Delicious Goat Cheese and Blueberry French Toast Casserole

This delicious goat cheese and blueberry French toast casserole is a great breakfast meal for a variety of occasions. Not only do the flavors bring comfort and delight, but the fact that you can make it a day ahead makes life all that much easier on the morning of any celebration.

Want another prepare-ahead recipe idea for breakfast or brunch? This savory Christmas egg and sausage breakfast casserole is one of my favorites.

Delicious Goat Cheese and Blueberry French Toast Casserole

I love a good French toast breakfast casserole. I am used to traditional flavors with cinnamon and sugar. However, with some fresh goat cheese and blueberry sauce, this classic breakfast item is elevated to a whole new level.

Our table was in charge of food for Bible Study. I was out of town, so I was the last one to sign up. When I went to the sign up sheet, savory food – taken….guess I won’t be making my Swiss and Bacon Quiche. Fruit – Taken. Sweet dishes – there was one available spot.

What sweets were already claimed? Scones. Guess I won’t be making my go-to pumpkin scones recipe for the fall. Muffins. Also taken. These amazing blueberry muffins will have to wait for another occasion.

What else could I do? A French toast casserole came to mind. I had some fresh blueberries on hand so I thought about doing a cream cheese and blueberry French toast breakfast casserole recipe, as I know it is another favorite combination. Suddenly I wondered if anyone had done a goat cheese and blueberry version.

I did the Google, and indeed, I couldn’t find one. A new idea? Really?

The Blueberry and Goat Cheese Combination

Blueberries and goat cheese are one of my favorite combinations, as you can see in this salmon recipe and in this grilled cheese party post. I stole inspiration from my blueberry sauce in these other recipes. Hey – why reinvent the wheel if you have a good thing going?

My love of this combination went into the love that went into creating this delicious recipe.

It was a hit too. So many people asked for the recipe. It’s amazing after it has cooled slightly, but I even loved scooping the leftovers after being chilled in the refrigerator.

I’m going to share the exact recipe I made, since the majority of the ladies that asked for the recipe liked it as is. However, I’m also going to share some adaptations if you want something a little less sweet.

Ingredients Needed for this French Toast Breakfast Casserole

• 12-14 oz quality bread – You can use French, Challah, or Texas Toast
• 2 cups blueberries
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup water
• spring of rosemary (optional)
• 10 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla, divided
• 6-8 oz goat cheese – Don’t love goat cheese? Cream cheese would be a fine alternative.
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
• zest of 1/2 lemon, finely chopped after zesting
• 3/4 cups Bisquick
• 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 Tbsp, melted

How to Make this Delicious Goat Cheese and Blueberry French Toast Casserole

1. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. Cut bread into 1 inch squares and spread in the prepared baking dish. Ideally, leave this bread out for a few hours to become a bit stale. This will help your casserole to not get too soggy. Alternatively, stale the bread using your oven. I turn my oven up to 350 and then turn it off, leaving the bread in for about 30 minutes.
3. Combine blueberries, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, water, and a sprig of rosemary in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Once it hits a boil, reduce it down to medium-low heat and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Remove rosemary.
4. Completely combine goat cheese, 1/2 tsp vanilla, powdered sugar, and lemon zest. The mixture should still be crumbly.
5. Whisk eggs, milk, cream, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, cinnamon, and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and whisk to combine.
6. Evenly drop one tablespoon of your blueberry sauce and 1 teaspoon of your blended goat cheese mixture onto the bread.
7. Pour your custard mixture over the entire dish, covering completely. Press down with your spatula slightly to ensure full coverage.
8. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
9. Preheat oven to 350.
10. Stir to combine Bisquick, sugar and butter. It should be crumbly.
11. Remove the goat cheese and blueberry French toast casserole from the refrigerator and sprinkle the crumb topping evenly on top.
12. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Note: After tasting this recipe, I found it a tad too sweet. People didn’t seem to agree with me at Bible Study, but my husband also felt like the sweetness could be less. If you enjoy things less sweet, here are some options for reducing the sugar:

1. When making the blueberry sauce, keep it tart by reducing the sugar by half.
2. Cut the sugars in the custard by half.
3. Keep the crumb coat off. My husband thinks this is a terrible sin, as the crumb coat (also found on my cobbler recipe) is pretty much his favorite thing, but it is definitely an option if you are trying to reduce the sugar in this recipe.

Delicious Goat Cheese and Blueberry French Toast Casserole

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

set in refrigerator 3 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Baking

Servings 15 servings

Calories 381 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 12-14 oz quality bread – You can use French Challah, or Texas Toast
• 2 cups blueberries
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup water
• spring of rosemary optional
• 10 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla divided
• 6-8 oz goat cheese – Don’t love goat cheese? Cream cheese would be a fine alternative.
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
• zest of 1/2 lemon finely chopped after zesting
• 3/4 cups Bisquick
• 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 Tbsp melted

Instructions

 

• Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
• Cut bread into 1 inch squares and spread in the prepared baking dish. Ideally, leave this bread out for a few hours to become a bit stale. This will help your casserole to not get too soggy. Alternatively, stale the bread using your oven. I turn my oven up to 350 and then turn it off, leaving the bread in for about 30 minutes.
• Combine blueberries, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, water, and a sprig of rosemary in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Once it hits a boil, reduce it down to medium-low heat and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Remove rosemary.
• Completely combine goat cheese, 1/2 tsp vanilla, powdered sugar, and lemon zest. Mixture should still be crumbly.
• Whisk eggs, milk, cream, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and whisk to combine.
• Evenly drop one tablespoon of your blueberry sauce and 1 teaspoon of your blended goat cheese mixture onto the bread.
• Pour your custard mixture over the entire dish, covering completely. Press down with your spatula slightly to assure full coverage.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Stir to combine Bisquick, sugar and butter. It should be crumbly.
• Remove the goat cheese and blueberry French toast casserole from the refrigerator and sprinkle the crumb topping evenly on top.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Keyword french toast casserole