Cinnamon French Toast Sticks {Homemade}

Bite-sized, quick and easy cinnamon French toast sticks recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Soft on the inside but firm and crispy on the outside. Perfect for breakfast and brunch!

Breakfast can be the most delicious part of the day with today's recipe. No need to buy them at stores any more because they are so easy to make at home, plus they taste so much better! They are great to serve on Christmas mornings, along with this Eggnog French Toast of course. In my opinion, the best french toasts are crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. They should also be firm enough to pick up without going limp and I am sharing all my secret tips and tricks for achieving that!

Jump to:

• How to make french toast sticks?
• How to freeze and reheat frozen french toast sticks?
• Baked french toast sticks recipe vs. Fried french toast sticks
• French Toast Toppings
• Tips and Techniques
• More Cinnamon Desserts
• Recipe

How to make french toast sticks?

1. Prepare egg mixture/ custard mixture- By mixing together eggs, milk, vanilla in a bowl.
2. Prepare cinnamon sugar- By mixing together granulated sugar and cinnamon powder.
3. Dip bread slices in egg mixture- Quickly dunk and remove from bowl onto a heated pan.
4. Pan fry- Both sides until golden brown.
5. Coat in sugar- Quickly toss warm slices in cinnamon sugar until coated.
6. Enjoy! Serve immediately while they are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

How to freeze and reheat frozen french toast sticks?

Prepare them, as per instructions below but don't coat them in sugar.PLace them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper and let them cool down to room temperature. Freeze for 2-3 hours. Then, transfer them to an airtight sealed container for up to 1 month. They can be reheated in the microwave or heated in the oven at a 350 degrees F oven for 8-10 minutes. However, with all that being said, I DO NOT like to freeze and reheat them because their texture is just not the same any more. They are no longer as crisp as they were before, when freshly prepared.

Baked french toast sticks recipe vs. Fried french toast sticks

Between the two, I prefer the classic pan-fried version. It has the best texture and flavor. In the baked version, you will dip the bread in egg mixture, shake off excess, place slices on a baking tray, bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes on one side, then flip them and bake the other side for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven, brush melted butter over each bread stick and coat it in cinnamon sugar.

French Toast Toppings

The classic and most popular choice is maple syrup or a dusting of powdered sugar but you can try some of these other ideas too:

• Honey
• Homemade whipped cream
• Ice cream
• Melted chocolate
• Warm Nutella or Nutella Syrup
• Warm peanut butter
• Warm Biscoff or cookie butter
• Caramel sauce
• Dulce de Leche
• Chocolate ganache
• Chocolate syrup
• Fruits (such as strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, peaches, bananas)
• Chopped nuts
• Dried fruits
• Chopped up candy bars
• Jams and preserves such as this Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam
• Chocolate chips
• Flavored yogurt
• Pie fillings such as Raspberry Pie Filling or Cherry Pie Filling or Blueberry Pie Filling or Peach Pie Filling

Tips and Techniques

• Use stale bread-  Because fresh bread soaks up too much egg custard mixture and the end result is soggy limp french toast. It's also an awesome way to use up old bread.
• Use thick bread- You can use regular sandwich bread but since it's thinner and softer than thick breads (such as challah or Texas toast bread), it has a tendency to absorb too much liquid and can end up soggy.
• What to do if you don't have old stale bread? Just bake slices of bread for 5-6 minutes at 350 degrees F, then flip and bake for another 5-6 minutes.
• Use butter for pan frying- Obviously you can use oil but butter adds such a lovely rich flavor.
• Work in batches- If you have a large griddle, you can easily make multiple sticks at once. But, if you are using a nonstick pan like me, you would have to work in batches or else the pan will get very crowded and the the slices won't cook evenly.
• How long to soak bread in egg custard mixture? That depends on how dry your bread is and how thick it is. If it's very dry and very thick, you will have to soak for a little longer so that custard absorbs into the bread. Typically, I drop bread in the egg mixture, quickly flip it over to soak the other side and then quickly remove it onto the pan. I don't let it sit for too long in the egg mixture because that would make the french toast soggy. If it's not soaked long enough, it will be dry in the center. Always, test it out with one or two slices to see how long it should be soaked first and then proceed with the rest similarly.
• Don't overheat the pan-  If it's too hot, you will burn the tops of the french toast, while leaving the inside soggy. 
• Use unsalted butter- Because this prevents them from becoming too salty.
• Coat in cinnamon sugar quickly- If they cool down, the sugar won't stick to the french toast.
• Should I remove crust from bread? Many people remove it. I, personally, don't mind it.
• Make ahead instructions- You can make the egg mixture and cinnamon sugar a day in advance plus you can have the bread sliced and ready the day before too. This way, all the prep work is done and you can get started immediately. I don't recommend making them in advance and storing them in the fridge.

More Cinnamon Desserts

• Cinnamon Roll Cake (With Cake Mix)
• Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (1 Hour)
• Cinnamon Cookies (Soft and Chewy)
• Fluffy Cinnamon Pancakes
• Cinnamon Muffins

Recipe