Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake

Deliciously sweet pockets of roasted strawberries paired with tangy cream cheese elevates this strawberry cream cheese French toast bake to more than just your run of the mill baked French toast casserole! Make it the night before, and you can sleep in on Saturday morning.

I love make-ahead meals. Anything that saves me time later and shortens my time commitment now is a win for me…especially when it means I get to sleep in on a weekend morning. And that's probably why I so often gravitate towards overnight baked French toast dishes like this Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake.

Also. It tastes flippity dippity good.

this recipe

Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast, a weekend favorite

What's not to like? 20 mins of prep the night before followed by baking for an hour the next morning (ahem…on Saturdays, my "morning" starts at noon), while I get washed up and have my first cup of coffee. And then I get to dig into this delicious stuffed French toast casserole. Bliss.

Absolute bliss.

What actually is it?

This recipe consists of a baked French toast made a little richer by using sliced croissants, stuffed with cream cheese and fresh strawberries. All of the prep work can be done the night before, and all that's required is baking the recipe when the day you intend to eat it.

Ingredients

• Large eggs
• Half and half
• Vanilla extract
• Sugar
• Croissants
• Cream cheese
• Strawberries

How to make Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake

This recipe is prepared using a 9×9-inch baking dish, start by greasing the dish with butter. Spread the croissant bottoms along the dish (yes, this may mean some creative squishing of your croissants, that's fine).

Distribute the cubed cream cheese and strawberry slices around the dish – go crazy with this, around the croissants, as well as on the croissant bottoms too. Next place the croissant tops to sandwich the strawberries and cream cheese and return the croissants to their full shape.

In a separate large bowl, beat together the eggs, half and half, vanilla extract and sugar until the mixture is well combined. Pour it over the croissants, and gently press down on the croissant tops to make sure they absorb the egg mixture too.

Cover the baking dish tightly (cling film is perfect for this), and refrigerate for at least four hours, ideally overnight.

When it’s time to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the baking dish, and bake for 45-55 minutes, until the center is set, and cooked through. (Personally, I like to wake up, preheat, and place the croissant French toast to bake while I get washed up in the morning.)  

You can serve it with maple syrup, whipped cream, or a dollop of ice cream! (Or nothing at all, it's already delicious.) Enjoy!

Tips for the Perfect Baked French Toast

Baked French Toast recipes are quite similar to their stovetop counterparts. Many of the same rules apply. Here's a quick rundown:

Use high quality bread / croissant - dense, buttery, cakey-style breads work best (brioche bread cubes are my go-to when not using croissants). It should go without saying that for this recipe, avoid using any of those 'light' croissant variations. That said, this is a recipe where you don't need super high quality bread or croissant.

Stale bread is important -Using fresh bread for French toast (especially stuffed French toast recipes, like this strawberry cream cheese French toast bake) often leads to a soggy end product. And soggy means delicate.

If you're planning to make this ahead of time, and leave it to soak overnight, you'll definitely want to make sure that your croissants are stale (you can dry them out in the oven if you need to). If you use fresh croissants, there's a chance that they will tear too easily.

And let's face it, "strawberry and cheese baked mush" just doesn't sound as appeasing as a strawberries and cream French toast.

Don't skim the milk! Switching out the half-and-half for skimmed milk just doesn't work as well. If you're in a pinch, sure - use that skimmed milk, or almond milk, or whatever you have on hand. But if you want that rich, velvety mouthfeel, you're going to need dairy with a little oomph to it!

…And by oomph, I mean fat. (And that's why we use half-and-half for this recipe.)

Variation ideas

While this strawberry cream cheese French toast casserole uses strawberries and croissants, there’s a lot of room for additions and substitutions to make the recipe just right for you. Here are a few suggestions to help get you started:

Use a different loaf

It's easy to swap out the bread used for this recipe. Whether you want to use croissants, challah bread, or plain ol' white sandwich bread, it's a simple swap.

Berry of choice

If strawberries aren’t your thing, you can swap them out for most other fresh berries. Blueberries work great, as do raspberries.

Enhance it with jam

Enjoy strawberries, but want to add more hits of that flavor? Try adding dollops of strawberry jam alongside the cream cheese. (You can even use strawberry jam instead of the fresh strawberries.)

A little spice goes a long way

If you tend to enjoy more complex flavors or savory notes in your sweeter breakfasts, consider adding some spices to your egg mixture. A touch of cinnamon or nutmeg can transform the final taste of the dish.

Other French Toast recipes you'll love

• Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding
• Hong Kong French Toast
• Nutella & Dark Chocolate French Toast

Storage

Once baked, Strawberry cream cheese French Toast Bake can be stored, using an airtight container, in the fridge for up to two days. Unfortunately, this is not a recipe I would recommend freezing.

Final thoughts

There are few things I love more than sleeping in on a Saturday morning. And one of those things is waking up after sleeping in on a Saturday morning to a cup of coffee and some brunch. This baked French toast can be prepared the night before so my slow Saturdays can be all about coffee and contemplation.

Now it’s your turn, bestie. Let me know what you think of this strawberry cream cheese French Toast Bake.