Blackberry French Toast Casserole

This blackberry french toast casserole is an easy overnight breakfast that is loaded with fresh blackberries, but you can use any fruit you desire.

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and luckily there are plenty of options here - from egg and cheese hash brown waffles to an apple Dutch baby.

But what about a breakfast that you make the night before and then just pop in the oven in the morning?

That is what you get with this overnight french toast casserole. This recipe came about when we were on vacation a few years back in Georgia and were going to be hiking the Appalachian Trail in the morning.

I wanted something that I could make in the evening and then have first thing in the morning before a long hike. And blackberries just happened to be in season!

But with this baked french toast casserole recipe, you can substitute any fruit you like. Or even omit the fruit, but to me it really makes this breakfast.

So if you want something that will please a crowd and is easy to make, this baked french toast casserole should be at the top of the list!

Jump to:

• Recipe Ingredients
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Best Bread
• Stale Bread
• Overnight is Key
• Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Variations
• Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
• Other Breakfast Recipes
• Blackberry French Toast Casserole

Recipe Ingredients

• French bread - can also use sourdough, Italian or challah.
• Blackberries - use your favorite fruit.
• Whole milk - soaks in the bread.
• Half-and-half - can use heavy cream as well.
• Eggs - helps create that custard texture.
• Light brown sugar - adds sweetness.
• Vanilla extract - enhances the flavor.
• Pumpkin pie spice - cinnamon also works.
• All-purpose flour - creates a streusel topping.
• Unsalted butter - combined with the flour for the streusel topping.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Grease a 9×13 inch pan or something similar with nonstick spray. Cube the bread into 1 inch pieces and spread over 9×13 pan. It is important that bread is slightly old or otherwise it will be too soggy. Spread blackberries on top. Set aside.
2. Whisk eggs, milk, half-and-half, brown sugar, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl until no lumps remain. 
3. Pour over the bread and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but overnight is best.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F and remove pan from refrigerator. To prepare the streusel topping, whisk the brown sugar, flour and pumpkin pie spice together in a medium bowl. Cut the cold butter in ½" cubes. Incorporate into flour mixture with either a pastry cutter or a couple of forks. It does not need to be thoroughly mixed. 
5. Sprinkle over the soaked bread.
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve immediately.

Best Bread

You want a crusty bread that is hard on the outside but soft in the middle so it can really soak up the custard.

My go-to is a french loaf, hence french toast casserole, but Italian, ciabatta, sourdough or challah also work great.

You could even make your own no-knead dutch oven bread.

Stale Bread

If you don't have time to let your bread sit out for a day or two so it hardens a little you can speed up the process by cubing the bread and then throwing on a pan in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes until it firms up.

I actually pretty much do this every single time as I buy the bread the day I want to make it.

Overnight is Key

While you can have this easy french toast casserole soak up the custard for 3-4 hours, I've found the longer the bread soaks, the tastier it is.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice

No problem if you don't have pumpkin pie spice. You can actually make your own.

Just use 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground clove and a ¼ tsp ground nutmeg.

Variations

As with any recipe, you really can make this overnight french toast casserole your own.

• Fruit - other fruit that would work great are blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or apples.
• Nuts - you can add ½ cup of your favorite nuts like pecans or walnuts.
• Spices - if you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

• Make sure your bread is stale and a little crunchy or you will have a soggy french toast.
• You can reduce the sugar if you want. I've made it with less and haven't noticed a difference.
• You can half this recipe in an 8 or 9-inch baking pan. However the bake time will be shorter, around 30-35 minutes.

Other Breakfast Recipes

• Bacon Cheddar Waffles
• Hash Brown Egg Muffins
• Lemon Ricotta Waffles
• Strawberry Pop Tarts
• Raspberry Lemon Dutch Baby

If you’ve tried this blackberry french toast casserole or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.