With its fluffy interior and crunchy cinnamon sugar exterior, my Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast will remind you of your favorite childhood cereal. French Toast - just add nostalgia!
Why this Recipe Works
When my kids were little, I'd sometimes make them the simplest, but most delicious breakfast: toast, slathered in butter, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Cinnamon toast! It was actually a cheap, homemade version of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal they saw on TV. At the time, that was too pricey for me, and they were too young to fall prey to cereal peer pressure. So, cinnamon toast.
Later, I found out that the popular cereal was actually invented to mimic cinnamon French Toast, so I thought "Let's bring this full circle!" I'm bringing you a Crunchy Cinnamon French Toast that mimics Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, that was made to mimic Cinnamon French Toast. Got it? Let's do it!
Recipe Ingredients
- Panko breadcrumbs Panko breadcrumbs are larger and crunchier than standard breadcrumbs, and keep their crunch longer as well.
- Thick sliced bread If there's one thing I hate, it's super saturated French Toast that just never seems fully cooked. Using a thicker slice of bread avoids that awful soggy mistake. You can use whatever bread you prefer; challah, brioche, and Texas toast are particularly good.
- Eggs Through scientific trial and error, I have determined that one egg is the perfect amount for every two pieces of French Toast. (Meaning I've used too little and too much. This is the Goldilocks Ratio of French Toast.)
- Milk Per the Goldilocks Ratio, ½ cup of milk per 4 eggs gives you the perfect French Toast custard. Trust the ratio. I prefer whole milk, but any milk or milk substitute you prefer will work.
- Sugar There is granulated sugar in both the panko crumbs and in the cinnamon sugar topping.
- Cinnamon Cinnamon is also present in the French Toast custard, to really drive home the Cinnamon Toast Crunch vibes.
- Vanilla This adds a bit of sweetness to the custard. Either extract or paste will work.
- Butter Having a little butter in the crumbs helps the French Toast to brown. Cooking the French Toast in more butter adds more browning and more flavor. Yes and yes!
How to make this recipe
- Cinnamon sugar Mix together cinnamon and granulated sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
- Panko topping In a small sheet pan, or other shallow dish, mix the panko crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle butter over top and use a fork to evenly distribute the butter throughout.
- Custard In another small sheet pan, or shallow dish, place eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk. Whisk well to break eggs and distribute the cinnamon evenly throughout. The cinnamon will try to escape the blend, so you may need to whisk again before dipping each piece of toast.
- Bread the toast Quickly dip a piece of bread, on both sides, in the custard. Let the excess liquid drip off and place into the panko crumbs. Lightly coat both sides with crumbs.
- Cook Place the panko coated bread in a pan over medium heat, with melted butter. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Rest finished toast on a wire rack that has been placed in a large sheet pan, into a 200°F oven while you cook the rest of the French Toast. You may need to wipe out the pan once or twice during cooking as the excess butter and crumbs may burn.
- Serve Remove Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast from the oven and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar topping. Serve with syrup and fresh fruit, if desired.
Storage, reheating, and repurposing leftovers
Your Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast is best eaten hot and fresh, when first made. As you may know, re-crisping something that is coated with breadcrumbs can be difficult without losing the crunch or drying it out. Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days. To reheat, place on a wire rack on a large sheet pan and place in a 350 degree oven until warm. They may dry out a bit during the reheating process, so syrup and fresh fruit will help you out.
Other ways to repurpose your French Toast include making a French Toast Casserole. Or you can use them as a sweet crouton topping in a fruit salad by cutting into cubes, and baking in a 400°F oven until crispy.
Looking for more French Toast recipes?
French Toast Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments if you REALLY like it. Thanks!
Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Panko crust
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tbs butter melted
French Toast
- 8 slices bread sliced thickly
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Panko Topping
- In a small sheet pan, or other shallow container, mix together panko breadcrumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle over with melted butter and mix with a fork until completely combined.
French Toast
- Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom and pour into another small sheet pan, or other shallow container.
- Warm large nonstick pan up to medium low heat, then drop 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan and allow to melt. Dip bread in egg mixture, turning to coat both sides evenly.
- Gently press press soaked bread into panko crumb mixture to coat. Place a piece of bread in the pan and cook 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip over and cook 2-3 minutes on the other side.
- Place on a wire rack set on a large sheet pan (to prevent sogginess) and keep warm in a 200° oven. Repeat with the rest of the bread. You may need to wipe out the pan once or twice during cooking as the excess butter and crumbs may burn.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve with syrup and fresh fruit, if desired.
Nutrition
The nutritional and caloric information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It does not assert or suggest that readers should or should not count calories, and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s or doctor’s counseling.
Christina says
Don't sleep on this one, I had it this weekend and it's SO delicious. I'm usually not a huge fan of French toast in restaurants because it gets too soggy and soft, but this recipe gets crisp on the outside and tender inside, and the panko stays crisp even after syrup! Loved this with fresh fruit 🍓
Cynthia says
I’m so so glad you enjoyed them!! 🥰