Berry Stuffed Croissant French Toast Bake
Breakfast just got a whole lot sweeter with this Berry Stuffed Croissant French Toast Bake! Large croissants are stuffed full of a sweet berry and cream cheese filling and baked in the oven for a decadent brunch perfect for weekends, holidays, and everything in between.
What Is Croissant French Toast Bake?
An elevated version of standard oven baked french toast recipes, this croissant french toast bake features jumbo croissants that are stuffed full of a cream mixture. Coated with a classic egg mixture, the finished result is giant flaky croissants that are crisp on the outside yet soft and sweet in the center. Plus, they’re easy to make ahead of time and perfect for serving!
Sweet Ingredients You’ll Need
For this croissant french toast bake, we took all of the standard components of french toast and made them even sweeter! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Eggs – Crucial to any french toast recipe, eggs are used to lock in moisture and provide structure to the custard coating.
- Milk and Heavy Cream – When combined with eggs, these create the most indulgent custard that soaks into your croissants for the most decadent taste. For extra richness, swap out the milk with half and half or more heavy cream. Or, to make this recipe dairy-free use non-dairy milk instead!
- Flavor Enhancers – Cinnamon, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt are used to enhance the natural sweetness of the rest of the ingredients.
- Cream Cheese – Softened at room temperature, this combines with the berries for a dessert-like filling.
- Berries – For incredible flavor and the prettiest colors, we used a combination of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries!
- Croissants – We highly recommend using pre-baked jumbo croissants as they are easiest to stuff. It might sound weird, but make sure they are stale! This will allow them to soak up the custard for thick, sweet bread.
How to Make Berry French Toast Boats
Bright and beautiful once baked, this croissant french toast looks like it took all day to make! Luckily, it comes together in just a few minutes and soaks overnight for a quick brunch that tastes even better than it looks. Just follow the instructions below!
- Whisk together the ingredients for the custard.
- In a second bowl, combine the cream cheese and remaining sugar until a smooth texture is formed. Then, gently fold in the berries.
- Slice the croissants down the center, but don’t slice all the way through! You just want to create a sort of pocket to hold the filling.
- Stuff each croissant with the cream cheese filling, and arrange them in a greased baking dish.
- Pour the custard on top, making sure to fully coat each croissant. Cover the baking pan, and refrigerate it overnight.
- In the morning, preheat the oven, and bake your berry french toast uncovered until the bread is golden brown.
- Shower with powdered sugar, and serve warm!
Do I Have to Use Croissants?
Rich, buttery, and sinfully delicious, there’s just something truly special about croissant french toast. However, if you don’t have any or can’t find them when you run to the store, don’t worry! Any thick, dense bread like Challah, Brioche, or French will do.
Can I Make This Recipe Ahead of Time?
Yes! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or, freeze it for up to 3 months! Then, when you’re ready to serve, just let it thaw in the fridge overnight, and warm it in the oven.
More Brunch-Worthy French Toast Recipes
Looking for more baked french toast recipes? Try out these indulgent dishes!
- A breakfast or brunch you’ll look forward to eating, this Nutella Stuffed Croissant French Toast is made with decadent Nutella and flakey, buttery croissants!
- We took our favorite dessert and turned it into a sweet breakfast with this Pain au Chocolat French Toast.
- Simple and delicious, this Baked Cinamon French Toast comes together with just a handful of ingredients.
- A hands-off recipe, this Sheet Pan French Toast allows you to set a timer and come back to a drool-worthy breakfast or brunch.
Berry Stuffed Croissant French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (divided)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup diced strawberries
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 7-8 large croissants
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add eggs, heavy cream, milk, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Beat until just combined.
- In a second bowl add cream cheese, and remaining sugar. Mix until smooth. Fold in the berries.
- Slice the croissants down the center, to make a "pocket" add 2-3 Tablespoons of the cream cheese filling. Arrange in a 13×9 greased baking dish.
- Pour the custard filling over the croissants. Cover. and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
- Shower with a dusting of powdered sugar!
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WOW!!! I knew it was going to be good, but WOW!!! This recipe is so delicious. Ive made this 3 times now, twice at home and once for my work crew….it was a winner with everyone.
Yay! Glad It is always a hit!
I imagine the salt goes in the egg mixture?
Trying this tonight 🙂
That is correct!
I want to make this for Christmas morning but I have work on Christmas Eve night. Can I refrigerate from 12pm Christmas Eve and serve Christmas morning or is that too long to soak?
Absolutely! That’s not too long to soak, in fact, it will work beautifully!
Wondered if frozen berries could be used or is fresh best?
Fresh is best. However, you can thaw the frozen berries and strain out any additional liquid!
Is was amazing!! I’m a high school culinary teacher and I used it for one of my kitchen labs. I made a strawberry berry and blueberry compote so my students could practice their plating skills. I wish I could share some of the photos. Then my family and I had breakfast for dinner. Twas delicious!
Yay! That is amazing! We’d love to see some photos! xo, Alia & Radwa
This is amazing!
Wondering if it could be a freezer meal?
It would make a fantastic brunch for a new mom!
We personally have not tried this as a freezer meal, however, it can be done! Just put it together as the recipe instructions, let cool and freeze. She can thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.
I want to make this for a morning tea at work and was wondering if you serve it warm or cold?
This is served warm!
10/10 recommend making this! It was super simple to put together. They recommend letting it sit overnight which is so nice to be able to prep the night before and just quickly bake in the AM! I made this for our family for Easter and it was a huge hit! I believe I used 6 crossiants so I did have a little extra filling, but I just overfill them and it was fine!
If you can’t soak over night and only have Mini sandwich loaf will it work 🥴
Any bread will work, if you can’t soak overnight, try to soak for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Made it for breakfast this morning, and oh my goodness. This is a new favorite. Absolutely delicious!
I plan on making this tonight for Easter brunch, but I could only find mini croissants. I plan on making 30 of them. Should I double the recipe, or do you think the normal batch would be enough. I’m just worried it would be too much custard.
Yes, you can use mini croissants! You can do 1.5 batch!
You put the liquid on the croissant for a overnight abd it’s good?
Yes, you want the croissants to soak as much of the liquid.
Can this be made overnight ?
Yes! It’s even better that way! The longer it soaks, the better.
This was perfect for a holiday breakfast – delicious, assembled the night before, and stunning on the table!