This decadent French toast with its strawberry and cream cheese filling is SO good, the bread cooks up perfectly fluffy, and that cinnamon crunch crust… A dream! The best part though? It’s easy to whip up in just 30 minutes.
Let me be honest for a second: With three little kids afoot in the house, I definitely make French toast casseroles more often than I do individually stuffed French toast. I have a recipe for an amazing Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole if you’re in that boat right now…
But for those extra-special, smaller brunches? Those Mother’s Day, Bridal Brunch, quite couple’s brunch occasions? This is the recipe you need. It’s classy, it’s delicious and that cinnamon crunch coating definitely takes it over the top.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes
- cream cheese: full fat, reduced fat and fat-free are all OK to use here; they just all turn out richer or less rich depending on their fat content.
- honey: please use a mild, liquid honey – you don’t want it to completely overpower the dish. You could also use maple syrup or icing sugar to replace it. Regular sugar won’t work and would make the filling gritty.
- breadcrumbs: I always just use regular old plain breadcrumbs (please don’t use seasoned crumbs, ha!). Panko is fine to use.
- bread: stale bread is best, and please use a soft variety. Challah, brioche, Texas toast or a soft French bread work best.
Ingredient swaps
If you want to switch things up, here are some variations you can try:
- use strawberry preserves (or any fruit preserves or pie filling!) instead of fresh strawberries for a sweeter filling. I recommend about 1 tablespoon per sandwich.
- make it healthy (OK… healthier) by using whole wheat bread and breadcrumbs, light cream cheese and sticking to sweetening your cream cheese with maple syrup or honey.
- make it gluten free: I always get the odd question about making this recipe gluten free. You can absolutely use gluten free bread and gluten free breadcrumbs. Please check all your ingredients to make sure they’re all labelled gluten free. Also, I recommend using a thicker bread, gluten free bread can be a little finicky.
- make it decadent by using ricotta or mascarpone in place of the cream cheese.
- if you’re not a fan of cream cheese, try Nutella instead of cream cheese… Shhhh, you didn’t hear it from me 😉
Step by step photos
This is a simple recipe, but it requires a little prep work (don’t worry though, the hardest part is slicing the strawberries).
1. Prep ingredients
To make sure this recipe works, prep all the ingredients before you start! It really makes it quicker and easier, and you won’t be left scrambling and scattered in the kitchen.
2. Assemble and cook
Then, you just need to assemble the sandwich, coat it in both egg mixture and breadcrumbs and cook in a skillet in a little oil or butter! I recommend using moderate heat, the sugar in the coating burns if you cook this at too high a heat!
Tips and tricks
- careful when spreading the cream cheese: make sure you don’t rip any holes into the bread when spreading the cream cheese. Also, there’s no need to completely spread it – leaving it in a thick layer in the middle with a small edge is just right.
- avoid clumping of breadcrumbs: As a little trick, I only use half of the breadcrumbs/sugar/cinnamon mixture at first, do two French toasts and then add the other half to prevent the breadcrumbs from clumping together.
- avoid burning the toast: please do really use moderate heat here! It takes a few extra minutes to cook, but that’s definitely better than eating a burnt breakfast.
French toast FAQs
If it is soggy, you likely used bread that’s too thin/too fresh. Make sure you use thicker slices (you don’t have to go crazy, but don’t use the thinnest sliced bread you can find) the are dry.
Yes, IF you’re using a very soft bread like challah, brioche or French bread, it should be stale. If you’re going for a healthy brunch option and choose to use a thicker wheat toast, it’s usually sturdy/dry enough without having to be stale.
Dry out your slices in the oven at 275°F for 10 minutes to quickly stale your bread if it’s fresh.
Watch the video tutorial
We definitely make this recipe for all the big spring occasions: Mother’s Day, Easter, our wedding anniversary…
It’s quick and easy to put together, the kids can help (and they LOVE eating this) and with the creamy strawberry filling, it’s just perfect for when the days start getting warmer. We usually just serve it with hot breakfast drinks and extra strawberries on the side. Feel free to go all out and add a squirt of whipped cream!
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my eMail list, too!
Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 4 heaping tablespoons cream cheese use low fat if desired
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup OR honey OR powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 4 tablespoons bread crumbs divided
- 2 tablespoons sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon divided
- 8 strawberries hulled and sliced
- 8 slices stale bread challah, brioche or thick whole wheat toast all work!
- 4 teaspoons oil OR butter divided
- additional strawberries and syrup (optional) for serving
Instructions
- Prep: To make the filling mix, the cream cheese with your choice of sweetener and set aside. In a shallow dish, whisk the eggs and milk together. On a large plate, combine 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.
- Assemble French Toast: Spread a slice of bread with ¼ of the cream cheese mixture. Top with two sliced strawberries and cover with a second slice of bread. Coat first with the egg mixture and then with bread crumbs.
- Cook: Heat 1 teaspoon oil OR butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry over medium-high heat until golden brown and crunchy, gently pushing down on the edges of the bread to sea (NOT the middle, or you'll squish it!)l.
