunch changed for the better…

See, with French Toast Casserole you make everything ahead the night before, let the bread soak in that egg mixture combined with cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla extract, then the next morning you pop in the oven and viola. BREAKFAST IS SERVED.

With all the fresh berry action going on during the summer, it will be a shame to not top this custard-y bread with loads of fresh, sweet-as-candy berries. The fruity goodness pairs so well with it.

So there you go – Berry French Toast Casserole. The berry best kind of french toast casserole. Pun absolutely intended.

Ingredients

One of the many reasons why I love Berry French Toast Casserole is because it is made with easy, pantry-friendly ingredients!

• French bread – dryer bread works the best because they soak up the egg mixture better. You can also use sourdough, challah, croissants, regular white bread, or even healthier breads such as whole wheat.
• Eggs
• Milk – I like to use 2% milk, but you can use any kind of milk, even almond milk and oat milk for non-dairy options.
• Vanilla extract – use good quality vanilla extract for the best flavors. It really takes the flavor of the egg mixture to the next level.
• Cinnamon powder
• Brown sugar
• Berries – I use strawberries and blueberries but use whatever you have at hand or your favorite! Fresh or frozen would be just fine
• Powdered sugar – optional, for dusting the top
• Maple syrup – A must in my books! 😉 Use high quality maple syrup for the best taste!

How to make Berry French Toast Casserole

As mentioned, when making Berry French Toast Casserole, a lot of the real work happen the night before.

First, you will want to cut french bread into cubes and fill ~3/4 of a greased 9″ x 13″ casserole with the bread.

You can use other breads such as regular white bread, brioche, croissant etc as well.

Next, in a large mixing bowl, mix together 8 large eggs (yes, lots of eggs!), 2% milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Then pour the mixture onto the casserole.

Top with sliced strawberries, blueberries, or other berries you like!

Cover casserole with a saran wrap, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. We are letting the bread soak up the egg mixture during this time.

Then (typically this is the next morning for me in my pajamas) bake at 350 for 35-50 minutes.

I check at the 35 minute mark, and bake for longer if needed.

Sprinkle berry French toast casserole bake with powdered sugar, because, come on, it’s powdered sugar. Life’s necessary pleasure.

I MEAN. Talk about kicking off your day RIGHT.

The bread is flavorful and moist after being soaked in the egg mixture. The edges and the top is slightly crispy. The juicy, sweet berries is a great compliment to the custardy dish. SO DELISH.

This berry French toast bake feeds a crowd or you’ll have plenty of leftovers.

NOT A BAD DEAL AT ALL.

In my most humble opinion, the best way to serve this yummy goodness that is this berry French toast bake is to drizzle maple syrup (especially the good kind!) on it. And maybe pair it with a few slices of bacon.

BREAKFAST DREAMS DO COME TRUE.

Tips and Tricks

A few things to note when making Berry French Toast Casserole:

• Use a few days old or dryer bread so that it soaks up the egg mixture better.
• Grease casserole dish with oil or butter prior to adding bread for easy removal after it bakes.
• Make this at least a few hours before so that the bread can soak up the egg/milk mixture before baking. I like to make this the night before and pop it into the oven in the morning. It really makes an easy, no fuss, YUMMY breakfast. Perfect for when you are feeding a lot of people – I do this a lot for the holidays as well.
• Due to multiple variability (actual oven temperature, how dry the bread is and how much egg/milk mixture it soaks up overnight, temperature of the casserole itself prior to baking, etc), bake time can differ slightly, so check at the 35 minute mark to see if French Toast Casserole is cooked, and bake for longer if needed. There were many times where I have to bake this longer than 35 minutes.

Variations and Substitutions

Berry French toast bake is seriously versatile and there are so many ways to make it your own!

• Instead of strawberries and blueberries, use blackberries, raspberries.
• Instead of French bread, use other breads such as challah, white bread, wheat bread, or even croissants for a luxurious (slight higher calorie) brunch! 🙂
• Want a dairy free option? Use almond milk or oatmilk instead of regular milk.
• Want to make this even fancier? Check out my Apple French Toast Casserole recipe. It is my attempt to make a fancier French toast casserole with crumbles on top and apple pieces sandwiched all over. So good!

Have more variation and substitution ideas? Share by commenting below and let us know!

Frequently Asked Questions

Other breakfast dreams…

A.k.a. some of my other favorite breakfast and brunch recipes!

• Sausage Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
• Ham and Cheese Croissant Casserole
• Strawberry Banana Nutella Crepes
• Cinnamon Raisin Rolls
• Caramelized Banana French Toast
• Apple Cinnamon Bread
• Banana and Date Muffin
• Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancake
• Pumpkin French Toast (by Well-Plated)

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