Instant Pot Stuffed French Toast with Blueberries and Cream Cheese

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Instant Pot Stuffed French Toast filled with juicy blueberries and warm cream cheese is the perfect breakfast to make the first meal of the day feel homey, fancy, and comforting.

Oh, children.  Why do they have to be so honest?  At what age do they get a filter?

If I have to clench my teeth through one more “Eww!  Gross!” exclamation, I just might be serving them Brussel sprouts every single night until they are so desperate for something new that they find everything I put on the table to be a wondrous masterpiece, because 85% of the time, gosh darn it, it is.

To their credit, they are learning, and when “Eww” slips out of their mouth, they quickly cover their mouth and say, “Oops, I mean, no thank you.”

Now help me understand, what could a child possibly have against soft, custardy bread stuffed with burst blueberries and warm, silky cream cheese?

Well after all was said and done, they tried it, loved it, ate the whole pan and said, “Make it again tomorrow!!!”

Why can’t they just learn to trust me from the get-go?!

Later that morning, I caught my son staring off into la-la-land at his blueberry stained dish as he stood in front of the dishwasher.

“Is there something wrong?” I inquired.

“It was good mom, I’m not saying it was gross.  But it needs something else.  Something to make it special because breakfast is my favorite food and so it needs to be EXTRA special.”

Don’t you worry you little stud you.  Mama’s got your back.

The next go around I made a thick, dreamy, naturally sweetened Blueberry Sauce, to which he exclaimed (with sweet little purple-stained cheeks), “You did it mom!  THIS is a special breakfast!”

And for a small moment, every “eww” “yuck” “gross” and “why do you only make grown-up food!” comment disappeared from my conscious and I gleefully gave him the last slice (sorry hubs, early bird gets the worm).

WHY YOU WILL LOVE INSTANT POT STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

• EASY:  Typically, stuffed french toast requires tedious slitting and filling slices of bread and trying to get 4 inches of bread and filling to cook through on a griddle.  None of that nonsense here.  Just cube up the bread, layer, layer, layer, and in just a few minutes, you have 5-6 servings of stuffed french toast ready to cook!
• HEAVENLY BLUEBERRIES:  Burst blueberries flowing into bites of warm cream cheese with every soft, custardy bread bite is “hopes and dreams” worthy.
• NO SOAK: Using the pressure cooker negates the need to soak the bread in the custard overnight.  Did I just hear a “YES!” echo across the world?
• MAKE AHEAD OPTION:  Buuuuttt, if you want to, yes, it can even be made the night before and be ready to cook when you wake up.
• SAUCY:  The Blueberry Sauce.  Perfectly sweet, vivaciously purple, and will stain every finger so you can remember how happy you were at breakfast all day long.

HOW TO MAKE STUFFED FRENCH TOAST IN THE INSTANT POT

1. Layer half the bread in the pan and top with blueberries and cream cheese
2. Top with the second layer of bread
3. Whisk together the custard sauce
4. Pour over the bread
5. Press the bread down lightly to soak it up
6. Place on a trivet in the pressure cooker
7. Cook for 35 minutes
8. Make the blueberry sauce on the stovetop
9. Simmer until thickened

SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST INSTANT POT FRENCH TOAST

• USE STURDY BREAD:  Floppy, thin bread will basically disintegrate – not good.  Challah, Brioche, and French bread are the most commonly used bread for whenever you want to soak it in a custard sauce.  For a healthier spin that I prefer to serve at breakfast, I use a whole wheat french bread, sturdy store-bought whole wheat bread, or this homemade Whole Wheat Bread.
• USE BLOCK CREAM CHEESE:  I use 3 oz from an 8 oz BLOCK of lite cream cheese, the kind wrapped in foil.  I’m usually a big fan of Whipped Cream Cheese, but for this recipe, it melts and curdles into the batter in a very unappealing way.
• FRESH BLUEBERRIES:  Use fresh (not frozen) blueberries for layering inside the french toast.  This helps it to cook more evenly.
• THE SAUCE:  Alternatively, I prefer frozen blueberries for the sauce because they melt and burst into a sauce quicker.  Fresh will also work here though.
• BROIL THE TOP:  I need texture in everything I eat so that bit of crispy, crunchy bread bites on top are heavenly when combined with cushy bread and creamy filling.  This can be done under the oven broiler or with the Mealthy CrispLid right in the pot.

