Sweet mascarpone-ricotta filling is sandwiched between fluffy pieces of brioche bread to create a Cannoli Baked French Toast Recipe that will wow you with just one bite! Top it with powdered sugar and thank us later!
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What Is a Cannoli?
A staple in Sicilian cuisine, cannolis are popular Italian pastries that taste like heaven on Earth. They’re made out of shells of fried pastry dough that have been shaped into tubes and filled with a sweet ricotta cream. They come in all sizes and flavor variations and are served cold or at room temperature. No matter how they’re prepared, they’re always delicious!
Why You’ll Love this Cannoli French Toast
For this recipe, we took the sweet flavor of cannolis and stuffed it into everyone’s favorite make-ahead breakfast! This baked french toast is:
- Easy to prepare ahead of time
- Quick to clean up
- Great for holidays
- Perfect for breakfast, brunch, and dessert!
Ingredients You’ll Need for This Baked French Toast Recipe
Just like cannolis, this recipe consists of two parts. The first component is the actual french toast. The second is the cannoli filling. Then, we’ll put them together to create a little flavor magic! Here’s what you’ll need:
For the French Toast Bake
- Brioche Bread – Because it is so thick and fluffy, brioche bread works best for french toast bakes. However, French baguettes or Challah bread would work almost as well.
- Eggs – Eggs work to lock in the moisture of the french toast and provide shape and structure to the bread thanks to their high protein content.
- Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar mixes well with the rest of the ingredients and helps create a sweet flavor perfect for the cannoli filling.
- Whole Milk – Technically, any milk will work, but we prefer whole milk for it’s creamy taste and thicker texture.
- Ricotta Cheese – Ricotta cheese is soft enough to blend easily and is added to the egg mixture for this french toast to create a creamier texture and even sweeter flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – Don’t forget the vanilla! It’s crucial to help bring out the natural flavors of the other ingredients.
- Kosher Salt – It might seem like a strange ingredient to add, but salt helps balance out the sweetness of the sugar and ricotta and elevates the taste of this dish.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – Semi-sweet, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate chips all work great for this recipe. Pick your favorite, or try them all!
For the Cannoli Filling
- Mascarpone Cheese – An Italian cream cheese, mascarpone has a high-fat content and a dense texture that helps create a thick, sticking filling.
- Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese – Similar in taste to mascarpone, ricotta has a slightly thinner texture and lower fat content. As a result, it thins out the filling just a bit to allow for easier spreading.
- Vanilla Extract – Once again, vanilla is important to creating the best flavor.
- Powdered Sugar – Crucial for topping, no cannoli is complete without a little extra sugar.
How to Make Cannoli Baked French Toast
- Whisk the eggs, milk, ricotta, sugar, salt, and vanilla together.
- In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the cannoli filling.
- Create a cannoli sandwich by spreading about 2 tablespoons of the mixture onto 1 slice of bread and topping it with another. Then, slice your sandwich into 4 pieces.
- Repeat step 3 until all of the filling and bread have been used. Arrange the pieces in a baking dish.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread pieces. Cover the dish, and let it refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, top the bread pieces with mini chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350° Fahrenheit.
- Top your baked french toast with powdered sugar, and enjoy!
How Long Does This Recipe Last?
If you want to make this recipe ahead of time, leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Don’t try to freeze your baked french toast, though! The mascarpone and ricotta will not thaw well, and the bread will become soggy.
More Crave-Worthy French Toast Recipes
- Your new favorite brunch recipe, Cinnamon Sugar French Toast is rich, decadent, and melts in your mouth!
- Made with indulgent Nutella and chocolate chunks, this Nutella Stuffed Croissant French Toast is what breakfast dreams are made of.
- With a crispy outside and soft, creamy inside, these Cinnamon Roll French Toast Roll-Ups just can’t be beaten!
- This Baklava French Toast is the best mash-up you never knew you needed.
Cannoli Baked French Toast Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 loaf sliced brioche bread
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Cannoli Filling
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, ricotta, sugar, salt and vanilla.
- In a decond bowl, add all the ingredients for the cannoli filling. Mix until smooth and creamy!
- Take one slice of bread and spread 2 tablespoons of the cannoli mixture. Place another slice or brioche on top. Cut into four pieces. Arrange facing up in a buttered baking dish. Repeat until all of the bread has been used.
