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If there’s one brunch recipe you need in your life, it’s this Baked Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast. Not only is this French toast easy to prepare, but it’s always a favorite. Soft, buttery, sweet, and filled with strawberry jam, whipped cream cheese, and fresh berries. It’s the perfect brunch entrée for both spring and summer gatherings.
We love French toast and I can’t deny I love making it too. Because aside from a Dutch baby, French toast is my mom’s favorite! She doesn’t get excited over every recipe I make. In fact, there are some she’s not even into (like anything with abundant onions), but French toast she adores.
I was really excited to create this recipe with her in mind. Since she was out of town when I made these, I already know what I’m making her for Mother’s Day! She’s going to love this dish!
When it comes to brunch dishes, in general, I always make something sweet. They’re so much more fun than an egg-based dish. I love eggs but brunch always feels special. Brunch should be done up and celebrated a little more than your average breakfast meal.
Dishes like pancakes, French toast, Dutch babies, crepes, and waffles are all reserved for brunch. They’re always so fun to create, and of course, delicious to enjoy!
But I like to keep things very simple in the morning so I try to share brunch recipes that can be prepared ahead of time. Ideally the night before. French toast is wonderful for that!
I’ve shared a lot of French toast recipes over the years, but I think this might be my new favorite. The day I made this to photograph, it was finally sunny and just felt a little more like spring.
The sunshine allowed me to really have fun with this. I was able to create a recipe I’m so excited to share with you all.
This really is a great spring and even summer recipe!
Alright, on to the details
For this French toast, I love to use a challah loaf. It’s thick and holds up really nicely when stuffed and baked.
You need to slice the bread into thick slices. Then, each piece is stuffed with cream cheese and strawberry jam.
You can stuff the bread in two ways. The fancier route is to take two zip-top bags or piping bags and pipe the cream cheese and jam into the bread. This is not hard to do but requires more steps.
The second way is simpler, just slice the bread in half but don’t cut it all the way through. Spread the middle of the bread with cream cheese
And for the jam, sandwich the two sides together. Either method works the same in the end, so choose whatever feels easiest to you!
Once the bread is stuffed, everything else is pretty straightforward. Make a simple French toast batter with eggs, milk, and vanilla. Dip each piece of bread into the batter then arrange in a baking dish.
I usually have leftover batter, so I pour it over the entire pan.
You can let the French toast sit for 30 minutes. Or you can chill overnight to bake up the following day.
To finish the dish I love topping it with whipped cream and strawberries tossed with honey and lemons. If I have it on hand I’ll use lavender-infused honey, which always feels special.
The fresh berries on top create the prettiest French toast!! Just looking at the dish makes everyone excited!
Whether you plan to make this for Easter, Mother’s Day, or any other day, it will always get rave reviews!! Very excited to share this with my mom soon!
She will love it!!
Looking for other easy breakfast dishes?? Here are my favorites:
Cinnamon Knots with Coffee Icing
Berry and Cream Cheese Croissant French Toast Bake
Lastly, if you make this Baked Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Baked Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
Calories Per Serving: 450 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 loaf challah bread sliced into 1 1/2 inch thick slices
- 1 jar (10 ounces) strawberry jam
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- kosher salt
- maple syrup, for serving
Strawberries
- 2 cups fresh strawberries
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- 1. Grease a 9×13 inch-baking dish with butter.2. In a bowl, whip the cream cheese until fluffy, 1-2 minutes.3. 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 cream cheese, then jam, press to enclose (see above photo). You will only need 2/3 of the jam.4. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, vanilla, and salt. Submerge each piece of bread into the egg mix, allowing the bread to sit at least a minute to soak up the eggs. Arrange the bread in the baking dish. Pour the remaining egg mix over the bread slices. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375° F. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20-25 minutes or until the French toast is golden.6. Toss the fresh strawberries with the honey and lemon. 7. Serve the french toast warm, topped with any additional whipped cream, strawberries, and maple syrup. Enjoy!
This was a huge hit at our Easter brunch. I followed the recipe exactly and let it sit overnight and it turned out perfect.
Thank you so much!
Hey Lauren,
Happy Monday!!🌞 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Made a double batch of this Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast for Easter Brunch. I stuck pretty closely to the recipe and it was huge hit for the whole family. So bummed that I forgot to take any pics. Keep the wonderful recipes coming.
