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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.
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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!
Ingredients
- Cream cheese
- Challah bread
- Strawberry jam
- Large eggs
- Whole milk
- Honey
- Salted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Kosher salt
- Maple syrup
Strawberries
- Fresh strawberries
- Honey
- Lemon juice
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
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!
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.
The 2 tsp of honey? Does it get added to the egg mixture? It’s not mentioned in the How to make instructions.
Hi Marnae,
Sorry about that, you can add to step 4. I hope you love this recipe! Happy Easter!
This was absolutely fantastic. I made my own challah bread the day before to make this baked French toast and everyone was raving about it at our mother’s day brunch. So, so delicious! What I will change next time though is use less cream cheese and less of the egg mixture because I had quite a lot leftover at the end. Also- more strawberries. More strawberries makes it even better.
Hey Sam,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! Happy Monday! xT
Made this for Easter Brunch and it was a hit! I used whipped cream cheese and had lavender honey from Bjorn’s Honey (Colorado) and it was amazing! Easy to put together and had it in the oven for about an extra five minutes.
Thank you!
Hi Luba,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, I love that it was enjoyed! xT
I’m thinking about making this for Easter brunch this weekend! However, I won’t have time to make it Sunday morning or at all the day before. Do you think if I prepared it on Friday night it would still be yummy by Sunday brunch?
Hi Allison,
I think that would be okay for you to do:) Please let me know if I an help in any other way! xx
What size challah bread did you use? I picked one up from the store, but the amount of liquid leftover definitely made a bit of an omelette-bed around the french toast that I think was not intended… Thanks in advance!
Hi Kajsa,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe!! So sorry, I really don’t have the exact size of the loaf, I would say it was about 1 foot long. Sorry to hear you had so much extra liquid! xx
How many does this serve and can I bake, freeze, thaw and reheat? If so, please tell me timing for reheating and if it should be covered? Thanks!
Hi! This should serve about 5-6 people! I haven’t ever tried to freeze this before, but you could definitely leave in the fridge overnight and then bake!
Right after milk, you list honey, but you don’t say where to use those couple of teaspoons. Are they supposed to go into the batter?
Hey Sarah! You add the honey in step 6! Hope this helps! xT
Do you put the bread in the dish flat or on it’s side?
Hi Rachael,
I kind of have mine on a slant:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it turns out well for you! xT
Wow wow wow! 🤩 This was FANTASTIC! I made it for my sweet Mother in Law’s birthday breakfast and it was a hit! The flavors were out of this world and the strawberry mix on top was the chef’s kiss! Thanks for another home run, Tieghan!
Thanks so much Alissa!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you giving it a try! Happy Birthday to your mother in law! xT
Would you recommend having the oven on Bake or Convection? Thanks!
Hi Diana,
I always use regular bake for my recipes:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I made this for mothers day and it was amazing! I often do not use dairy so I used Miyokos vegan butter and cream cheese and coconut milk instead of regular. It was so easy to make and I loved being able to throw it in the oven when my mom arrived and we had some mimosas. It was a big hit and eating the leftovers at work the next day was just as good. Thank you!
Hi Bianca,
Happy Sunday!!🍍🥥 Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
made this for mothers day, my grandma and aunt loved it. They even went to say it tastes gourmet and better than a similar version from a nice restaurant. I made the challah bread from scratch and it added a nice touch. Definitely recommend for a brunch.
Hey Ivy,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and appreciate you making it! Thanks for your comment! xT
This was so delicious! Really worth the effort especially the luxury of preparing everything the day before and you can enjoy your morning while this amazing breakfast cooks.keeper recipe for sure!
Hey Melissa,
Happy Friday!!🥑🍑 I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and sharing your review! xT
If you pre make this and let it sit overnight will the bread become soggy? How would you avoid this? I hate soggy bread 😵💫
Hi Jaye,
You should be fine to prep this ahead and bake in the morning:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Mine is definitely a bit soggy. Still tastes great though. More like a bread pudding. How did yours turn out? I’m wondering if it was either, not enough bread, or too much of the egg mixture?..
Why does picture show it in a round pie dish? Same amount as for a 9×12 dish as per recipe?
Hi Marty,
It’s just the dish a chose to use, you can follow the recipe using a 9×13 baking dish or a round dish of your choosing:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
I couldn’t find Challah bread anywhere and didn’t have time to make it, so I used a French bread with a crispy crust. It was still delicious and it wasn’t soggy (I was worried it would be). It was an Easter brunch hit!
Hey Haley,
Happy Wednesday!! 🌞 Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT