Triple Berry French Toast Casserole -an easy yet impressive breakfast casserole. Layered with thick texas toast, cream cheese, fresh berries and an egg custard!
Now here’s an impressive french toast casserole! Made with layers of thick Texas toast, luscious cream cheese, juicy berries and an egg custard. I promise this pan of carby goodness will make your family very happy.
When I think of breakfast casseroles I think of comfort food and lazy weekends.
This casserole is made quickly the night before then baked for about 45 minutes the next morning. Even though it does take 45 minutes to bake I think it makes for an easy breakfast. A lot of times I get other things done in those 45 minutes when I would have been standing there at the stove cooking breakfast! Win-win for me 🙂
I made this breakfast quicker to assemble by just layering the bread with the cream cheese and berries instead of cubing it. This is also a double duty purpose because it makes a more impressive looking breakfast when plated.
Just lay down 6 slices of bread, spread that wonderful cream cheese on top, sprinkle with some fresh juicy berries of choice ( I used strawberries, blackberries and blueberries here but any combo will work.) then top with the remaining bread slices. Next, is that wonderful custard made with eggs and half and half. You could use whole milk as well but I don’t recommend using low fat milk because it won’t give you that wonderfully thick custard. And that’s it. It takes about 10 minutes to put together then toss it in the refrigerator to let it do it’s thing before baking that next morning. It’s perfect for company, Christmas morning breakfast or even just casual weekends.
Triple Berry French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup half and half
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 12 slices Texas Toast
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 cups fresh mixed berries
- Powdered sugar and maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- TO ASSEMBLE: Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside. In a large bowl the eggs, half and half, cinnamon and vanilla, set aside. Place 6 pieces of bread on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread with softened cream cheese. Top with mixed berries. Top with remaining pieces of bread. Pour the egg mixture over the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
- TO BAKE: Take out of refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
After making this recipe as published in my newspaper’s magazine supplement, I checked this website to make sure it was correctly printed. It was. I usually read reviews before making a new recipe but the ingredients list caught my imagination. Made as printed, this casserole lacked the crispy sweetness of french toast or the heartiness of other egg/meat breakfast casseroles. I finished the leftovers two days after initially serving it to a group of eight. No rave reviews. I wonder if whipping the softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and some milk would improve on the thick dullness of the cheese layer. This many berries should be the star of the show but they just aren’t sweet enough on their own. I had to swim it in maple syrup to enjoy it. Why go to so much trouble to taste maple syrup?
Can I use triple frozen berries instead of fresh berries?
You sure can! Just add them while frozen and you may need to add a few extra minutes of bake time. Hope you enjoy!
If I bake right after assembling, do you think it would taste the same?
If you could let it sit for at least 20-30 minutes so the bread can soak up as much of the egg custard as possible. That’s the main reason for preparing it the night before. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!!!
Oh this looks so delicious!! I love that you make it the night before because I am definitely NOT a morning person! And 45 minutes gives me plenty of time for lots of coffee 😉 I think my daughter would love this, she is obsessed with cream cheese! I think I’m going to make this for breakfast this weekend!
Thank you so much, Alaina!! I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful weekend!! 🙂