Meet the French toast with the most! Jam-sweetened cream cheese, fresh strawberries, and banana slices layered between thick, fluffy slices of bread, this Stuffed French Toast is pure breakfast pampering. Treat yourself!
Email Me the Recipe!
From time to time, we'll send you Well Plated emails. You can unsubscribe anytime. Have an account? Log In.
A breakfast for special mornings.
One of my “in another life” careers is to own a bed and breakfast, and this stuffed French toast would be a signature menu item.
Cooking an all-out breakfast isn’t something I do often for just Ben and myself, which is why it feels extra special when I pull out all the stops and make a decadent recipe like this one. (For practicality, I typically do Overnight French Toast.)
Save this to treat yourself and someone you love. It’s spectacular (and will definitely make you feel like you’re at a 5-star B&B!).
5 Star Review
“Nice recipe for a special occasion, made for my husbands birthday. And easy enough anytime. I used blueberries, banana and strawberries and fig jam as what I happened to have handy.
— Frances —
Thanks for the idea!”
How to Make Stuffed French Toast
I tested both a stovetop method and a baked stuffed French toast. We both preferred the stovetop method.
- Cooking French toast on the stovetop helps the outsides to turn golden and crisp and the extra thick French toast “sandwich” to cook through evenly.
- For a baked French toast option, check out this Blueberry French Toast Casserole or classic Baked French Toast.
Key Ingredients
- Bread. It’s not French toast without it! I like to use whole wheat bread (just like I do for French Toast Sticks), because whole grains offer additional fiber and nutrients compared to white bread. If you want to go all out, swap brioche.
- Eggs + Milk. I found 1% milk gave us a French toast that was plenty rich. For even more decadence, use whole milk or swap part of the milk for half-and-half.
- Strawberries + Banana (or fruit of choice). French toast topped with fruit is tasty but French toast stuffed WITH bananas and strawberries is next level! Feel free to use one or both fruits.
- Jam. To sweeten and flavor the filling, I used pure fruit jam. Use whatever fruit jam is in season, pairs with the fresh fruit you are stuffing inside the French toast, or you have open in your refrigerator (or swap honey).
- Cream Cheese. I used reduced fat cream cheese, and the filling was every bit as creamy as I dreamed.
The Directions
- Prepare the reduced-fat cream cheese filling.
- To begin assembling the stuffed French toast, spread the filling on one side of each slice of bread.
- Layer the fruit of your choice on top of the filling.
- Put the two sides together like a sandwich.
- Whisk the French toast batter together in a shallow baking dish.
- Dip each sandwich in the batter, turning it a few times to thoroughly coat.
- Cook the sandwiches for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, until golden on both sides and the custard is cooked through, gently flipping once halfway through. ENJOY!
Why is My French Toast Soggy?
French toast should be moist and tender inside, but it is not supposed to be gooey. If your French toast is soggy, it’s likely because:
- Your bread is too fresh. The best bread for French toast is day-old bread. Because it’s dry, it can absorb the custard but won’t become soggy. (No day-old bread? Simply toast your slices in the oven for a few minutes first to help dry it out.)
- You let the bread sit too long in the custard. It’s a fine line. You want the bread to be moist almost all the way through, but you don’t want it completely wet or falling apart.
- Your pan is too hot. If your French toast is burning outside before the inside is cooked, lower your skillet heat. For extra-thick stuffed French toast sandwiches like these in particular, you need low-to-medium heat to ensure the custard cooks all the way though.
What to Serve with Stuffed French Toast
- Fresh fruit. Slice up whatever is in season, or serve this Fruit Salad for a special meal.
- Yogurt + Granola. For a double hit of creaminess, serve plain or vanilla Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of Healthy Granola (or the Ridiculously Addictive Maple Quinoa Granola from my cookbook) on top for crunch.
- Egg Muffins or Breakfast Casserole. Rather than tossing more carbs into the mix (delish, but this stuffed French toast has them covered), serve your French toast alongside protein-rich Egg Muffins, this Healthy Breakfast Casserole, or this veggie-packed Vegetarian Breakfast Casserole.