- Pour custard over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight! This will help the custard really soak into the bread.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Remove cover from the baking dish. Top with mini chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until it is golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this today for brunch!! Decadent and delicious!! Will be among it again for the holidays.
Yay, glad it was a hit! xo, Alia & Radwa
When I saw this recipe on your Instagram account, I just had to try it! It truly was the best homemade french toast I’ve ever had. To me it’s the cannoli cream that makes the difference. I too had left over cream. Honestly I just added more to my sandwiches. My tip for this recipe is for appearance only. The dish you use and the size of your bread makes a difference here. If you use a smaller dish, then cut your sandwiches to 8 squares instead of 4. You will be able to line them more uniformly and also each sandwich will have the chance to soak up more of that delicious cream. I also added strawberries and blueberries as garnishes which helped balance the sweetness. Definitely will make this again!
What can you do with the excess filling? I didn’t properly follow the directions for 2tbsp cannoli per “sandwich,” but if I had I would have had a TON and a half of that mixture left. I still have quite a bit of it left and I only bought one loaf of brioche (17.64 oz)… What else can I make with it? I hate to waste.
Yes, no filling should go to waste!! You can spread it on toast and top with berries, and/or bagels. Another option is making a smaller batch of the cannoli bake, bake it, let cool and freeze. You can thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and rebake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
This dish is so so delicious. My family devoured it.. I’ve made this twice before but this time for some reason I forgot to butter the dish. Will this cause everything to stick ?? Ugh. I’m so pissed that I did that
So glad it’s a hit! Sorry you forgot to butter the dish, it should be fine!
Ugh I added the mini chocolate chips when I let it chill overnight, will that be a
Problem?
Hi Tracy,
No need to panic extra chocolate chips is the perfect problem to have! 🙂 … Add a little extra when its out of the oven and it will be perfect!
Xo,
Alia & Radwa
Can I not use the mascarpone cheese? If I don’t what should I substitute it for?
Can I not use the mascarpone cheese? If i don’t, what can I substitute it with ?
Can I use the whole milk ricotta cheese for both the custard and the cannoli filling?
If I double this, will it fit into a 13×9 pan?
Yes! That would work!
My goodness this is delicious! It’s rich and decadent and I can’t stop eating it! Wow!
How many does it serve?
Hi Elaine- This serves 4-6 people.
My mom made bread kidding all-the-time and would leave sliced bread out over night to get stale. She only used stale bread for bread pudding.
Do you recommend letting the bread get stale before using?
Yes! Stale bread makes it even better since it really helps soak up the custard!
Do you drain the ricotta prior to adding to recipe?
No we don’t, the full fat ricotta we use doesn’t generally have a lot of excess liquid. If the one you have has a lot of liquid, you can certainly drain it.
I made this for my husband & kids as a decadent Christmas morning breakfast, and it was simply “bliss” on my fork. I followed the recommendation to prep it the night before, and the flavor was just insane! So good! The texture was also spot on; not at all soggy or soupy (I was slightly worried about that). I will definitely make this again for future special occasions.
Amazing!
WOW. I made this for Christmas morning breakfast while we open presents and it’s amazing! My son took one bite and declared this needs to be a tradition every year. The other kids all raved about it and I ate 3 helpings. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Yay! We love this! Happy Holidays!
Could I sub heavy cream or half n half for the whole milk?
Absolutely!
What size pan are we baking in?
This is approximately 11×7, and 1.5 quarts!
What size dish?
This is approximately 11×7, about 1.5 quarts!
I am actually making this right now and I am super excited to try it, I am a little confused that it asked for kosher salt but but it doesn’t call for it anywhere in the recipe. Am I missing a step somewhere? Thank you
So sorry, just adjusted the recipe. It should be go in the custard!
I would love to try this recipe (Cannoli French Toast Bake) but I am a little confused on the directions. Could you please explain step 3 a bit more. I don’t understand how you slice the bread. Do you mean cut the whole loaf in half lengthwise so you end up with 2 slices? I am sorry for my confusion. I love your recipes and I am an avid follower. Thank you! Mary
Hi Mary- The bread is already sliced. You take one slice, add the filling, and top it with another slice to make a ‘sandwich.’ You will then cut them into four pieces and place them in the baking dish! Let me know if that makes more sense! Thank so much for your kind words and for following! <3
So you use all of the bread and make as many “sandwiches” as you can?
Yes, it should you about 1 whole loaf of brioche, approx 16 oz.