Red White and Blue French Toast Bake

This Red White and Blueberry Stuffed French Toast is the perfect way to start your Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July or any other patriotic holiday celebration.  It’s an easy overnight breakfast casserole made with French bread soaked in a yummy egg custard and topped with blueberries, strawberries, cream cheese and a cinnamon brown sugar streusel just before baking.

For a seriously heavenly treat, serve this with freshly whipped cream, berries, Strawberries, and Strawberry Sauce, like our homemade Lemon Syrup, Coconut Syrup, or Mixed Berry Syrup.

Red White and Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

Looking for an easy 4th of July breakfast? Make it easy peasy and totally delicious with this overnight berries and cream cheese stuffed French toast. As if it weren’t good enough, the cinnamon and brown sugar streusel topping gives it an almost Fruity Pebbles flavor.

Easy overnight breakfast casseroles are a perfect way to celebrate holidays without having to wake up at the crack of dawn and spend the entire morning in the kitchen.  You can prep everything for this blueberry french toast casserole the day before so that all you need to do the morning of is preheat your oven and bake.

Be sure to also check out more of our Memorial Day Recipes and our Red White and Blue Recipes.

Key Ingredients

• French Bread – use day-old French bread from any local bakery or grocery store, or you can even make your own French Bread!  
• Eggs –  eggs are what holds the custard filling together. Any kind of large whole eggs will work.
• Milk – whole milk makes the custard extra creamy, but you can substitute 2% if you’d like.
• Maple Syrup – you can use all maple syrup, or else substitute a touch of honey for some of the maple syrup.
• Strawberries and Blueberries – we like using fresh because the colors end up bleeding less, but in a pinch frozen will work.
• Cream Cheese – use either lite or full-fat cream cheese, cut into ½” pieces.
• Butter – this will taste best with unsalted butter.  You can use either room temperature butter or else cut cold butter into small cubes.
• Brown Sugar – we use light brown sugar but you can use dark brown sugar if you want a little more molasses flavor.
• Flour – we use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
• Cinnamon – any kind of ground cinnamon will work.  You can also omit this if you prefer.

How to Make This Overnight French Toast Casserole Recipe

The Day Before Serving

1. Add bread.  Spray a 9″ by 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, then place your cut or torn pieces of French bread evenly in the bottom of your baking dish.  The bread should be about even with the top of the baking dish.
2. Make egg mixture.  In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk to break them up.  Then, add the milk, maple syrup, and vanilla and whisk again until all the ingredients are well-combined.  Pour your egg mixture over the bread, covering as much of it as possible.  Use a fork to gently stir your bread and egg mixture together.  Sprinkle the strawberries and blueberries evenly on top and gently mix in, then either cut or scoop 1″ pieces of cream cheese and place evenly over the top.
3. Refrigerate overnight.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least 4 hours, to allow time for the bread to soak up all of the liquid.

To Bake

1. Make streusel.  In a medium-size mixing bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Stir or mix with a fork until the streusel has 1/4″ pieces.  You can also use a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed, making sure to stop the mixer once you have 1/4″ pieces.  (Note: Either use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate overnight, or until you are ready to bake.)
2. Let come to room temperature.  When you’re ready to bake, pull your baking dish from the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Allow coming to room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
3. Add streusel and bake.  Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the bread and egg mixture and put it into your preheated oven.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top and edges are light golden brown. 
4. Serve.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, then cut into 12 portions.  Serve with whipped cream, chopped pecans, berries or your favorite syrup.  Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Tips and Tricks for Overnight French Toast Bake 

• Using day-old bread is better than using freshly baked bread because it will soak up the egg mixture more readily.  If you only have fresh bread, you can cut or tear it into 1” pieces and set it in a very low 250-degree oven for about 20 minutes to dry it out.
• For something a little sweeter, try using leftover cinnamon rolls in place of French bread!
• If you like lemon, try tossing your strawberries in the zest of 1 lemon before sprinkling over the top.

Storing and Reheating Instructions

• Refrigerator: store leftovers covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Freezer: freeze the unbaked Red White and Blue French Toast Bake by wrapping well with both plastic wrap and aluminum foil and storing frozen for up to 1 month.  Pull the casserole from the freezer the day before you plan to serve and let it defrost in the fridge overnight.  The next morning, pull out to room temperature and bake as directed.
• Reheating: reheat in a 320-degree oven, covered with aluminum foil, for about 15 minutes or until warmed through.

More Overnight French Toast Bake Recipes

• Blueberry French Toast Bake
• Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake
• Mixed Berry French Toast Bake
• Classic French Toast Bake
• Coconut French Toast Bake
• Strawberry French Toast Bake
• Coconut French toast Bake
• More Breakfast Casseroles
• More Red White and Blue Recipes

This Overnight French Toast with blueberries and cream cheese is the perfect way to celebrate the occasion without having to wake up at the crack of dawn and spend the entire morning in the kitchen.  It’s a classic breakfast casserole topped with blueberries, strawberries and cream cheese for a beautiful and patriotic presentation.