Baked Croissant French Toast With Blueberries

By Ifrah F. Ahmed

Updated December 17, 2025

Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Ready In
1 hr 10 min
Rating
5(150)
Comments
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Simple to prepare but worthy of a celebration, this French toast starts with a base of buttery croissants and is studded with juicy blueberries. Cut into bite-size pieces, the flaky pastries are soaked in a rich custard and assembled in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; the casserole can be prepared and baked in the same morning or assembled ahead of time and baked the next day. Sweetened with maple syrup and spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and hints of vanilla, this is a perfect dish for a special occasion or to simply feed a brunch crowd. Frozen blueberries add sweet and tart flavors to this dish, but you can easily swap in other frozen or fresh fruit such as raspberries, strawberries or bananas.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

  • 3 tablespoons butter (preferably salted), melted 

  • 7 large eggs

  • 1 ½ cups/350 milliliters whole milk

  • ¾ cup/175 milliliters maple syrup (preferably dark), plus more for serving

  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

  • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 5 large croissants (about 14 ounces total), torn or cut into bite-size pieces

  • 1 ½ cups/11 ounces frozen blueberries 

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

47 grams carbs; 207 milligrams cholesterol; 400 calories; 6 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 19 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 247 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 29 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Grease the inside of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with the melted butter. 

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Add the croissant pieces to the egg-milk mixture and mix together until coated. Fold in the blueberries. 

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and while the oven is heating, allow the croissants to soak in the egg-milk mixture for 20 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish. (If preparing in advance, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight. Remove from the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature. Uncover and bake as instructed.)  

  4. Step 4

    Bake for 30 minutes, until the casserole has puffed, the top is golden brown and the custard is no longer runny. 

  5. Step 5

    Serve straight from the baking dish, passing additional maple syrup for drizzling on top.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
150 user ratings
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Comments

DL

I made this for my son and daughter in law the week they had a new baby. Their comments were “insanely good” and “five stars.” I used fresh blueberries, four croissants from Trader Joe’s and five eggs, and backed everything else down by a third, except the maple syrup, which I cut in half. I soaked overnight and baked it in a small Dutch oven in the morning. Smash hit!

Kristin Carson

@celticgardener You have stale croissants? :)

Cooksalot

@Beachy For those of us with “special needs” it’s a joy to be able to alter recipes like this to enjoy. There are not any recipe books that accomsfate all of my needs so we lear by reading other people’s comments on substitutions. Sadly, there’s no way to make this one work for me but fun to make this for friends and family, pretty much as-is.

Nancy C

I have another similar recipe that uses harder bread rather than the croissants and I prefer that one. This seemed a little too eggy and mushy to me, and it took longer to cook than what the recipe said. But it would be good for a brunch crowd, as it makes a lot. I did prep it the night before, as suggested, a good time saver in the morning.

Laura J.

Made on New Year’s Day. Used buttermilk because I had it, poured the melted butter in because I didn’t read the instructions first (why did it need to be melted to grease the pan? lol). I toasted the croissants a bit first so they had a bit of texture. Slivered almonds on top toasted up nicely, a dusting of powdered sugar when serving was lovely, no need for extra syrup. Will make again!

Terry

Just made this for New Years morning. The only change we made was using unsweetened almond milk vs whole. I t did take 50 minutes of baking time for the center to be done. Absolutely delicious— we both had seconds! Will try fresh blueberries next time to decrease baking time and the chopped pecans on top idea sounds great! A keeper.

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