This French toast with strawberries and cream cheese is basically dessert for breakfast! This cream cheese strawberry stuffed French toast is golden on the outside, with that classic custard coating and full of sweet and tangy cream cheese and strawberry filling on the inside.
Breakfast is always better when it's sweet. At least, we think so. That's why we love this delicious French toast recipe. With its golden outside and sweet, tangy cream cheese and strawberry filling. It's dessert for breakfast, and it's always a winner!
This was inspired by our blueberry croissant french toast and cream cheese stuffed french toast recipe on this site, and it pairs well with these delicious bacon-wrapped breakfast sausages.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe uses basic kitchen staples.
- Easy: The French toast is a standard recipe, and the filling is incredibly easy to make, as well.
- Rich and Sweet: The French toast has that classic, sweet flavor we all love, and the filling is rich, sweet, and slightly tangy.
Ingredients
You'll only need a few basic ingredients to make this recipe, and most of them are probably in your kitchen right now. There's nothing to it!
- Granulated Sugar: Sugar gives the French toast its sweet flavor.
- Sliced Strawberries: Use any fruit that is in season. Blueberries, peaches, raspberries, or bananas are all great options.
- Cream Cheese: Cream cheese creates the rich, creamy base for the sweet, tangy filling.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar adds body and sweetness to the filling.
- Large Eggs: Eggs are the base for the custard mixture you'll soak up with the bread.
- Whole Milk: You could also use heavy cream or half and half or an ultra-rich custard like French toast. That being said 2% milk and plant-based milks such as oat milk or almond milk will work well too.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a wonderful warm note to the French toast but feel free to use nutmeg, allspice, cloves, apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice instead.
- Sourdough Bread: Brioche bread, Challah (Egg Bread) Texas toast, or your favorite bread will work well in this French toast recipe.
Optional toppings:
- Strawberries: Use your favorite fruit or what's in season.
- Whipped Cream: Your favorite ice cream will work as well.
- Powdered Sugar: A sprinkling adds sweetness and looks pretty.
- Maple Syrup: Use caramel, strawberry, chocolate sauce or your favorite sauce instead.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
Substitutions and Variations
Don't have the correct ingredients on hand? Or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this cream cheese strawberry stuffed French toast.
- Skip Fruit: Use any of your favorite chips like chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, peanut butter, chopped chocolate or your favorite chocolate bar instead to change up the filling.
- Gluten-Free: Use your favorite gluten-free bread for a gluten-free version.
- Add Nuts: Add some of your favorite chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts or almonds.
- Skip Cream Cheese: Use peanut butter, almond butter, or some chocolate hazelnut spread or Nutella instead for different flavor.
Instructions
This recipe isn't much more involved than making traditional French toast, which means it's super easy! It only takes a few minutes.
Mix the sugar and strawberries in a bowl and set aside for 15 minutes.
Macerating the strawberries intensifies their flavor and softens them.
Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, then fold in the strawberries.
In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.
Generously spread the cream cheese mixture over three slices of bread and top them with another slice to make three "sandwiches".
Soak each sandwich in the egg mixture, making sure each side is fully coated.
Cook the stuffed French toast until golden in a skillet with butter.
Flip and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown. Serve warm with your favorite toppings.
Hint: Be sure to keep your heat at medium-high. This is the sweet spot for French toast, getting it crispy on the outside and fully cooked on the inside without burning it.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy our mango french toast or english muffin french toast.
Storage
Refrigerator: If you have leftover French toast, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. After that, it will start to get soggy. To prevent this, you can add a layer of paper towels between the slices to ward off excess moisture. Freezing this French toast isn't recommended.
Reheat: Reheat in the microwave if you’re short on time. Microwaves vary but you can heat your French toast on a microwave safe plate for about 1-1 ½ minutes on high.
If you want crispier French toast, heat a pan over medium heat and reheat each side for 2-3 minutes. If the outside is getting too brown but the middle isn’t warming, add a teaspoon of water to the pan and cover with a lid for 1 minute.
Freezer: We don't recommend freezing this recipe. The filling won't defrost with the same texture it had before freezing.
What to Serve with Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
Tips
This is basically classic French toast with a little filling, so it's very easy and straightforward. There are just a few things to remember.
- Be sure the cream cheese is fully softened to avoid any little bits of raw cream cheese in the filling.
- Blend eggs until incorporated so you don't end up with little bits of egg white or egg yolk on your French toast.
- Ideally, bread should be slightly stale for the best French toast, at least a day or two old. Fresh bread can fall apart in the egg mixture. If you only have fresh bread, allow your sliced bread sit out at room temperature overnight or put in oven on low heat to dry out somewhat but be careful not to toast.
- Make sure that your bread soaks up the egg mixture and is totally covered. If using denser bread you may need a longer soak time of 20 seconds.
- Give your strawberries a good 15 minutes to fully macerate for best results.
- Check your French toast after about two minutes in the skillet by gently lifting the corner with your spatula. If it's golden brown, it's ready to be flipped.
FAQ
Do you have questions about French toast with strawberries and cream cheese? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about cream cheese strawberry stuffed French toast.
Perfect French toast should be soaked just enough for the outside to be thoroughly coated and hold on to the custard mixture. This ensures great flavor and a crisp, golden texture without the bread getting soggy or falling apart.
If you prefer a fresher, firmer strawberry and flavor feel free to skip macerating the strawberries. Macerating is recommended to give the berry filling more flavor and a softer, dessert-like texture.
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More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
Do you like sweet breakfasts? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
French Toast With Strawberries And Cream Cheese
Equipment
- heavy bottomed skillet
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup sliced strawberries
- 1 brick (8 oz) cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 slices sourdough bread
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
Optional toppings
- strawberries
- whipped cream
- powdered sugar
- maple syrup
Instructions
- In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the granulated sugar with the strawberry slices and set aside for about 15 minutes. (Note: This will macerate the strawberries, intensifying the flavor and softening their texture.)
- In a large bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth. Gently fold in the strawberries.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.
- Melt ⅓ of the butter in a large, heavy bottom, skillet over medium high heat. While the butter is melting, lay a slice of bread on a flat surface and spread a generous amount of the cream cheese filling over it. Place a second slice of bread over it. Repeat until you have 3 “sandwiches.”
- Soak each sandwich in the egg mixture for about a minute making sure each side is fully coated in the mixture. Immediately transfer the sandwich to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, using a spatula to flip halfway through, or until each side is golden brown.
- Serve warm with your toppings of your choice.
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Notes
- Be sure the cream cheese is fully softened to avoid any little bits of raw cream cheese in the filling.
- Blend eggs until incorporated so you don't end up with little bits of egg white or egg yolk on your French toast.
- Ideally, bread should be slightly stale for the best French toast, at least a day or two old. Fresh bread can fall apart in the egg mixture. If you only have fresh bread, allow your sliced bread sit out at room temperature overnight or put in oven on low heat to dry out somewhat but be careful not to toast.
- Make sure that your bread soaks up the egg mixture and is totally covered. If using denser bread you may need a longer soak time of 20 seconds.
- Give your strawberries a good 15 minutes to fully macerate for best results.
- Check your French toast after about two minutes in the skillet by gently lifting the corner with your spatula. If it's golden brown, it's ready to be flipped.
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