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If thereโs one brunch recipe you need in your life, itโs this Baked Blackberry Ricotta French Toast. Not only is this french toast incredibly easy, itโs also better than any other french toast youโve ever had. Soft, buttery, sweet, and filled with blackberry jam, ricotta cheeseย and fresh blackberries. Itโs the perfect brunchย entrรฉe for both spring and summer gatherings.
Welcome to another installment of Recipes my mom LOVES. If you hadnโt guessed from yesterdayโs post, my mom loves brunch type food. Breakfast is her jam (get it? like her breakfast jam? no? OK. stopping now) and sheโd eat it for every meal if she could.
One of the main reasons I developed a love of cooking was through my mom, and no, not because she loves to cook. In fact, sheโs much more of a baker, and her cooking skills tend to be limited to pasta with butter. This is not to say she canโt/could not learn, because I one hundred percent know that she could, but she just doesnโt care to cook. Although Iโm told she did do most of the cooking back when my brothers were little, before I was born, and when I was a baby.
Anyway, as a kid mom and I would do breakfast for lunch any chance we got. Meaning on the days I played hooky from school because I was โsickโ. Right. Right. Weโd make chocolate chip banana pancakes and huddle by the fire. It was the best, and itโs where my love of cooking really started to kick in.
Fast forward a few years to where we are today. I am very much grown-up, no longer living at home, and yet here I am, still making sweet breakfasts inspired by my mom.
Some things will never change. Not complaining.
Side Note: when and how did I get so old?!
Over the years of writing HBH, I have ventured out from our classic banana pancakes and created more than a few new breakfast recipes. This blackberry and ricotta filled baked french toast is high on my list of favorites, and moms too. So much so that itโs the only thing sheโs asked to have on Motherโs Day this Sunday. Well, ok this french toast and then these crepes. French toast for breakfast, crepes for dinner with a big spring salad. You know, to round out the meal.
What? Itโs Motherโs Day. Sheโs living it up.
OK. Here are the details.
Like I said, this french toast is not like any youโve had before. Each piece is stuffed with sweet blackberry jam before getting dipped through an eggy, buttery, ricotta based batter. The pieces of toast are then layered in a baking dish and left to sit for an hour, or even overnight, to really let the batter soak into the bread.
Once the bread has soaked for a while, itโs time for the oven, where this dish will bake up to a sweet and golden perfection.
Now, you can of course just eat the french toast as is, but you guys know me, I need toppings. So I whipped up some ricotta and served it alongside the warm french toast with a light drizzle of maple syrup.
Yum. Yum. And YUM.
Thereโs truly nothing not to love about this french toast and whatโs great is that if you are planning to make it for your weekend brunch, you can prepare everything the previous day and then just bake it up the morning of your brunch.
Super simple. So delicious. And you know, really pretty too!
You guys all know I love a dish thatโs pretty and delicious.
Trust me when I say, all the moms of the world will also love this french toast. Also trust me when I say, anyone whoโs not a mom will love this french toast. So basically, this french toast will be well loved by all.
You just need to make it so you can experience it for yourself.
Ready, setโฆ
If you make this Blackberry French Toast and love it, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love, love, love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make this, donโt forget to also tag me onย Instagramย so I can see! I love looking at the photos of recipes you all have made. It makes my day!
Watch the How-To Video:
Baked Blackberry Ricotta French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 loaf challah bread, sliced into 1 inch thick slices
- 1 jar (10 ounces) blackberry or blueberry preserves
- 6 large eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 16 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- powdered sugar and maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Grease a 9x13 inch-baking dish with butter. 2. Slice each piece of bread in half, cutting almost all the way through, but leaving a 1/4 inch at the bottom. Spread the inside of the bread with blackberry jam, press to enclose (see above photo). 3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, 1 cup ricotta, maple syrup. vanilla, lemon zest, salt, and butter. Submerge each piece of bread into the egg mixture, allowing the bread to sit at least a minute and soak up the eggs. Arrange the bread in the prepared baking dish. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the bread slices.4. Cover and place in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle half the blackberries over top the french toast. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the French toast is golden and crisp. If the tops of the bread begin to brown too quickly, loosely cover the french toast with foil.5. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the remaining 1 cup ricotta. Stir in 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, if desired. 6. Serve the french toast warm, topped with whipped ricotta, fresh berries, and maple syrup. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
GO.