HOW TO MAKE STUFFED FRENCH TOAST AHEAD

Assemble the Stuffed French Toast as instructed in the recipe card.  Cover it with plastic wrap and place it uncooked in the fridge overnight.  The next morning, cook as instructed below, adding an extra 5 minutes to account for it being thoroughly chilled.

HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT

• To Store: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.  It will get pretty soft, AKA mushy, as it sits, but I still happily ate it on day 2.  Store Blueberry Sauce in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week.
• To Reheat:  Reheat in the microwave to warm through, top with Blueberry Sauce.

MORE FANCY FEELING BREAKFAST RECIPES

• Instant Pot Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole
• Instant Pot Mason Jar Breakfast Casserole
• Instant Pot Poached Egg and Hash Brown Stacker
• Instant Pot Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
• Instant Pot Blackberry Almond Breakfast Cake

TOOLS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

• Instant Pot
• 7 inch Cake Pan

Instant Pot Stuffed French Toast with Blueberries and Cream Cheese

Print Recipe

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Instant Pot Stuffed French Toast, filled with sweet blueberries and warm cream cheese.  Perfect for entertaining or every day.

• Author: Marci
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 5 servings 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: Pressure Cooker
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6-7 cups bite size cubed bread (whole grain or white will both work.  French bread, challah, and brioche work well too) 
• 1 cup almond milk (any milk will do)
• ¾ cup applesauce
• ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoon melted coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 oz lite cream cheese
• 1 cup blueberries (I suggest fresh.  If using frozen, increase cook time by 5 minutes)

For the Blueberry sauce

• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon cornstarch

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Instructions

1. Lightly grease a 7 inch springform or baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Layer half of the bread in the pan.  Top with blueberries and cubes of cream cheese (I use my hands to put dollops of cream cheese on top of the blueberries, two spoons will also work).
3. Top with remaining bread and press down slightly.
4. In a small bowl, whisk milk, applesauce, honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract, eggs, cinnamon, and salt until smooth.  
5. Pour mixture over the bread and press bread down so it all gets soaked with the milk mixture.
6. Add 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker pot and place a trivet inside.  Place prepared pan on the trivet.
7. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 35 minutes.
8. While it cooks, prepare the Blueberry Sauce.  In a saucepan over medium heat, add all of the blueberry sauce ingredients and stir.  Stir often as the sauce comes up to a simmer, then reduce to low and let it continue to simmer until it’s your desired thickness.  This takes about 5 – 7 minutes.
9. When pressure cooking is complete, use a 5 minute natural release then release any remaining pressure.  The bread will look moist (this will evaporate as it sits), and will be firm to the touch. The center should be at least 160° F.  If it appears to be underdone, cook for another 5 minutes. 
10. Optional:  Sprinkle the top of the bread with turbinado sugar and place under the oven broiler (or use a Mealthy CrispLid) for a couple of minutes until the bread browns and the turbinado melts.
11. Let sit 5 – 10 minutes before serving to make it easier to cut and plate.  
12. Serve warm, with a ladle of blueberry sauce over top.  

Notes

• If you’d like a sweeter filling, drizzle the blueberry/cream cheese layer with honey before topping it with the remaining bread.
• If using frozen blueberries in the filling, increase cook time to 40 minutes.
• This is amazing with 100% whole wheat bread or white bread.  I like to cube any leftover bread or rolls I have on hand and stash them in the freezer to use for this Stuffed French Toast.
• This works well with freshly cubed bread or stale bread.
• Use whatever fruit you like!  Swap the blueberries for strawberries, peaches, diced apples, pears, etc.
• Flavored cream cheese from the refrigerated section at the grocery store would be an amazing substitute for a spin on the plain cream cheese.
• To make ahead, assemble through step 5, cover, and place in the fridge overnight.  Cook for 40 minutes.

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