Coconut Stuffed French Toast
This Stuffed French Toast in an extra special sweet breakfast recipe for all coconut fans. This coconut crusted and stuffed French Toast features coconut flavored cream cheese filling, and dipped in coconut flavored egg mixture, and encrusted in sweetened coconut flakes.
For more fun French toast recipes, try my Orange Creamsicle French Toast or stick to the classic French Toast.
Table of Contents
We absolutely LOVE French Toast in our family, whether it’s classic or any other fun way. Stuffed French Toast is one of the most fun ways to make this classic breakfast. And as popular and beloved the pancakes are, you just can’t beat French toast in my book.
The idea of stuffed French Toast is not new by any means and I personally have been making it for many years. So if you haven’t tried it yet, I’m begging you to grab all the ingredients from the store and make it this weekend. It’s a perfect weekend brunch or breakfast recipe and especially great for celebrating a special occasion.
If you’re looking for a holiday brunch ideas, I highly recommend this Coconut French Toast. Of course, you’d have to love coconut. There is coconut flavors throughout: in the cream cheese filling, in the egg dipping mixture, and the baguette slices are also crusted with sweetened coconut flakes.
Ingredient Notes
Bread – for the classic French Toast, I always recommend Brioche BUT for stuffed French toast, I recommend using a French Baguette! It’s much sturdier so better to stuff and cook stuffed and coated. Give is few extra seconds in the egg mixture as well to make sure it soaks it up nicely.
Cream of coconut – make sure to use “cream of coconut” not coconut cream of coconut milk. It’s sweet and meant for frozen cocktails. My favorite brand of cream of coconut to use is Coco Lopez or Goya! (Use leftovers in many other recipes like Coconut Syrup. There are more suggestions in FAQs below.)
Heavy Whipping Cream – I recommend using heavy whipping cream because of the rich and creamy consistency that it brings to the custard. You can use half and half or whole milk if absolutely needed but not with less fat.
Eggs – use large eggs and feel free to double the amount if you’re using double the amount of bread.
Sugar – this is optional because cream of coconut and sweetened coconut flakes are sweet. So if you prefer a little more sweetness, add a couple of teaspoons of sugar.
Vanilla extract – for the best results, use pure vanilla extract not imitation.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Stuffed French Toast
PRO TIP: I prefer to start with a freshly baked baguette from the deli section. It will truly give you a superior taste and texture.
Prepare your mixes first because this recipe goes pretty quick. Mix the egg dipping mixture and set it aside. Combine the cream cheese filling ingredients and make sure to mix it well. Add the coconut flakes into a wide and shallow bowl for coating the dipped bread (1 and 2).
Slice the baguette into slices that are about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut each slice of bread in the middle but don’t cut all the way through. You’re creating a little “mouth” for your bread slice for it to “eat” cream cheese (3).
Spread about a tablespoon or tablespoon and a half of coconut cream cheese mixture in the middle of each bread slice (3).
Then you will dip each stuffed slice of bread into the coconut egg mixture, letting it soak up the egg on both sides.
PRO TIP: Make sure to give it a few seconds on each side because baguette is a little more dense than Brioche, so it will soak up egg mixture a little slower.
After that, dip the soaked bread slice into the bowl with coconut flakes. Press each wet slice of bread into the coconut flakes, on both sides. Give it a pat on each side to make sure it’s crusted well.
PRO TIP: Preheat the pan but don’t make it too hot! Use a setting between medium and medium-low. If you make it too hot, the coconut flakes will burn.
Add some oil to the pre-heated pan and place the stuffed French toast slices into it. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook a few minutes (3-4 minutes), until the bottom side is golden. Flip and cover again, let is cook for few more minutes (3-4 more minutes).
Recipe FAQ
Come question I’ve gotten is what to do with leftover cream of coconut after the open the can. First of all, don’t feel like you have to use it that same day! Simply transfer what is left in the can into a glass jar with an air-tight lid and refrigerate it. It should last up to 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze it for up to 2 months.
To use up the cream of coconut, the most common recipe is, of course, the Pina Colada. Another cocktail to try is the Painkiller (yum!)
You can also make some Homemade Coconut Syrup to go with your French Toast, pancakes, and waffles.
Try making some homemade popsicles like Coconut Mocha Pops.
Make coconut bread pudding or coconut cheesecake!
The classic toppings for a French toast are maple syrup, butter, powdered sugar, or whipped cream. You can always add some fresh berries and nuts on top as well. If you’re feeling adventurous with the syrups, try my Homemade Coconut Syrup or coconut whipped cream.
For a lactose free option, you can use lactose free half and half and lactose free cream cheese. (Personally, I prefer the Green Valley Creamery brand of lactose free cream cheese and Organic Valley brand for lactose free half and half.)
