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I always love to make a special breakfast for my family on holidays. It’s a fun way to make the day more festive, but I don’t want to walk away from breakfast feeling like I’ve already spent too much of my macro budget. This is especially true when I know there will be lots of indulgent food at get-togethers later during the day.
Since Easter is coming up, I created this Blueberry Breakfast Braid so that I could enjoy a festive breakfast, but not feel like I’ve overspent already. Plus, it is perfectly springy since it is stuffed with a cream cheese and jam filling. I’ve also included a fresh fruit version below, too!
The Dough
This recipe starts with the two-ingredient dough I used for my cinnamon rolls. This is the “secret” for keeping this bread higher in protein. This dough actually isn’t very hard at all to make, although it can be sticky to work with! Some parchment paper and additional flour will go a long way in helping to deal with that. Since this dough is lower in fat, it is not as tender as some doughs. However, I still think it satisfies, especially when it gets spread with that springy filling!
The Filling
Speaking of the middle, this bread gets filled with a sweetened light cream cheese filling and a less sugar jam. I used Crofter’s blueberry spread. I purchased mine from Costco a while back, but if you’re looking for some, you can also find the blueberry spread and other varieties on Amazon. Of course, anything that you have on hand will work well, too, but it may cause the braid to be higher in carbs.
If you’re wanting to use fresh fruit instead of jam, please see the notes section of the recipe. Really, any type of fruit will work well here. I’ve used strawberries, fresh nectarines, and fresh blueberries in the past, and they all worked well.
The Braid
Then, you’ll “braid” the dough for a beautiful finish. I know this probably sounds complicated, but it really isn’t! You’ll use a pizza cutter to make diagonal strips down the sides of the braid. Then you’ll simply fold them over. If you’re looking for a video, check out this one from delish. I’ve also shared a video in my highlights on my Instagram account.
The Icing
After it’s baked, it gets topped with a cream cheese glaze. Am I the only one who thinks the glaze is the best part? HA! If you’re looking to make a pretty drizzle on your braid, pour the prepared glaze into a sandwich size plastic bag. Snip a small corner of the bag and then drizzle over the braid using gentle pressure. This trick helps keep it pretty and evenly distributed!
The Macros
Macros for 1/8 of the bread, which is a very generous piece, are (rounded to) 5f/30c/7p or 185 calories. If you’re curious about the serving size, mine came out to be rounded to 73 grams per slice. When paired with some other lean protein, this would actually be a pretty balanced way to start out your holiday eats!
Make it Lighter
If you’re looking for an even lighter option, consider these options:
- Fat-Free Cream Cheese. You can save even more fat by choosing to use non-fat cream cheese. I personally prefer the taste and texture of Neufchatel cream cheese, but if you’re ok with fat-free this is a good option!
- Use Sweetener of Choice. If you want to save some additional carbs, feel free to swap out the powdered sugar and granulated sugar with a no-calorie sweetener.
- Less Icing. If you’re wanting to save some additional calories, I think you could half the icing to save some extra carbs and fats. I’m personally a big icing fan, so I wanted it all! But, if you’re looking to scale back, this is another way.
Breakfast Braid
Ingredients
- 1 cup Non-fat Greek Yogurt (255 g)
- 1 cup Self-Rising Flour, or All Purpose Flour plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt, plus more for flouring the surface. (120 g)
- 6 oz Light Cream Cheese, softened, divided
- 2 T granualted sugar or sugar substitute of choice
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 T Less Sugar Jam (I used Crofter's Blueberry Spread) (72 g)
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar (60 g)
- 1 tbsp Milk of choice (I used almond) (15 g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour and greek yogurt in a medium bowl. Stir together with a wooden spoon until well mixed and all the flour is incorporated into the dough.
- Prepare a parchment paper, roughly the size of a baking sheet, and add the dough on top. Then flour the dough. (Note: I added an extra 1/8 cup of flour to the macros since there will be extra flour mixed into the dough at this time.)
- Then roll the dough into a 17x13 rectangle, roughly the size of the baking sheet. it doesn't have to be perfect. Add additional flour as neccessary. Carefully transfer the rectangle (on the parchment paper) onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, mix together 4 oz of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla, until completely smooth. Spread mixture into the center of the rectangle and spread it evenly, leaving about a 3 inch border on each side.
- Top the cream cheese layer with an even spread of the less sugar jam. If you would like to use fresh fruit in this step instead, see the notes section below.
- With a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut diagonal one inch strips on both sides of the border dough. Starting from the top, fold one strip down over the jam and cream cheese mixture from the left and then the right. Continue until all the strips have been folded in to create a "braid." Delish has a handy video of how this step works.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. The top should be golden brown. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
- Make the glaze in a small bowl with remaining 2 oz of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Stir the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until they are evenly mixed. Then add about 1 tablespoon of milk to make the mixture glaze like. More milk (in small increments) can be added to make the glaze thinner. 1 tbsp was perfect for me!
- Pour glaze over baked braid. Slice, serve, and enjoy! Best served right away.
Notes
- Ingredients:
- 2 cups of fresh fruit
- 2 T of cornstarch
- 1 T of lemon juice
- 2 T of sugar
- In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups of strawberries, cornstarch, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of sugar (or sugar alternative of choice). Pour this mixture evenly over the cream cheese layer.