Hey Eileen,
Happy Monday!!🌞 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Just made this up to baking point for tomorrow morning’s breakfast. It’s in the frig overnight soaking up all the eggy custard goodness. Super easy. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Can’t wait! 🍓
Thanks for trying the recipe Laurie!! I hope it’s delish! Happy Easter! xT
Made this for Easter brunch today and everyone loved it! No substitutions other than not adding the honey. Delicious! Thank you!
PS. Prepared this the night before and it just needed a few more minutes in the oven with the lid off.
Hey Chelsea,
Happy Easter!! 🐰🐣🌈 Thank you very much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your comment, I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xT
Just bought a huge amount of raspberries and can’t find any nice looking strawberries as they’re not in season; Do you think it would work well using raspberries or even blueberries (and just use the same flavour jam)?
Hi Cathy,
Absolutely!! I hope you enjoy this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xT
Could you make this the night before then bake in the morning?
Hi Sydney,
Sure, that should be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xx
Can I use croissants with this recipe?
Hi Corrie,
Sure, I bet those would work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Hi! I just made this, but I realized the ingredient list has an extra 2 teaspoons of honey but I don’t see where you mix honey with the egg mixture. Do you add honey to the egg mixture? I only see where you mix the honey with the strawberries at the end. Did I miss something?
Hey Jaime,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! Sorry about that, the 2 teaspoons of honey can be added in step 4. I hope this is delish! xx
Hi! It turned out great, even without the honey :). Next time I will add the honey in step 4 to compare. My mom already requested that I make it again for a breakfast they are having with the community! Thanks so much!
Hi Jaime,
Happy Monday!! ☀️⛅️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
I mixed the honey with the lemon juice and tossed it with the sliced strawberries.
OMG❤️!
Lol thanks Rita!!
Hello!
Do you think a French loaf with thick slices would work or wouldn’t get to soggy?
Love your recipes!
Hey there,
If you can, I would stick with challah or brioche for best results:) I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xx
Since there are no bakeries that supply challah or brioche bread in my town I use French loaf and it works fine 🙂
This recipe looks delicious! Did you use more than one loaf in your video? Thanks!
Hi Sadie,
Nope, I just used 1 loaf:) Let me know if you have any other questions! I hope you love this recipe! xx
Can you make this ahead of time and then bake morning of?
Hi Megan,
Sure, I don’t see why not! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it’s delish! xx
This was fantastic! Had a breakfast for dinner for my 83 year old Mother and 7 of her friends. I used 2 brioche loaves. Did 10 eggs and 3 cups of milk soaked for 2 hours. Make this for Mom this year you will be her favorite.
Hi Ann Marie,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xx
Good day Tieghan,
Would you share where your lovely pie plate is from? The French toast looks even better in that dish. Thank you, Shawnya
Hi Shawnya,
So sorry, I no longer have a link for that pie dish, it’s super old from Anthropologie, but they always have some cute ones in stock! xx
I don’t like strawberries but this would be a good recipe to give a try because my husband loves his strawberries and he may enjoy this bread. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks! I hope you love the recipe!
Mrs. Ainee C. Beland, why don’t you make this french toast recipe stuffing half the bread with strawberry jam and the other half with a fruit jam you like? Just an “out of the box” thought.
how many servings does this recipe make?
Hi Debra,
This recipe will make 8 servings:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This was fantastic! Had a breakfast for dinner for my 83 year old Mother and 7 of her friends. I used 2 brioche loaves. Did 10 eggs and 3 cups of milk soaked for 2 hours. Make this for Mom this year you will be her favorite.
Hey Ann Marie,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xx
Hi! I have a question! The directions say to not cut the bread all the way through, but the next step says to dip the slices into the egg mixture… How??
I think it’s a 2 step process. First slice the bread thick (1 1/2 inches ). Then each slice just slice but not all the way thru. This is where you fill the cream cheese and jam.
Pictures show it in a pie plate dish not a 9×13? Same amount of ingredients for either baking pan?
Either one will work, I just chose to use a large pie plate:)
Thanks Sally!
Hi Pam,
So the ingredient list calls for 1 loaf challah bread sliced into 1 1/2 inch thick slices. You are going to buy the bread already sliced or slice it yourself. Then, when you are making the small slits in step 3, that is going to be for the filling. Hope this makes sense! xx
Can I use something other than Challah bread? I’ve never seen it here before
Hi Janessa,
Brioche would also work well for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT