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Home Recipes by Type Breakfast and Brunch
30 30 Minutes or Less VG Vegetarian

Grilled French Toast Stuffed with Strawberry Basil Cream Cheese

5
/5
25 mins
49 Comments
Jump to Recipe
By: Rachel GurkPosted: 05/16/2016Updated: 06/14/2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled french toast and its strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece! Get the recipe on RachelCooks.com!

Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled French toast with strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece. Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled french toast and its strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece! Get the recipe on RachelCooks.com!

Want to hear a funny story? It wasn’t too funny at the time but you have to laugh at life. A couple of weekends ago, I had 3 or 4 recipes I wanted to develop on the grill. We hadn’t grilled yet this season, so we got the grill out, uncovered it and it was covered with mold! Moooolllllld. Gross, I know (sorry). So we burned it all off, cleaned it really well, and then burned it all off again. By this time, it was raining. Yep, raining. Thankfully I had begun some initial recipe development using my grill pan inside, but still. One of those days where the stars just didn’t seem to align….yeesh!

Oh wait, there’s more! By dinner time it had brightened up, so I asked Ben to turn it back on so we could grill some chicken (also a recipe for Rachel Cooks). He went to turn it on, and guess what? OUT OF GAS. Throw me a freakin’ bone! Back to the grill pan….

Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled french toast and its strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece! Get the recipe on RachelCooks.com!

I teamed up with Door to Door Organics once again to bring you this amazing French toast. I was challenged to create a brunch item using the grill, and let me tell you, I might never go back to grill-free brunches! I bought all the ingredients for this brunch through Door to Door Organics, meaning they were delivered right to my door. I don’t know about you, but when I’m entertaining or even just planning meals for the week, there is always so much to coordinate and so many lists happening. One of the things I always have to coordinate is when I’m going to swing by the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients for the food I’m preparing. The great thing about Door to Door Organics is that it comes right to you! It’s a huge stress reliever and the quality is insanely consistent and impressive, so you can be confident that you won’t be making any last-minute trips to the store.

Door to Door Organics Brunch Ingredients Photo

Freshly baked bread, organic berries and vegetables, great bacon and eggs, and even cold-brew coffee. Shopping done, from my computer, in my sweat pants. What’s better than that?

About this grilled French toast recipe:

I’ll be honest, when the Door to Door Organics representative approached me about this project, she mentioned stuffed French toast and it kind of stuck with me. When I was preparing my order online and finalizing my recipe idea, I spotted the strawberry basil preserves, which I’ve had before and LOVED. Once I spied those, there was no turning back from this recipe.

I love the combination of strawberry and basil, in fact, I’ve made my own strawberry basil freezer jam. I’ve also stuffed strawberries with basil whipped cream which you just HAVE to do this summer! They are so delicious.

I carried on with my shopping and saw the challah from Zingerman’s (aka heaven on earth). That solidified the grilled French toast in my mind. Into my order went eggs, milk, tons of fresh berries, fresh basil, and cream cheese. I decided to round out my brunch with some fresh asparagus, bacon, and cold-brew coffee. And some yogurt for good measure.

Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled french toast and its strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece! Get the recipe on RachelCooks.com!

The grilled French toast is really simple to make. You’ll want to slice the challah into nice thick slices, about an inch thick. Then, carefully with a sharp knife, slice a hole in the middle of the slice, making a pocket for the cream cheese. I flavor plain cream cheese with the preserves and stuff the bread with that.

The stuffed bread goes into a large baking dish until you’re done stuffing each piece. Then you pour your egg and milk mixture over the bread, letting it soak it all up. All that’s left to do is grill it!

You could definitely cook it on a griddle as well, but grilling it gives it such a great flavor. You have to try it!

Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled french toast and its strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece! Get the recipe on RachelCooks.com!

For the perfect brunch centered around the grill, I also grill asparagus and bacon. You could round it out with some other great brunch offerings like a yogurt parfait with shortbread crumble, a beautiful cocktail. If you want to add more protein to brunch, consider a frittata, they’re very easy to make and taste great at almost any temperature. A white pizza frittata or a leek and asparagus frittata are both great vegetarian options.

Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled french toast and its strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece! Get the recipe on RachelCooks.com!

If you’re in search of a more traditional French toast, don’t miss my classic French toast recipe – I cover all the tips to make perfect French toast! 

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled french toast and its strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece! Get the recipe on RachelCooks.com!
Recipe

Get the Recipe: Grilled French Toast Stuffed with Strawberry Basil Cream Cheese

5 from 2 votes
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
6 servings
Print Rate Recipe
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Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled French toast with strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece.

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces of spreadable cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup strawberry basil preserves, divided
  • 1 loaf challah bread, sliced into 1-inch thick slices
  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces blueberries
  • 6 ounces raspberries
  • 1 pound strawberries, sliced

Instructions

  • Oil the grates of your grill and preheat grill to medium-low, or about 250-300°F.
  • From the bottom of each piece of bread, carefully slice a pocket into the middle of the bread. You don’t want to cut all the way through, but the opening should be large enough to get a knife with filling into the bread.
  • In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/4 cup preserves together until combined. It’s okay if it looks a little chunky. Evenly fill the bread slices with cream cheese mixture. Place filled bread into a large pan (at least a 9×13, larger if you have it).
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, honey, and vanilla until combined. Pour over filled bread.
  • Grill the french toast on the preheated grill over direct heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. If it’s browning too quickly, move it away from the direct heat and to the indirect heat.
  • Meanwhile, mix berries and 1/4 cup preserves until berries are coated with preserves.
  • Top french toast with berries and serve!

Notes

  • You’ll likely have extra berries after topping the french toast – they make a perfect fruit salad on the side.
  • This French toast could also be prepared on a griddle instead of a grill.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1of 6, Calories: 327kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 279mg, Sodium: 217mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 21g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk
Did You Make This?Be sure to upload a photo & tag me at @RachelCooksBlog. I love seeing what you made!
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Verdict: LOVE this! I love the creamy strawberry basil filling and the topping is so fresh and flavorful which cuts the richness of the grilled french toast perfectly.
Husband’s take: He’s not a huge cream cheese fan so once in awhile I catch him leaving behind a bit of the filling. 
Changes I would make: None! But feel free to try different flavors and experiment with different stuffings.
Difficulty: Easy to moderate. The bread gets fragile when soaked with the egg mixture so you just have to be gentle moving it to the grill. Also be gentle when stuffing the bread, take your time and make sure to use a sharp knife when cutting a hole in the bread.

Take your brunch to the grill! This grilled french toast and its strawberry basil cream cheese stuffing will be the perfect brunch centerpiece! Get the recipe on RachelCooks.com!

 

*Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Door to Door Organics to bring you this post. They compensated me for my time but all opinions are, as always, my own. I’ve paid for Door to Door Organics deliveries with my own money more times than I can count. Thanks for supporting Rachel Cooks by reading about brands I use and love!

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  1. Jessica - The Novice Chef says

    May 23, 2016 at 3:36 pm

    I have never thought to grill it but now I have to try asap! Love how crispy it must get on the outside.

    Reply
  2. Serene @ House of Yumm says

    May 22, 2016 at 9:35 pm

    What a fantastic breakfast item!! Love that you used the grill for this. And basil cream cheese filling?! I need this in my life :)

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 24, 2016 at 3:32 pm

      Hope you love it!

      Reply
  3. Lori @ RecipeGirl says

    May 22, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    Grilled French toast?? What a fun summery breakfast idea! I love using challah for French toast. The filling is just icing on the cake. Yum!

    Reply
  4. Erin@WellPlated says

    May 21, 2016 at 12:55 pm

    Glad that you got the grill cooperating, because this recipe is too gorgeous to miss!

    Reply
  5. Sommer @aspicyperspective says

    May 21, 2016 at 10:06 am

    I want to wake up to this french toast!

    Reply
  6. Cathy Pollak ~ Noble Pig says

    May 21, 2016 at 12:41 am

    I believe I just found Sunday brunch! My family is going to wake up to some serious deliciousness.

    Reply
  7. Sandy @ ReluctantEntertainer says

    May 19, 2016 at 6:05 am

    Oh, girl. Any kind of French Toast … but with strawberries and basil? And grilling it … perfection!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 19, 2016 at 8:41 pm

      Thanks Sandy!

      Reply
  8. Heidi @foodiecrush says

    May 18, 2016 at 8:50 pm

    Okay, I am totally enamored with your twist by using the grill! I did a grilled strawberry pound cake last year that was awesome, but this sounds even better. And having all of the organics delivered? That is what’s right with the world right there.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 19, 2016 at 8:52 pm

      RIGHT?! Between Door to Door Organics and Amazon Prime Pantry, I barely need to leave the house. I love America.

      PS: Strawberry pound cake sounds amazing!

      Reply
  9. Amy says

    May 18, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    This makes me want to plan a fun brunch real soon!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 19, 2016 at 8:41 pm

      You definitely should! Everything on the grill. Except the mimosas. ;)

      Reply
  10. Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain says

    May 18, 2016 at 9:34 am

    Well, I know what I want for brunch this weekend!! Love these flavors!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 19, 2016 at 8:48 pm

      Thanks Lauren!

      Reply
  11. Barbara says

    May 17, 2016 at 10:40 pm

    Such a fun way to change up French toast.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 19, 2016 at 8:41 pm

      Thanks Barbara!

      Reply
  12. Deborah says

    May 17, 2016 at 8:45 pm

    Now *this* is how you do brunch! I never think of grilling brunch – so going to try this!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 19, 2016 at 8:53 pm

      Thanks Deborah! You’ll have to do a Big Green Egg brunch ;)

      Reply
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