Make this Berry French Toast Casserole for your weekend brunch! French toast casserole is a cozy, make-ahead twist on classic French toast. Bread cubes are layered in a baking dish, soaked in a rich sweetened egg custard, topped with berries then oven baked to perfection!
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.
If you love Berry French Toast Casserole, don’t forget to also check out my Apple French Toast Casserole and Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole! If you’d like to make them into smaller bite sizes, try this French Toast Muffin Cups out!
For a savory breakfast casserole to pair with this sweet dish, Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole and Ham and Cheese Croissant Casserole are some of my favorites!
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 voila. BREAKFAST IS SERVED.
Breakfast casseroles are life-changing.
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
Yes! Substitute fresh berries with frozen berries if fresh berries are not available.
Yes! That works great. Oat milk works great as well.
Absolutely! Any bread works great with this. Try to use dryer bread that are a few days old so that it soaks up the egg mixture better.
Keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a few days. Store maple syrup separately. When ready to serve, heat in microwave and serve with maple syrup. This recipe actually heats up in the microwave really well!
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
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)
Berry French Toast Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12-14 cups French bread
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup strawberries sliced
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1-2 tbsp powdered sugar
- maple syrup as much as you want!
Instructions
- Grease a 9″x13″ casserole with vegetable oil or butter. Cut up French bread into cubes and add to casserole (fill up to ~3/4).
- In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Whisk mixture and mix well. Pour mixture into casserole.
- Slice strawberries. Top casserole with strawberries and blueberries.
- Wrap the casserole with saran wrap and refrigerate for four hours, or up to overnight.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 35-50 minutes. Check at the 35-minute mark, and if it is not done bake for longer.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Serve with maple syrup and enjoy!
I made this without the brown sugar and topped it with fresh berries and maple syrup and it was fantastic!
That’s wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
I made this for my daughter and her teenage friends for brunch. They loved it! I used 1.5cups if whole milk and .5cup half and half and it was delicious! About 45min to completely cook. Will make again!
Thank you for sharing your modifications! Glad you all enjoyed it.
How many loaves of French bread did you use?
Depending on the size, it is about 1-2.
This did not work at all for me. It was still completely soggy/raw eggs after 50 minutes. I did the 4 hour fridge wait, cooked it at the correct temperature and for the right amount of time. The top ended up getting too hard while the bottom part was still trying to cook and be edible. I am a good cook, so I am not sure what went wrong here. But I won’t be trying it again. I will try other recipes of yours but sadly not this one. Not worth the effort for the failure of a result
I’m sorry this didn’t turn out well for you, Katie. A few thoughts. Sometimes the true internal temperature of an oven can be different from what it says on the oven itself. And if the top is done but bottom isn’t, I would try moving your oven racks down. Hope that is helpful!
This is delicious! Not sure where others went wrong when they said it didn’t work out for them. I’ve made it dozens of times
Question though. How can I freeze it?? What would I do? Bake it then freeze it? Thaw and then bake again for about a half hour??
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Tara! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
To freeze it, wrap it up in cling wrap and the aluminum foil, and then freeze it. When ready to bake, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, bake it at the same temperature, and check it at the 30-minute mark. If the insides are warm, then it’s ready. If not, you might want to bake it slightly longer.
Baked covered or uncovered?
Uncovered
We loved this! Didn’t have strawberries so used bananas, and didn’t add sugar but added some salt to bring out more flavors!
Yum! Thanks for sharing your modifications!
Made this recipe this morning, and all I can say is YUUMMM!! Besides being delicious, what I love most about this recipe is that all the prep can be done the night before. All you have to do in the morning is pop it into the oven, and then enjoy!
Thanks, Ed! Happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
Hi. Can I make this 24 hours before?
Yes that should be fine!
Can I use frozen Berries?
Yes!
Love this recipe! It’s easy and delicious!
Thank you Lucie!
Can I leave out the brown sugar? Will it work? Let guests sweeten on their own with syrup?thx!
Yes! That should be fine 🙂
I use raspberries and blueberries and serve with homemade raspberry or blueberry syrup! Yum!
That sounds so yummy! I wish I could have a bite! 😉 Thanks so much for sharing.
Could I melt some Nutella and drizzle over instead of maple syrup or would that not provide enough moisture?
That sounds super yummy to me!
This is a total crowd-pleaser! I’ve been making it for a few years now for brunches and holiday breakfasts. I add chopped pecans to the top that add a toasty little crunch. The best part is that I actually get to visit with people and not spend my morning fussing around in the kitchen. Really delicious, thank you!
That’s so great Jennifer! Love that you’ve been using this recipe for years and I so appreciate your kind feedback!
Love this recipe always put in the refrigerator night before easy for a great brunch Sunday or if family come to stay
Thank you, Fiona! So glad to hear you’ve been enjoying this recipe!
I tried to make this and it didn’t turn out at all. I even did it on 400°. came out runny. I cooked it @ 350° for 35 then 400° for another 35..
Sorry to hear that, Beck. There are so many different factors (oven temperature, dryness of bread, amount of bread used etc) that can affect this. I would say bake it until it is no longer soggy in the middle, and it may take longer or at a higher temperature for some vs. others. Thanks for sharing!
Could this be made with dairy free milk instead and turn out ok?
Yes! Absolutely.
could I make this without adding any berries?
Yes!
Great recipe! I served this for company and got rave reviews!!! It is pinned on my Pinterest board and will be one of my “go to” recipes for sure!
Can this be made ahead (thru step 4) and frozen for a later cook? Or better completely cooked then frozen to take with on a camp trip??
Either way works just fine!
I love this recipe! My kids enjoy the occasional breakfast for dinner and this is my go-to. Fantastic for busy weeknights!
Breakfast for dinner is yummy and so easy! Glad to hear everyone is enjoying this recipe.