Stuffed French Toast

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When you’re looking for a breakfast recipe that will impress, Stuffed French Toast has you covered! Perfect for weekend mornings and special occasions, this easy stuffed French toast might look fancy, but it’s actually super simple. With a short list of ingredients and only 20 minutes to make, breakfast is on the table, fast and easy!

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Stuffed French Toast is a decadent and delicious twist on the breakfast classic! A slice of buttery brioche is topped with a cream cheese and pecan mix, then topped with a second slice of bread. After it’s dunked in a rich vanilla-cinnamon custard, this easy stuffed French toast is grilled until golden brown and perfect. Yum!

Recipe At a Glance

Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Stovetop
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Sweet, custardy, and buttery
Skill Level: Beginner

Summary

• Delicious combination of flavors and textures: From the buttery bread to the cinnamon-and-vanilla batter to the tangy cream cheese with crunchy pecans, this cream cheese stuffed French toast delivers on the deliciousness!
• Fancy yet easy: This leveled-up version of French toast seems complicated and fancy, but it’s actually super simple to make.
• Perfect weekend breakfast: Hearty, filling, tasty, and special, this easy stuffed French toast was made for Saturday and Sunday breakfasts! Great for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.
• Boost of protein: The cream cheese contributes a little extra boost of protein when compared to classic French toast, helping you power up for your day.

Ingredients to Make Stuffed French Toast

• Cream cheese: I prefer whipped cream cheese because it is lighter and easier to manage in this recipe. 
• Milk: Full-fat or 2% dairy milk work, but plant-based milks such as unsweetened oat milk or almond milk work too. 
• Eggs: A key ingredient for French toast, creating a rich, custardy batter. Large eggs are best.
• Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds a warm and subtly spicy note. 
• Pure vanilla extract: For sweet vanilla flavor, which is perfect with the flavors of French toast.
• Bread: My favorite is Brioche, because it’s buttery and sturdy. Bread should be on the stale side for French toast, preferably a day or two old. If you only have fresh bread, you can pull the slices out to sit at room temperature overnight to firm up, or place them in an oven on low heat to dry out a little (just watch closely so you don’t accidentally toast it instead!)

Popular Substitutions & Additions

• Spice it up: Add some freshly grated nutmeg or ground cardamom along with the cinnamon, or swap in homemade pumpkin pie spice if you’re craving some fall flair!
• Brighten with lemon: Stir the zest from a lemon in with the cream cheese for a sweet twist of citrus.
• Make it fruity: Add raspberries, peaches, small blueberries, or try my strawberry stuffed French toast!
• Change up the pecans: Try another favorite nut, like walnuts or almonds.
• Swap in nut butter: Replace the cream cheese with peanut butter, almond butter, or even some Nutella for a nutty treat.

Best Bread to Use for French Toast

• Brioche: The classic French standard in making French toast, buttery Brioche is what I use in this recipe. I love that it’s fluffy yet sturdy and has eggs in it, so it melds perfectly with the other flavors in this stuffed French toast. 
• Challah: What’s great about Challah is that it’s dense, buttery and sweet, making it an excellent choice for French toast. Like brioche, challah retains its shape when soaked in the milk and egg mixture.
• French baguette: Sliced baguettes are nice and sturdy, so they can handle the batter soaking process without turning to mush. They can be extra chewy (and challenging for little kids to eat), so I recommend soaking them in the batter a little longer to make sure they soften up.
• Sourdough: Sourdough is very sturdy, so it can absorb a lot of liquid without crumbling. It’s a hearty bread with a tart flavor, which I think balances well with the sweet flavors of this stuffed French toast.
• Texas Toast: Thicker than most sliced bread, Texas Toast is often used in restaurant French toast. It’s thick and flavorful, and makes beautiful large pieces of French toast. You can find Texas Toast in most grocery stores.

How to Make Stuffed French Toast

Just a few minutes of prep and cooking on a skillet or griddle, and you’ll have a delicious stack of cream cheese stuffed French toast! It’s just a matter of making the custard and the cream cheese filling, then assembling the French toast “sandwiches” filled with cream cheese spread. From there, dip your stuffed bread into the custard, then it’s off to the griddle until golden-brown and perfect.

Prepare the French Toast Batter

1. Add the milk, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla to a bowl.
2. Whisk it together until very well combined.

Make the Cream Cheese Filling, Stuff the French Toast, and Dunk

1. Add the cream cheese and pecans to a bowl and fold them together until combined.
2. Spread the cream cheese mixture onto one slice of brioche in an even layer.
3. Top it with a second piece of bread.
4. Dunk the cream-cheese-filled bread into the French toast batter until soaked through.

Cook the Stuffed French Toast

1. Add a little oil and/or butter to your cooking surface, and when hot, add the French toast to the pan.
2. Cook until both sides are golden brown, pressing down the French toast lightly with the back of a spatula to make sure it’s evenly cooked throughout.