Cream of coconut is usually dairy free!
If you need a dairy free option for cream, use oat, almond, or soy milk substitutes but note that the flavor will change slightly. There are plant based cream cheese options on the market as well, use your favorite.
More French Toast Recipes To Try
If you’ve made this stuffed French toast using my recipe and found a lot of good information here, PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below as well.
Coconut Stuffed French Toast Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz French baguette sliced into 1.5 inch thick slices
- 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
- 1-2 tbsp neutral oil for cooking
Egg Mixture:
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tbsp cream of coconut
- 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp white granulated sugar optional
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 tbsp cream of coconut
- 2 tsp sugar optional
Instructions
- Before starting to cook: In a small bowl, mix the filling ingredients very well. In a shallow, wide bowl, whisk eggs mixture ingredients. Place coconut flakes in another shallow, wide bowl.
- Preheat a cooking pan over medium to medium-low heat.
- Slice the French baguette into 8 slices that are about 1.5 inches thick. Slices in the middle of each baguette slice but not all the way through.
- Spread about 1-1.5 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture in the middle of each bread slices.
- Dip each stuffed slice of bread into the coconut egg mixture, letting it soak up the egg on both sides. (Give it a few seconds to soak up the egg mixture on each side.)
- Dip the soaked bread slice into the bowl with coconut flakes. Press each wet slice of bread into the coconut flakes, on both sides. Give it a pat on each side to make sure it’s crusted well.
- Add a little oil to the preheated pan. Cook the stuffed French toast for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Cover the pan when cooking to make sure it's cooked all the way through before it gets too toasted on the outside. (If the coconut is toasting too fast, you may need to lower the heat a little bit.)
Notes
- What to do with leftover cream of coconut: First of all, don’t feel like you have to use it that same day! Simply transfer what is left in the can into a glass jar with an air-tight lid and refrigerate it. It should last up to 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze it for up to 2 months.
To use up the cream of coconut, use it in cocktails and other baked goods! Check the FAQ section above for recipe suggestions. - Lactose free options: For a lactose free option, you can use lactose free half and half and lactose free cream cheese. (Personally, I prefer the Green Valley Creamery brand of lactose free cream cheese and Organic Valley brand for lactose free half and half.)
Cream of coconut is usually dairy free! - Dairy Free Options: If you need a dairy free option for cream, use oat, almond, or soy milk substitutes but note that the flavor will change slightly. There are plant based cream cheese options on the market as well, use your favorite.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2013.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Holy COW!!! This looks amazing, Lyuba. Thanks so much for linking at our “Best Of The Weekend” party!! Pinning and sharing tomorrow AM on FB & Twitter!
Thank you, Claire!!
aw man Lyuba! you have the BEST french toast recipes! :>D
Awww, thanks, Lisa!
Oh Lordy! These look so Awesome! I am a huge coconut fan!
Thank you, Nicole!
Oh my, this looks amazing!!
Thank you, Jaime!
What a beautiful blog. I love your recipes and your photography is lovely. Can’t wait to try the french toast!
Thank you so much!
i became obsessed with coconut a year ago and my addiction is still going strong! i love this idea. my first experience with making stuffed french toast was a flop but i’ll give it a go with your recipe. 🙂
Gotta tell ya, it will never go away 🙂
Thank you, Sarah!
Those look delicious Lyuba! I don’t even like coconut, and I am drooling over them 🙂 So creative!
Well, that’s an ultimate win, Lisa! Thank you!
I love the idea of coconut – these look awesome and going on on brunch pinterest board. Have a good night!!
Thank you, Deb!
this looks TDF…making this weekend and pinned
Aww, thank you, Heather!
Oh, oh, oh….I’m going into a craving fit! These (and ALL the others that you show with them) look just amazing! I am a coconut NUT, so this has been added to my “To Do” list in bold, capital letters! Since you are a coconut affectionado, I’d like to ask you a question. I wanted to make a cookie that called for “desiccated coconut” but I, nor anyone at the store, knew what it was. Any tips?
You are too funny, Marysue!
I haven’t seen any or used it before but it looks like it’s raw, unsweetened coconut flakes. You know what you can do is buy a coconut and shave the fresh coconut meat. I actually love this idea and I’m going to work on that 🙂
Well, I am in love with these! You can show us all of what you have in mind with your coconut kick…love it! You’re so creative. (=
Awww, thank you, Gloria!
Oh Lyuba, this looks amazing! I am also quite obsessed with coconut and am definitely going to have to try this! I didn’t know you had a party on Saturday nights! I will totally come back and link up! Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe!
~Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy
Thank you so much, Jen!
I sure so, it starts at 8 pm! Common by!