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If there’s one brunch recipe you need in your life, it’s this Baked Blackberry Ricotta French Toast. Not only is this french toast incredibly easy, it’s also better than any other french toast you’ve ever had. Soft, buttery, sweet, and filled with blackberry jam, ricotta cheese and fresh blackberries. It’s the perfect brunch entrée for both spring and summer gatherings.
Welcome to another installment of Recipes my mom LOVES. If you hadn’t guessed from yesterday’s post, my mom loves brunch type food. Breakfast is her jam (get it? like her breakfast jam? no? OK. stopping now) and she’d 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, she’s much more of a baker, and her cooking skills tend to be limited to pasta with butter. This is not to say she can’t/could not learn, because I one hundred percent know that she could, but she just doesn’t care to cook. Although I’m 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 “sick”. Right. Right. We’d make chocolate chip banana pancakes and huddle by the fire. It was the best, and it’s 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 it’s the only thing she’s asked to have on Mother’s 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? It’s Mother’s Day. She’s living it up.
OK. Here are the details.
Like I said, this french toast is not like any you’ve 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, it’s 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.
There’s truly nothing not to love about this french toast and what’s 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 that’s 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 who’s 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, set…
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, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram 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
Servings: 10 servings
Calories Per Serving: 328 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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!
GO.
it looks delicious and the way you described each and everything with pictures is just awesome. will try this recipe soon.
Great! I hope you love this! Thank you!
So beautiful and perfect for Mother’s Day – my mom would adore this! 🙂
Thank you! I hope your mom loves this!
This looks amazing! What might be a good gluten free sub for the bread? A group of 10 to 15 of my friends and I spend a 4 day weekend at a lake house every summer where we sign up for a meal duty and I always seem to get a breakfast. I’m loving the idea of something I can make the night before and just pop in the oven. I would need to make one gluten free though as we have 1 with Celiacs and a few more who are gluten sensitive.
HI! I would just use your favorite gluten free bread. I am sure whatever you love will be great! I personally love Rudi’s Brand or Udi’s Brand. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Could you slice loaf horizontally,spread jam and then slice.? Seems easier.
I am sure that would be fine. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Hey Tieghan,
I love this French toast and was thinking of what to make with blackberries! This French toast would be lovely for mother’s day and I hope your mom enjoys all that you make! Do you have any desserts planned? Or any plans for the day? I hope you have a nice time and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s post.
Hi Kristin! This would be so great for Mother’s Day!
Why does the recipe call for a 9×13 baking dish, but all the photos appear to be of a round Dutch oven?
HI! I just baked these in a circle baker that is the equivalent size of a 9×13 inch pan. Feel free to bake in whatever you’d please. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
This looks really good and blackberries are my favorite bery, so this vaught my eye. BUT I live alone in a senior building. Even cutting the recipe in half is still too much for one person.
Hi Carol! I am so glad you loved this recipe and sorry it was a bit much for you!
I just adore french toast and blackberries! So delicious!
Thank you!
I have been scouring the internet until my eyes bleed looking for the perfect sweet dish for our Mother’s Day brunch to accompany some mini frittatas and this popped up in my email! HBH saving the day per usual!! 😉 You always combine beauty and flavor in such a way that makes food not just a meal but an experience- and it’s why you’re my go-to for recipe inspiration!
Hi Jennifer! I am so glad you like this recipe and hope it turns out amazing for Mother’s Day!
This looks yummy…and, who doesn’t love ricotta !!!!!
I have many blackberries that are frozen ! Do you think I could possibly use these instead of fresh ?
Frozen blackberries will be great! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
This sounds like the perfect dish to serve at a baby shower I am hosting. What would you recommend serving with it?
HI! I would do a simple green salad or fruit salad along. Lighter items are best to let this shine! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I’m having a moment with ricotta in baked goods lately…YUM!!
Glad you like this! Thank you Brittany!
DANGG!! This looks amazing! Also, I loved reading more about your mom and how she inspires you! Our mom’s are opposites in that my mom hates baking (she doesn’t like to measure), but loves cooking!
ALSO! P.S: will you be hosting a workshop soon once the studio is done? Kinda dying to go and willing to fly from California to learn from you!!
xo
Hi Christine! That is so sweet! I was thinking of doing workshops, but nothing is planned yet! I will definitely let you guys know before the first one!
Wow that looks delicious! Will try this recipe soon 🙂
I hope you love it!
I am not a fan of traditional french toast, but this looks and sounds soooo much like a bread pudding that you had me drooling all over my laptop!
Thank you so much Ruth! I am so glad you like this!