- Finish: Continue the same way with the other six bread slices. Halfway through wipe the plate with the breadcrumb mixture clean and mix the rest of the bread crumbs, sugar and cinnamon for making the other two French Toasts.
- Serve warm with additional strawberries and syrup, if you like.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- cream cheese: full fat, reduced fat and fat-free are all OK to use here; they just all turn out richer or less rich depending on their fat content.
- honey: please use a mild, liquid honey – you don’t want it to completely overpower the dish. You could also use maple syrup or icing sugar to replace it. Regular sugar won’t work and would make the filling gritty.
- breadcrumbs: I always just use regular old plain breadcrumbs (please don’t use seasoned crumbs, ha!). Panko is fine to use.
- strawberries: use ripe, fresh strawberries here. They should be fairly sweet for best results.
- bread: stale bread is best, and please use a soft variety. Challah, brioche, Texas toast or a soft French bread work best.
Cooking tips
- careful when spreading the cream cheese: make sure you don’t rip any holes into the bread when spreading the cream cheese. Also, there’s no need to completely spread it – leaving it in a thick layer in the middle with a small edge is just right.
- avoid clumping of breadcrumbs: As a little trick, I only use half of the breadcrumbs/sugar/cinnamon mixture at first, do two French toasts and then add the other half. That way you won’t end up with a big clump of sticky breadcrumbs in the bowl that won’t stick to you third and fourth sandwich.
- avoid burning the toast: please do really use moderate heat here! It takes a few extra minutes to cook the French toast, but that’s definitely better than eating a burnt breakfast.
Emily Swope says
Made this for my family’s weekly breakfast for dinner and it was a HUGE hit! Thank you so much for your recipe. Already received requests to make it again next week 🙂
Nora Rusev says
Emily, my kids had it as breakfast for dinner just recently as well ☺️ always vanishes fast! I’m so glad your family enjoyed it just as much as mine does.
Michelle Vitale says
What kind of bread crumbs…like plain italian bread crumbs, panko?
Nora says
Just regular old unseasoned breadcrumbs! Though readers have made this with online before, if that’s what you have!
Joanne Bell says
So easy and delicious! Looks really beautiful too.
I substituted sugar with coconut sugar and breadcrumbs with almond meal and was still fantastic!
Nora says
So glad to read this, Joanne! And thanks for coming back to leave a review – I appreciate it!
Chantell says
I used butter crackers and it was still wonderful
Nora says
That’s a clever idea, Chantell! I’m very happy you liked the French toast – and thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Very much appreciated!
carol says
This was very good, i did not have strawberries so i used blue berries.
They did’nt give much flavor tho. i will do this again with stawberries!
Nora says
Glad you liked the recipe, Carol! Hope you enjoy it even more with strawberries. Thank you for rating the recipe, I appreciate it.
BARBARA says
Can these be frozen after you fix them for later, if so how. Thanks
Nora says
Hi Barbara, I haven’t tried freezing them, so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
Kathryn - Women Seeking Wisdom says
OMG this looks fantastic! I love your extra tips too! Yum!!!!!
Nora says
Thanks Kathryn!
Melonie says
Thanks for sharing!
Nora says
Thank YOU for taking the time to read, and to comment, Melonie!
Kiretpal says
Wonder if this would work in a pie iron while camping?
Nora says
I really don’t know, sorry!
Michelle says
How many calories is this?
Nora says
Hi Michelle – thanks for asking. This is a recipe I’m really hesitant to add a calorie count to, simply because different brands of bread have such varying amounts of calories. For the most accurate count, I suggest calculating nutrition for this on your own with the exact products you’re intending to use. Sorry I can’t give you a better answer!
Holly says
I make this with vanilla greek yogurt and it turns out so yummy!! Ive never done the bread crumbs part tho, would be better with that extra crunch!
Nora says
That sounds really delicious as well!! And yeah, can’t beat a crispy coating 😀
rob says
it was great – drizzled a little bit of honey over it and next time i might just sprinkle a little powdered sugar too 🙂 great recipe 🙂
Nora says
Thanks so much for the feedback, I’m glad you enjoyed the french toast! 🙂
miss martha says
Sorry to be thick-headed… step 4? How do you coat w/ egg misture after you’ve spread the cheese and strawberries in? I’m tired. Is it obvious to the rest of the world?
Nora says
No problem, I forget my own name when I’m tired so… Did you maybe miss that you need to sandwich a second slice of bread on top? There’s a video in this post for stuffed French Toast, if you prefer a visual: https://www.savorynothings.com/skinny-crunchy-stuffed-pumpkin-french-toast/
Eden Passante says
Stuffed french toast is the BEST and I love that you did a skinny version!
Nora says
Thanks Eden – skinny means I get to eat two, or at least that’s how I justify it, haha 😉
Jani says
Loved your recipe!
Nora says
Thank you so much for taking the time to review, Jani! I really appreciate it and I’m glad you liked the French toast!
Femke Van den Bussche says
Why do you need the crumbs? 🙂 whats the use of them?
Nora says
To make it extra crunchy 🙂
dina says
looks like an amazing breakfast!
Nora says
Thank you Dina!