It's always one of the most loved dishes at breakfast or brunch. This version, Maple Blueberry Overnight French Toast Bake is loaded with classic New England flavors: maple syrup and fresh blueberries.
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This one's for you sweet breakfast fans out there!
I only occasionally indulge in a really sweet breakfast—when it's not a toast day I usually reach for something savory like a breakfast sandwich or make-ahead breakfast enchiladas.
When I do want a sweet breakfast, I want it to be a really good one: full of flavor, kind of over-the-top, and with a luscious texture. This Maple Blueberry Overnight French Toast bake fits that bill.
Two New England favorites together in one dish
This breakfast embodies so much of what I love about comfort food in New England. It's warming and filling, and that's especially nice on a chilly winter or fall day. There's no fussiness or fanciness here—just a delicious dish that folks will ask for again and again.
Maple Blueberry Overnight French Toast also brings together two of New England's best-known and favorite flavors: blueberries and maple syrup.
Lowbush, wild blueberries—those tiny, flavor-packed beauties—are the state fruit of Maine. And across all six New England states, highbush blueberries grow and fruit prolifically in summertime. The perennial bushes can live as long as 50 years!
And of course, everyone knows that up here pure maple is king. I'll always seek out and sing the virtues of the ambrosial flavor of maple syrup from my home state of Vermont! However, when you can't get to the Green Mountain State the good news is that there are exceptional maple producers across the region, tapping trees on their land, piping sap to their sugar houses, and boiling it down into sweet amber gold.
It can't be a mere coincidence that these two Northeastern favorites taste so good together!
Why you'll love this dish
Reader Review
"I made this for guests that were staying with us from Vermont and it was a huge success. Very easy to prepare ahead and was perfect for a morning breakfast accompanied by a fruit compote. The bread I used was brioche and the casserole held together very nicely and wasn’t too sweet even with the maple syrup. This will definitely be a repeat breakfast casserole in our house. Thanks for the recipe."
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One of the best things about this recipe is that it's a make-ahead dish. It needs to rest overnight in the fridge to let the flavors meld, and so the eggy batter can transform the bread into a soft, pudding-like texture that is delectable.
Giving it that rest means you prep it the night before and in the morning only need to pop it in the oven. Perfect for breakfast with the family or to treat overnight guests. Make a pan to bring to work or a brunch gathering!
There are several flavors going on in this bake, and they all work so beautifully with each other: maple, blueberry, orange zest, and warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
🔪 How to make Maple Blueberry Overnight French Toast Bake
Step 1: Toast the bread
Tear the sweet bread into small pieces and spread them on a baking sheet. Bake them for 15 minutes to lightly toast them.
Step 2: Add the orange
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Place the toasted bread in a greased baking dish, and use a zester to zest orange peel over the dish.
Step 3: Add the batter
Mix together the eggs, cream, milk, spices, sugar, and Vermont maple syrup. Pour the batter over the bread, making sure every piece gets kissed by the eggy liquid.
Step 4: Chill it overnight
Wrap the dish and pop it in the fridge to rest overnight.
Step 5: Bake it!
Remove the plastic wrap and add the frozen blueberries to the pan. Bake the dish covered with foil for about 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake it a short while longer.
Step 6: Add a sweet drizzle
Stir together a little orange juice and maple syrup, then drizzle this over the top of the hot dish. Then serve up this French Toast Bake while it's warm.
Tips:
- The overnight rest is important for this recipe, as it lets the bread soak up the batter and creates a creamy texture. Be sure to plan for this time when you get ready to make the recipe.
- If you're using fresh blueberries you can add them before the dish gets refrigerated. However, frozen blueberries should be added right before baking - otherwise, they'll thaw and release juice into the dish turning everything purple!
Treat yourself to this sweet breakfast dish, warm and creamy with blueberry and plenty of maple syrup!
Find the recipe for the Maple Blueberry Overnight French Toast Bake below. And here are a few other breakfast treats you'll love:
💬 What do you think of this French toast bake? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Easy Maple Blueberry Overnight French Toast Bake
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Ingredients
- 16 ounces sweet bread, like challah, brioche, or Portuguese sweet bread
- Butter, to grease the pan
- 1 medium naval orange (you will you the zest and juice)
- 8 large eggs
- 1 cup half-and-half
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 pinch ground or grated nutmeg
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon pure Vermont maple syrup, divided
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Instructions
Layer ingredients in the pan:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Tear the sweet bread into small pieces, roughly 1½ to 2 inches in size. Spread the pieces on a large baking sheet. Bake the bread for 10 minutes; take the pan out, stir the bread pieces around, then pop them back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove the bread and let it cool a little.
- Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish, bottoms and side with the butter. Spread the toasted bread pieces out in the pan.
- Use a zester to to zest the orange peel over the bread in the pan. (This will yield about 1½ tablespoons of zest.) Save the orange - you will need the juice for after the dish is baked.
- NOTE: If you are using fresh blueberries you can sprinkle them over the bread pieces now. Using frozen berries? Save these, we'll add them after the overnight chill.
Make the egg batter:
- Beat the eggs together in a large bowl. Stir in the half-and-half and the milk. Then whisk in the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, cardamom and nutmeg, and be sure the spices are well distributed. Finally, stir 1 cup of the Vermont maple syrup into the batter.
Assemble then refrigerate the dish:
- Pour the egg batter slowly over the bread pieces in the pan - slowly so that you can get every piece of bread throughout the dish soaked with the batter. If any pieces get missed use a spoon to push them down into the liquid. When all of the batter is added, cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. (Or for at least 8 hours.)
Bake the dish:
- Preheat the oven to 325° F.
- Remove the plastic wrap. NOTE: if you're using frozen blueberries, sprinkle them evenly over the bread pieces now. Then cover the pan with foil.
- Bake the dish for 40 minutes. Then, remove the foil and return the pan to the oven. Bake it for 15-20 minutes longer until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pan to a cooling rack.
- Get the orange you saved and squeeze 2 tablespoons of the juice into a small dish. Add the 1 remaining tablespoon of maple syrup into this juice. Drizzle the mixture evenly over the hot French toast bake.
- Serve the French Toast Bake while it's hot! Any leftovers can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat portions in the microwave, or wrap the pan in foil and rewarm it in the oven.
Notes
- The overnight rest is important for this recipe, as it lets the bread soak up the batter and creates a creamy texture. Be sure to plan for this time when you get ready to make the recipe.
- If you're using fresh blueberries you can add them before the dish gets refrigerated. However, frozen blueberries should be added right before baking - otherwise they'll thaw and release juice into the dish turning everything purple!
Carole
I made this for guests that were staying with us from Vermont and it was a huge success. Very easy to prepare ahead and was perfect for a morning breakfast accompanied by a fruit compote. The bread I used was brioche and the casserole held together very nicely and wasn’t too sweet even with the maple syrup. This will definitely be a repeat breakfast casserole in our house. Thanks for the recipe.
Nancy Mock
Thank you so much Carole for trying my recipe and for this wonderful feedback. I'm so happy you and your guests enjoyed it!