How to make soft and fluffy homemade cinnamon French toast sticks that are cooked to buttery, golden brown perfection with perfectly crispy edges. Freezer friendly recipe that you can make ahead for a quick and easy breakfast or brunch that the whole family will love!
It’s no secret that I have a longtime love for cinnamon French toast, topped off with powdered sugar and drowned in maple syrup….Mmm. My family loves French toast so much that I regularly make our favorite overnight French toast casserole. But recently I’ve been on kind of a French toast sticks kick.
I mean, this recipe makes French toast strips that you can eat with your fingers, which makes it the perfect breakfast for the kiddo’s. It’s a great way to use up stale bread, and it’s also freezer-friendly so that you can make your own French toast sticks ahead of time. What’s not to love?
Ingredients & Substitutions Notes
- Milk – I always use whole milk for the wet batter, but 2% milk or even skim milk will work just fine for this recipe.
- Egg – You’ll beat 1 whole egg into the milk to make the dipping batter for your bread strips. This will keep your French toast super soft and spongey as it cooks.
- Brown Sugar – It’s important that you use light brown sugar for this recipe. Dark brown sugar has a very strong molasses flavor that I don’t particularly care for.
- Cinnamon – I always add a dash of cinnamon to my cinnamon French toast sticks!
- Vanilla Extract – Any vanilla will work, but lately I’ve really been enjoying the smoother flavor of this Mexican vanilla.
- Kosher Salt – Kosher salt has a larger, coarser crystal size, which is easier to distribute evenly over the French toast for better flavor and a subtle texture. If you must substitute with table salt, a general rule of thumb is to use about 30% less than you would kosher salt.
- Bread – Stale, dried out brioche bread works best for French toast, but truth be told, we usually just use whatever kind of bread we have on hand. The most important thing is that it’s stale. If you don’t have any stale bread, leave it out on the counter overnight to dry out. This will help to keep your French toast from getting soggy. You can also make gluten free French toast sticks simply by using gluten free bread.
How to Make Homemade French Toast Sticks Recipe
Before getting started, use a large knife to slice the stale brioche bread into sticks. Then cut the crust off. If you’d rather, you can also slice the bread strips down into squares to make French toast bites for the kiddo’s.
Once you’re ready to cook your French toast strips, add the butter to a large skillet over medium-low heat. As it preheats, let’s get started…
Making French Toast Sticks
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, vanilla and coarse kosher salt. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, add the cane sugar and another teaspoon of the cinnamon. Mix together and set aside.
How to Cook French Toast Sticks
- Dip the strips of brioche bread that you sliced up in the first step into the milk mixture, and then transfer to the hot skillet. Let cook for 1 minute in the skillet. Then flip over to cook for an additional minute, or ’til both sides are crisp and golden brown.
- Use a pair of tongs to transfer the sticks to the cinnamon sugar mixture, and coat both sides liberally and evenly before moving onto a plate for serving.
That’s it! Your homemade French toast sticks are ready to serve immediately. Drizzle them with maple syrup, and serve them up alongside fresh berries and a piping hot cup of coffee. Once cooled, you can freeze any extras (if there are any) for an easy breakfast or brunch any day of the week!
Alternative Ways to Cook Cinnamon French Toast Sticks
If you’re not a fan of the stovetop, here a few other ways you can cook your French toast sticks…
- Make air fryer French toast sticks! You’ll want to preheat the air fryer to 350ºF. Then place each of your sticks in the air fryer basket. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, or ’til cooked through and golden brown.
- You can also make oven baked French toast sticks by baking them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350ºF for about 10-15 minutes on each side, ’til crisp and golden brown.
- Last but not least, reheat frozen French toast sticks in the microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, or ’til cooked through.
What Else to Serve With French Toast Sticks
- My boys love their eggs and bacon, and sometimes we’ll throw in a pack of breakfast sausage. Don’t forget the hot coffee!
- Like I said earlier, you can’t go wrong with fresh fruit. In fact, French toast strips go really good with mixed berry salad.
- If you like fresh fruit, you’d love your French toast lathered in blueberry sauce, raspberry sauce or strawberry sauce.
- Drizzle them with a little bit of chocolate syrup or caramel syrup. Then add a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Mmmmm…
- Concerned about your heavy carb intake? Don’t feel bad! You can always balance out the sugar in your breakfast with these low carb sausage egg muffins!
- I personally love to pair my French toast with a good blueberry mango smoothie or sometimes this peach mango smoothie!
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, you can make dairy free French toast sticks. First, swap out the milk with a dairy free milk, like almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, cashew milk or soy milk. Then you’ll need to use dairy free bread and dairy free plant butter. All the other ingredients for this recipe are naturally dairy free, but as always, be sure to double check all of the labels just to be sure.
First, follow the same steps as you would for dairy free. Then, you’ll need to find a vegan substitute for the egg. This plant-based egg substitute from the grocery store is a good option.
Soggy French toast is usually caused by using bread that isn’t stale enough. I always recommend leaving fresh bread out overnight before using it to make French toast. This is to prevent it from getting soggy when dipped in the milk and egg mixture.
Store your French toast sticks in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can crisp them back up by reheating them for 3-4 minutes in a skillet with melted butter.
Yes, you can freeze French toast sticks! Stored in an airtight container or freezer bag, they should last up to 3 months in the deep freeze. Reheat your frozen French toast strips in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, or ’til cooked through. Then you can pop them into a hot skillet with melted butter for a few minutes to crisp them back up. Alternatively, reheat them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes.
More Easy Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
- Easy Glazed Donut Recipe
- Cinnamon Apple French Toast Casserole
- Crock Pot French Toast Casserole
- Homemade Pancake Mix and Homemade Biscuit Mix
- Strawberry Waffles
- Everything Bagel Recipe
- Banana Nutella Muffins
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
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French Toast Sticks
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1 Egg
- 1 tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon Divided
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/8 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 tablespoon Cane Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 4 slices Brioche Bread Stale
Instructions
- Before getting started, use a large knife to slice the stale brioche bread into sticks.
- Once you're ready to cook your French toast sticks, add the butter to a large skillet over medium-low heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, vanilla and coarse kosher salt. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, add the cane sugar and another teaspoon of the cinnamon. Mix together and set aside.
- Dip the strips of brioche bread that you sliced up in the first step into the milk mixture, and then transfer to the hot skillet. Let cook for 1 minute in the skillet.
- Then flip each bread strip over to cook for an additional minute, or 'til both sides are crisp and golden brown.
- Use a pair of tongs to transfer the sticks to the cinnamon sugar mixture, and coat both sides liberally and evenly before moving onto a plate for serving.
- That's it! Your French toast sticks are ready to serve immediately with maple syrup and a piping hot cup of coffee!
