Healthy Blueberry French Toast Bake
on Sep 25, 2021, Updated Oct 28, 2023
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This healthy blueberry French toast bake is sweetened with just blueberries and bananas. It is the perfect make-ahead breakfast treat that the whole family can enjoy! It is moist and perfect for baby-led weaning!
I love making French toast, but when it comes to making big batches for the family, I hate being stuck at the stove dipping 2-3 slices at a time, waiting for them to cook. When you’ve got a screaming, hungry baby waiting to be fed, quick meals are the way to go. This French toast bake is a meal I like to make ahead the night before and pop into the oven for a few minutes in the morning to serve!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need to make this healthy blueberry French toast bake:
- Banana: The main source of sweetness for this bake. Try to use a banana that is very ripe with several brown spots. The riper the banana, the sweeter the bake!
- Bread Slices: I usually use whole wheat bread in this recipe, but any type of bread works well.
- Eggs: Used as a binder to help hold the bake together.
- Milk: I used whole milk in this recipe, but dairy-free alternatives work as well.
- Cinnamon: Provides an extra warm spice and subtle sweetness.
- Vanilla: Used to add flavor and enhance the natural sweetness in this bake.
- Blueberries: Used to add more bursts of natural sweetness in each slice.
- Cooking Spray/Butter: To grease the loaf pan.
Step By Step Instructions
- Cut 5-6 slices of bread into squares and add them to a pre-greased loaf pan.
- Sprinkle blueberries in the pan with the bread.
- Blend together the banana, eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla to form the batter.
- Pour the batter on top, press down the bread pieces, and top with more blueberries.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Blueberries: The blueberries may be replaced with other fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
- Mik: The milk may be replaced with a dairy-free alternative like coconut milk or oat milk.
- Eggs: The eggs may be replaced with unsweetened applesauce. They may also be replaced with flax eggs.
Storage Instructions
Once cooled, store the French toast bake in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. I like to section out portion sizes and individually wrap those to easily reheat desired portions when ready to serve. To freeze, store the individually wrapped portions in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for up to 2 months. You may reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F for a few minutes, or microwave for a few seconds until warmed through.
Recipe Notes
- When pouring the batter over the bread in the pan, it will seem like a lot of batter, but the bread will absorb the liquid and it will soak up in the fridge. This makes for a very moist French toast bake when cooked, but if you prefer something less moist, you can pour in a little less batter.
- Soaking the French toast bake overnight gives the bread more time to soak up all of the liquids, but try to soak for at least 2 hours if in a pinch.
- I love using this nutribullet blender to blend the ingredients into a smooth batter!
- This recipe can be made in a muffin pan to make blueberry French toast muffins. Make sure to pack the bread into the muffin pan after pouring the batter so that it binds well.
- I serve these as is to my baby and like to pour maple syrup on top for everyone else for a little added sweetness!
Here are some other blueberry-flavored breakfast recipes that you may like!
Healthy Blueberry French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana, with brown spots
- 5-6 slices of bread
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup milk
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup blueberries
- cooking spray, (for greasing pan)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup, (optional for added sweetness)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Cut the bread slices into squares and add them to a pre-greased loaf pan.
- Sprinkle blueberries in the pan with the bread.
- Blend together the banana, eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla to form the batter.
- Pour the batter on top, press down the bread pieces, and top with more blueberries.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight and bake for 35 minutes.
Notes
- When pouring the batter over the bread in the pan, it will seem like a lot of batter, but the bread will absorb the liquid and it will soak up in the fridge. This makes for a very moist French toast bake when cooked, but if you prefer something less moist, you can pour in a little less batter.
- Soaking the French toast bake overnight gives the bread more time to soak up all of the liquids, but try to soak for at least 2 hours if in a pinch.
- I love using this nutribullet blender to blend the ingredients into a smooth batter!
- I used a 9 by 5 loaf pan for this recipe, but you may use an 8 by 8 brownie pan for a thinner bake.
- This recipe can be made in a muffin pan to make blueberry French toast muffins. Make sure to pack the bread into the muffin pan after pouring the batter so that it binds well.
- I serve these as is to my baby and like to pour maple syrup on top for everyone else for a little added sweetness!
How can I make this without eggs?
Hi Shaheda! You can replace the eggs with unsweetened applesauce or with a liquid egg substitute like the brand Just Egg.
I made this on a Sunday night for a Monday morning breakfast, to use up excess bread and berries. It was SO good! I added extra berries (and used both strawberries & blueberries) and included the optional tablespoon of maple syrup. My toddler loved it and asked for it midday as well. For his I dolloped on some runny banana (made just by heating up a frozen ripe banana and mashing it up really well). Next time I’ll omit the maple syrup entirely. The fruit totally gives it enough sweetness.
Thanks for this great recipe! I also appreciate that it’s a manageable number of servings. Most recipes like this are made for a full 9×12 pan!
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Jenny! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and review!๐
Hi Lily! My little one seems to get a gassy tummy with banana, just wondered if there was something I could use instead, or if it could just be left out? Thanks ๐
Hi Andy! You can try swapping it out for some unsweetened applesauce๐
Iโm going to try this! Are frozen blueberries okay?
Yes, you can use frozen blueberries! I hope that you like it!๐
Hi! I am SO incredibly glad I came across your blog! We have an egg allergy and I’m thinking that a look of your egg recipes could be modified to be eggless. What would you recommend in this recipe and in general across your others? I’m thinking ripe banana for the sweet recipes and maybe yogurt for the savory ones? I’m new to the eggless crew so any insight would be appreciated!!
Hi Rachel! For this recipe, I would recommend replacing the egg with either some unsweetened applesauce or a flax egg! The best egg replacement varies per recipe, but I have a section titled “substitutions” if you scroll up a bit where I share the best-recommended ingredient replacements for each recipe. I know navigating an egg allergy is challenging, so I hope that you are still able to try out different recipes with those substitutions and that your little one likes any recipes you try out!๐
Can you freeze it and reheat?
Yes! I like to section out portion sizes and individually wrap those to easily reheat desired portions when ready to serve. To freeze, store the individually wrapped portions in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for up to 2 months๐
Love this recipe!! Great family breakfast ๐
Iโm so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing your great review, Maryann!๐