What a beautiful presentation! I cooked it in my large Le Creuset Pan, which was gorgeous for Easter Brunch. The French Toast rose like a soufflรฉ. That is a new favorite and a nice change from the traditional baked French Toast recipes. Loved the change-up of ricotta. Thank you, very fun! Happy Spring!
Hey Kym,
Happy Monday!! Thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your feedback!๐ท
Could I use sour dough? My daughter is gluten free and thatโs the best bread I can get that is gluten free
Hi Jeanne,
Sure, that would be just fine for you to do. I hope you love this recipe!
We added cinnamon. Yummy! Thank you.
Thanks so much, Kathleen! So glad this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! Happy Sunday!๐ผ๐ฐ
Obsessed! I have been making this recipe for a few years now – usually with brioche, once with croissants. Itโs amazing. Family and friends love it. Itโs so easy to make the night before and have an impressive brunch or breakfast on special occasions. As others have said, the lemon zest is essential. Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Emily,
Happy Sunday!! I appreciate you making this recipe so often and your comment, love to hear it is always a winner!!
Hi there!
Making this for a large crowd…would this work in a crockpot and then finish off in the oven?
Hi Becca,
Sorry, I have never tried that! Is there a reason you want to start in the crockpot and finish in the oven? It sounds like more work to transfer it all. If you can follow the recipe as written I would suggest that:) xx
Hi Tieghan! I was wondering if you thought this recipe may do well with croissants rather than challah. If so would you make any adjustments and how many croissants would you use? Thank you!
Hi Jamie,
Sure, I bet croissants would be great!! I haven’t tested with croissants so I am not sure how many you would use. Let me know if you give that a try, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Absolutely delicious! I made this for Christmas for both sides of my family!
Hey Julia,
Happy New Year!๐๐ I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! xx
Made this last year for Christmas and it was a hit and now I’m back making it again this year! This was such a unique and tasty dish…don’t miss out on the ricotta topping! This will be our Christmas morning tradition ๐
Hey Lauren,
Happy Wednesday!!โ๏ธ So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xT
Can you prep the batter ahead of time? If so, how many days?!
Hey Stephanie,
Sure, I don’t see why not, I would say 1-2 days in advance is fine! I hope you love this recipe! Happy Holidays! xT
This is off the hook! Made it for my girls Xmas brunch and my guests were raving about the this dish. Will definitely be making this again. The ricotta whip is awesome.
Hey Michelle,
Wonderful!!๐ I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
Made this for Easter brunch and it was a hit. The lemon truly makes this dish. I skipped the whipped ricotta based on personal tastes, and had to use brioche instead of challah bread- but the dish didnโt feel like it was missing a thing.
Hi Maddy,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
This was divine. I have never baked french toast so I was curious. This was” lick the dish” yummy. Tieghan’s recipes are always so adaptable. I used blueberries and brioche instead of blackberry and challah. Also I added a little lemon curd to each ricotta mixture. Heavenly. Cooked beautifully. The secret is letting your bread soak as long as possible. I did overnight.
Hey Laura,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled to hear that it was a winner! Have the best week!? xT
Does it matter what type of baking dish you use for this? Pyrex ok?
Hey Stephanie,
Any oven safe baking dish works here:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
I had to make a few adjustments based on what I could find. I went with a vanilla brioche (challah is hard to find in my area and I wasnโt up for making that from scratch). I also used huckleberries that we had from last summer picking rather than blackberries. The lemon zest is ESSENTIAL. The liquid amount was a LOT and I was afraid it would be too soupy but it cooked through just fine, crusty outer pieces and custardy inside. I think Iโd leave out the ricotta next time for our taste but otherwise it was a solid recipe. Thank you!
Hi Tanya,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xx
Hi,
Do you think I could replace the jam with compote? Will the bread get soggy as I will be leaving it in the fridge overnight. Thanks!
Hi Sandy,
Sure, compote would work for you as well and leaving overnight is totally fine! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan