Freezer Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Submitted by mpg9189

"A healthier twist on blueberry french toast casserole. You can make a bunch and freeze before baking for an easy brunch."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• Casserole

• 10 slices French bread, cut into quarters
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup egg substitute (I like eggbeaters)
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1⁄4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ

• Sauce

• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup frozen blueberries

directions

1. Spray-treat a baking dish.
2. Arrange half of the bread cubes in the dish and top with cream cheese cubes. (this gets messy -- just try to spread the lumps of cream cheese evenly around.).
3. Sprinkle blueberries over the cream cheese and top with the remaining bread cubes.
4. Whisk together the eggs, egg substitute, milk, vanilla, spices and maple syrup. Pour over the bread cubes.
5. Sprinkle wheat germ evenly over casserole.
6. Cover and refrigerate overnight if serving the next day. If not, continue with freezing instructions.
7. Freezing Directions: Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and then cover tightly with aluminum foil. Freeze. Freeze cooled sauce separately in quart freezer bags.
8. To make the sauce (this can be made ahead and frozen or made just before serving): in a medium saucepan mix the sugar, cornstarch and water. (Do this before starting to heat the water -- make sure the cornstarch is completely dissolved before you start heating this!)
9. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes.
10. Mix in the blueberries. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Cool before putting in freezer bags.
11. To cook, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Remove plastic wrap from casserole. Bake covered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and continue baking 25-30 minutes until center is firm and surface is lightly browned. Warm sauce in microwave, stirring often. Serve casserole with warmed sauce.

Reviews

[ShaGun]

This tasted wonderful! I doubled the recipe to make a 9x13 casserole size. I quadrupled the amount of blueberries, and I'm glad I did. To make spreading the cream cheese easier, I froze a brick of reduced-fat cream cheese and then "shaved" off pieces using a sharp knife. This allowed for it to crumble across the middle layer and was nicely distrubted. I did not make the sauce, and I don't think it was needed. I served this when I had company staying with us. All the children complained about having to eat this, so I guess it's not a child-friendly dish. However, all the adults loved it. This also reheats well.

 

[Bubbles M.]

This was a fast and easy casserole. I am giving 5 stars even though I felt the amount of blueberries should be doubled or tripled for the amount of bread used...perhaps just my personal preference. I also subbed sour cream for the cream cheese, and this turned out excellent. Will be making again, but definitely with more berries....and perhaps will try with strawberries next time. Thanks for posting!

 

[Judy from Hawaii]

We all enjoyed this on Christmas morning. Being able to prepare it in advance was a big plus. I did find that I needed to prepare a little more of the milk/egg mixture in order to moisten the bread sufficiently. And I felt that the blueberry sauce needed just a little something - perhaps a squeeze of lemon juice or some lemon rind. But all that said, this is a very good recipe that I would recommend.

 

[Island Girl 525]

This was delicious and everyone really liked it. I had to make a few adjustments based on what I had on hand- I used regular wheat bread and 6 total eggs instead of the egg substitute. I also was out of maple syrup so I used honey and maple extract. I made ahead and froze. The day I served it, I made the fruit sauce but was out of blueberries, so I used frozen strawberries. Even the people who said they didn't want the fruit sauce ended up eating it and loving it. Thanks for a great make ahead meal!

 

[Demandy]

Great but as other reviewers have stated you probably need more egg mixture depending on your bread. I used a thick french bread and had to add a bit more milk and some half and half. I only had 6 eggs on hand. Still it was quite tasty and I served it with regular syrup rather than making the berry syrup.