Blueberry Pecan Baked French Toast

Blueberry Pecan Baked French Toast is an overnight french toast bake studded with blueberries and toasted pecans, served with a delicious blueberry maple syrup!

Happy summer!  I know it’s not officially summer yet, but my kids are out on summer break starting this week, so summer it is.  I for one am really happy that school’s out, because the past couple of months have been crazy…why do the schools jam so much into the last 2 months?  Little league season is over now, too, so this week I feel like I’m catching breath.  Aaaahhhhh. 🙂

What better way to catch our breath than with a soft, fluffy baked french toast?  I’ve been sharing an awful lot of breakfast recipes of late, and blueberries are finding their way into all of them.  They are my favorite breakfast berry…can you tell?

And because I couldn’t stuff any blueberries in between these cubes of bread and there was only room on top, I decided to serve this baked french toast with blueberry maple syrup.  It’s blueberry-licious. 🙂

I’ve explained to you countless times that I don’t make big breakfasts often because I’m either lazy in the morning or I’m headed for the gym.  However, this breakfast bake requires little effort the night before, and it does it’s thing overnight while you sleep.

What exactly is it’s thing?  The cubed bread absorbs the egg-milk mixture overnight, which creates the fluffiest french toast ever.  When it bakes, it puffs up, and the top gets nice and crispy.  The contrast of the fluffiness, richness, and crispy crust just makes this breakfast over the top delicious.

I used coconut milk in this version, because it’s so rich and creamy and I love the flavor.  You can use whatever kind of milk you desire here — almond, whole milk,  or skim milk — depending on how rich you’d like your french toast.

If you don’t have any blueberries, don’t let that stop you!  Any type of fruit would be delicious here as well, so you can customize this with whatever you have on hand.

And don’t forget the fruity maple syrup!  It’s the perfect way to finish things off besides a piping hot cup of coffee.  Aaaahhhh…now I’ve caught my breath. 🙂

Blueberry Pecan Baked French Toast

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Blueberry Pecan Baked French Toast is an overnight french toast bake studded with blueberries and toasted pecans, served with a delicious blueberry maple syrup!

Author: Flavor the Moments

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

For the french toast:

• 8 ounces french bread, cut into 1" cubes
• 4 large eggs
• (1) 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk*
• ¼ cup maple syrup, or sweetener of choice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed if frozen)
• ⅓ cup pecan pieces
• For the blueberry maple syrup:
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed if frozen)
• ½ cup maple syrup

Instructions

Prepare the french toast:

1. Grease an 8x8" square baking dish with cooking spray. Place the cubed bread evenly into the dish.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs, maple syrup, ground cinnamon, and vanilla until well incorporated. Pour the egg-milk mixture evenly over the bread. Press the bread down into the liquid to ensure that it's completely wet. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the french toast from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Sprinkle with the blueberries and pecans. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for about 45 minutes, or until completely puffed in the middle and golden brown on top. If the french toast browns to quickly, cover it with foil while it continues to bake. Cool on a wire rack 10-15 minutes before serving.
4. Prepare the syrup:
5. Place the blueberries and maple syrup in a small saucepan and heat over medium low heat until the berries have softened and it's heating through, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and serve warm over the french toast. Enjoy!

Notes

I made a smaller batch with half of a leftover loaf of french bread. This recipe is easily doubled -- just bake in a 13 x 9" baking dish.
Challah bread is a wonderful substitute for the french bread.
*Use your favorite type of milk in place of the coconut milk -- whole milk, skim milk, or almond milk all work great here.
The blueberry maple syrup may be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Recipe by Flavor the Moments.

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