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Pretending to be a kid today with these oven-baked Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks. Soft wheat bread cut into sticks, dipped in french toast batter, and baked in the oven until golden and toasted. Each french toast stick gets dressed up with browned butter before being coated in cinnamon sugar. These are just like the french toast sticks we loved as kids (and a touch healthier), but so much better than those old school french toast sticks mom found in the freezer aisle. And yes, you can make a big batch of these and freeze to reheat on busy mornings. Perfect for back to school…or if you simply need a french toast stick on a Tuesday morning.

side angled photo of Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks with maple syrup dripping off the french toast sticks

My favorite breakfast as a kid was my dad’s cinnamon toast. It was extra buttery and extra cinnamony and I looked forward to it every weekend.

On busy school mornings, my brothers and I ate one of three items…bagels, waffles, or french toast sticks. My favorites were the cinnamon toast waffles and the french toast sticks. Each with maple syrup…oh my gosh, so much sugar. And do you see a pattern? I clearly have a serious love for anything involving cinnamon. To this day I still think my favorite thing might just be cinnamon toast, so simple, but just so good.

french toast sticks in eggy french toast batter

With back to school in full swing, and mid-September quickly approaching, I knew an easy make-ahead breakfast was a good idea. Enter these french toast sticks. I could have done them all up in autumn flavors, or added fruity things, but honestly? French toast sticks should just be left as they are. For me, they’re best when buttery, and coated heavily in cinnamon.

Now, I haven’t had frozen french toast sticks since I was maybe 10 years old. Not sure exactly, but I know it’s been a while. I was that weird kid that decided to stop eating things like frozen waffles and potato chips, and instead snacked on apples and carrots.

Anyway, these are so much better than anything from the store. SO. much. BETTER.

overhead photo of Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks before baking

The french toast sticks you’ll find in the freezer aisle, are rubbery, bland, and filled with a million and one ingredients. Is there even cinnamon in them? I don’t know.

These homemade french toast sticks? They’re made with whole-grain bread, they’re soft, buttery, sweetened with maple syrup, hinted with vanilla, and tossed with cinnamon sugar. I’m not calling them health food by any means, but they’re a huge upgrade from the french toast sticks I ate as a kid.

Plus they are so easy to make! And yes, you can freeze them too, making them perfect for a super quick and easy breakfast.

overhead photo of Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks after baking on baking sheet

Here are all the details.

For the bread, I like to use a soft whole-grain bread. When I have the time I bake this breakfast bread in a loaf pan and just leave the seeds out. Or if I happen to have some already made, I will use my homemade honey brioche bread. In a hurry, I’ll pick up a soft loaf from Whole Foods.

Cut the bread into thick slices, then cut each piece into sticks. I can normally get about 3 sticks per slice of bread.

side angled photo of Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks being drizzled with maple syrup

For the french toast “batter”, it’s a classic mix of eggs, milk, and vanilla. I like to use maple syrup to sweeten it up just a smidge, and nutmeg for additional flavor and warmth. Dip each breadstick into the batter, then bake in the oven. No pan cooking, no messy stove, no hassle.

While the french toast sticks are baking, brown some butter and mix up some cinnamon and sugar. When the french toast sticks come out of the oven, brush each with browned butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. And that’s it.

overhead photo of Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks on plate

These are best enjoyed warm with just a little maple syrup for dipping. You don’t NEED the extra sweetness by any means, but I don’t think I could eat french toast sticks without a little maple on the side. Brings back so many memories of eating breakfast at the kitchen table before school.

What I love most about this recipe however, is that I’ve gotten to share these with Asher. She has not grown up eating the freezer breakfasts that my brothers and I ate. So I love that I can provide her with these healthier homemade french toast sticks. My dad tells me she’s been eating them every single morning before school and LOVING them.

But then how could you not love these? Soft, eggy bread, browned butter, and cinnamon sugar. All the BEST things.

And with that, I highly recommend you make these this weekend. Enjoy them on a Sunday and then freeze the rest for quick weekday breakfasts. Meal prep magic right there!

side angled photo of Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks being dipped into maple syurp

If you make these cinnamon sugar french toast sticks be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 407 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    2. Cut each slice of bread into 1 inch wide "sticks". In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, maple, nutmeg, salt, and 1 tablespoon melted butter.
    3. Dip each breadstick into the egg mixture and toss to coat. Remove, allowing any excess to drip off back into the bowl. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bread. Bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake 10-15 minutes more, or until lightly golden.
    4. Meanwhile, add the remaining 5 tablespoons butter to a medium pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted and nutty, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
    5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, and cinnamon.
    6. Brush each french toast stick with browned butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar...or toss to coat for extra sweetness. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Notes

To Freeze: Bake the french toast sticks as directed and coat in cinnamon sugar. Arrange the french toast sticks in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze 1-2 hours, until firm. Transfer the french toast sticks to a freezer safe container and freeze for 3-4 months. To warm, microwave for 1 minute, flip and microwave 1 minute more. Times will vary depending on your microwave.  
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horizontal photo of Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks on plate

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Comments

  2. 5 stars
    This is the most amazing brunch recipe EVER! My second time thru, (I PROMISE next time I’ll make it prettier and have time for pics!), and I froze some as well. I microwaved them and they were a great snack out of the freezer! Texture might suffer a teense, but seriously, given these are a 15 on a 1-10 taste scale, droping them down to a 9.5 out of 10, still amazing!! I have issues with dairy, used butter last time and Spectrum butter-flavored spread this time for my gut’s sake, really, really yum. Highly recommend canned coconut milk for the dairy…I guess you cd go crazy and use canned coconut cream, but this was great. Thx!

    Reply

  3. Hi! This looks delicious! Due to my boyfriend’s allergies, we cannot use eggs. Are there any alternatives for eggs in this recipe?

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  5. 1 star
    I just threw the entire thing into the garbage. Recipe should have mentioned to spray the parchment paper with Pam. Every piece was stuck to the paper. What a mess.

    Reply

    1. Hi Ann! I am really sorry to hear that. I usually do not spray my parchment paper… Are there any questions I could help you with? xTieghan

      Reply

  6. 4 stars
    Dear Tieghan,
    This is the best breakfast I have had in a long time, just made it today (I’m in Germany) and my hubby and me ate, ate, and ate like there was no tomorrow.
    However, I took one star off as for me at least the measurements were wrong, with 4 eggs and the amount of milk I could have easily doubled the amount of bread slices (I had exactly 12 like you). I intend on repeating the recipe tomorrow. Also, during the baking the egg-mix sunk to the bottom of the bread slices so that I would have recommended browning the first side 8-10min or until golden, but the second side a little less, mine was already very crunchy. But that brown butter, yum, yum, yum!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Made these this morning and they are amazing! Even my 13 year old who doesn’t like French toast or eggs, thought these were the bees knees 🙂

    Reply

  10. I’ll be trying these out for sure! It’s funny, I’ve been craving french toast and was actually thinking of making the sticks from scratch. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  12. amazing in this format and delicious, we love french toast and want to see how it looks after frozen, thanks

    Reply

  15. 5 stars
    I love french toast. I use french french and also put vanilla extract and cinnamon in my eggs mixture. I love freezing it in bags of 3 slices. Just grab then thaw and toast in the toaster. That is how my husband loves to do it. When we have had sickness in our church families I have made this for them for a quick breakfast.

    Reply