Tips for Making the Best Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

1. Really blend the eggs. Whisk the batter ingredients very well, ensuring that the eggs are thoroughly incorporated. This will help ensure that you don’t end up with separate bits of egg white or yolk on your cooked French toast. 
2. Make sure that your bread soaks up a lot of the egg mixture. The custard should be soaked through the bread. Brioche soaks up the custard pretty quickly and just needs 10 to 15 seconds, but denser bread will require a little more. 
3. Use slightly stale bread. Fresh bread will fall apart quickly in the wet batter. You’re better off using a loaf that’s a day or two old.
4. Cook in hot butter and oil. This helps prevent sticking on the skillet or griddle, and gives it a nice golden color. I like to add a little butter with the oil, which adds a nice rich flavor.

How to Store & Reheat Stuffed French Toast

Store leftover stuffed French toast in an airtight container. To reheat, place in a warm skillet on the stovetop and heat until gently warmed through.

How Long Will Stuffed French Toast Last in the Fridge?

This stuffed French toast recipe will last for up to three days in the refrigerator.

Can I Freeze Easy Stuffed French Toast?

I don’t recommend freezing cream cheese stuffed French toast because the creamy texture of the cream cheese will likely be worsened by freezing and thawing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you’re enjoying a cozy weekend morning with the family or making a special brunch for a larger crew, stuffed French toast is sure to elevate breakfast time! It’s so easy to make–and that warm, golden toasted bread stuffed with cream cheese and pecans is absolutely delicious. You’ll love this decadent yet simple French toast recipe!

Try These Other Breakfast Recipes:

• Easy Classic Crepes
• Overnight French Toast
• French Toast Casserole
• Strawberries Stuffed French Toast
• Banana Pancake Dippers
• Crepes with Lemon & Sugar
• Strawberry Chia Jam & Toast
• Vegan French Toast
• Blueberry French Toast Casserole

If you make this healthy-ish feelgood Stuffed French Toast recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

This stuffed French toast recipe was originally published on November 3, 2018, and has been recently updated with a modified recipe, new photography, and step-by-step collages to help make this recipe easier. The original recipe using peanut butter instead of cream cheese and can be found in the Notes section in the recipe card if you loved the original version!

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Review

Stuffed French Toast

For a change from traditional French toast, try my cream cheese and pecan Stuffed French Toast. It's a very simple recipe that will easily become a family favorite! 

5 from 54 votes

Author Yumna Jawad

Servings 6 servings

Course Breakfast

Calories 585

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 18 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup milk
• ▢ 4 eggs
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 8 ounces whipped cream cheese
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped pecans plus more for serving
• ▢ 12 slices brioche bread
• ▢ 3 tablespoons butter if needed
• ▢ Banana sliced, for serving (optional)

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla extract.
• In a small bowl, fold the whipped cream cheese with the chopped pecans.
• Divide the whipped cream cheese mixture onto six slices of brioche bread. Top with the remaining slices of bread, forming a sandwich with the cream cheese inside.
• Heat a griddle and heat the butter in batches on a frying pan over medium heat.
• Dunk each sandwich in egg mixture, soaking both sides for about 15-30 seconds, until the mixture is absorbed. Place in the heated pan, in batches if needed, and cook on both sides until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Serve hot with maple syrup, if desired.

Equipment

• Mixing Bowl Set
• Balloon Whisk
• Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set

Notes

Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about four days in the refrigerator. To reheat, place in a warm skillet on the stovetop and heat until gently warmed through. It’s best wait until serving to add the maple syrup.

Make Ahead: You can make the batter up to 2 days in advance. 

Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe. 

• Use any milk of choice.
• You can leave out the eggs if you want to make this vegan, or sub with flax eggs.

Serving Size: Please note that the nutrition label is only for one stuffed french toast, which includes the french toast batter, 2 slices of brioche, and the cream cheese and pecan filling.

 

 

Original Peanut Butter Stuffed French Toast Recipe

Ingredients
¼ cup creamy peanut butter plus more for spreading
½ cup almond milk
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon oil
8 slices brioche bread
Strawberry jam optional
Bananas for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter for 15-20 seconds until it’s smooth. Add the milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and cinnamon to the melted peanut butter and whisk until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
2. Heat the oil in a griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
3. Spread peanut butter on the slices of bread. Add bananas or jam on top, if desired. Then close both sandwiches.
4. Dunk each sandwich in egg mixture, soaking both sides for about 15-30 seconds, until the mixture is absorbed. Place in pan, and cook on both sides until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
5. Serve hot with maple syrup, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1stuffed toast, Calories: 585kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 221mg, Sodium: 624mg, Potassium: 295mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1134IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 208mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Diet: Vegetarian

Cuisine American

Course: Breakfast