- Air Fryer Bacon. The sweet and savory combo of bacon and French toast is a forever favorite.
Storage Tips
- To Store. Place leftovers in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Gently rewarm French toast in a nonstick skillet until cooked through.
- To Freeze. Tightly wrap individual stuffed French toast “sandwiches.” Freeze for up to 1 month. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Meal Prep Tip
The night before, slice your bread and leave it out to dry. Mix up the cream cheese filling and store in the refrigerator. When ready to cook, let the filling sit at room temperature until it becomes easily spreadable.
Stuffed French Toast
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 sandwiches
Video
This stuffed French toast has a scrumptious cream cheese filling, rich custard, and is cooked to golden perfection. The perfect special breakfast!
Email Me the Recipe!
From time to time, we’ll send you Well Plated emails. You can unsubscribe anytime. Have an account? Log In.
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING:
- 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese or Neufchatel, softened to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons fruit jam or maple syrup, or honey (I used apricot jam)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
- ½ cup thinly sliced fresh strawberries or try peaches!
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced banana or more strawberries, peaches, or fruit of choice
FOR THE FRENCH TOAST:
- 12 thick about 1/2-inch slices of day-old bread* (about 1 large loaf; I used whole grain sourdough)
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup milk any kind you like. I used 1%
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Butter or nonstick spray
FOR SERVING:
- Pure maple syrup
- Sliced bananas and strawberries
- Whipped Cream
Instructions
- If you’d like to keep the French toast warm between batches, preheat your oven to 225 degrees F.
- Prepare the cream cheese filling: In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, jam, vanilla, and salt.
- Assemble the stuffed French toast: Spread 1 side of each of the 12 slices of bread with a layer of the cream cheese mixture, dividing it evenly between each and leaving a 1/4-inch border around all sides.
- Arrange a layer of strawberry and banana slices on top of 6 of the slices. (It's okay for the fruit to overlap a little bit).
- Lay the remaining 6 slices on top, cream-cheese side down, to create a French toast “sandwich.”
- In a shallow baking dish or bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
- To cook the French toast: Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat (about 325 to 350 degrees F on an electric griddle). Melt butter in the skillet, or coat with nonstick spray. Working one or two at a time, dip each sandwich in egg mixture, turning it a few times to thoroughly coat. If your bread is very dense and doesn't readily absorb the egg mixture (mine was), let the sandwich sit in the egg mixture for 10 to 20 seconds on each side to give the bread time to absorb it (the sandwiches shouldn't be completely soggy, but you do want the egg mixture to penetrate more than just the very outsides; if your bread is very dense, it may need closer to 30 seconds a side).
- Lift up each sandwich and allow any excess mixture to drip off the bread and back into the bowl. Cook the sandwiches for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden on both sides and the custard is cooked through, gently flipping once halfway through. Keep the heat low and adjust as needed so that the French toast cooks and turns lightly crisp and golden on the outside but does not burn.
- If desired, place the French toast on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you prepare remaining batches. Serve hot with toppings of choice.
Notes
- *For a more decadent spin, make brioche French toast (swapping brioche bread for the whole grain bread) or challah. For max speed and ease, use Texas Toast. If your bread isn’t stale or is very fresh/soft, toast it in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes, flipping it once halfway through.
- TO STORE: Place leftovers in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Gently rewarm French toast in a nonstick skillet until cooked through.
- TO FREEZE: Tightly wrap individual stuffed French toast “sandwiches.” Freeze for up to 1 month. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Serving: 1stuffed slice without toppingsCalories: 465kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 17gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 179mgPotassium: 377mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 459IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 120mgIron: 1mg
Related Recipes
Sweet breakfast recipes are perfect to enjoy with family and friends, or indulge on a weekend. Here are some of my favorites:
No comments (yet). Help our readers and give a thumbs up to any comment you found helpful!