Air Fryer French Toast Sticks — A FAST and EASY recipe for French toast sticks made in the air fryer. Lightly crisped on the outside, tender on the inside, and spiced with plenty of cinnamon to make you reach for just one more! Perfect for breakfast on the go, weekend brunches, or as tasty snack!
French Toast Sticks … in the Air Fryer!
I never met a kid who doesn’t love French toast sticks. Or adult, for that matter!
I have fond childhood memories of eating French toast sticks from a fast-food restaurant as a super special treat because my parents limited fast food indulgences to an absolute minimum. Now you don’t need a drive through or a restaurant to easily make cinnamon French toast sticks at home in 15 minutes!
These French toast sticks are made in an air fryer which allows them the exterior to crisp up slightly while maintaining a soft and tender interior.
I use a hefty amount of cinnamon in the batter so make sure the cinnamon-and-sugar flavor really shines but you can tone it down if you’re not as much of a cinnamon fiend.
There’s something so enticing about being able to pick up a warm French toast stick and dunk it in a vat of maple syrup, which is my preferred way to eat any and all type so French toast or pancakes. The more syrup, the merrier for me! But you can garnish them with confectioners’ sugar, fruit, honey, or melted nut butter.
The handheld aspect makes these air fryer cinnamon French toast sticks a great portable breakfast option for car rides or as a quickie afternoon snack or even as brinner (breakfast-for-dinner).
And not to worry, if you don’t have an air fryer, I provide options below for both pan-frying or oven-baking in this post.
Note that I have this 2014 Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Sticks recipe that I created long before air fryers were a “thing”. It’s a great recipe for anyone who hasn’t jumped on the air fryer bandwagon yet.
Ingredients in Air Fryer French Toast Sticks
To make French toast sticks in an air fryer, you only need a handful of very common fridge and pantry ingredients including the following:
- Eggs
- Heavy cream or half-and-half
- Cinnamon
- Light brown sugar
- Unsalted butter, melted
- Thick-cut bread
- Cooking spray
How to Make French Toast Sticks in an Air Fryer
Making air fryer cinnamon French toast sticks is so easy! Just follow these very straightforward steps for the best tasting and perfectly cooked cinnamon French toast sticks:
Step 1: Whisk together the eggs, cream, cinnamon, brown sugar, and melted butter.
Step 2: Slice the bread into wide strips.
Step 3: Dip, flip, and batter each stick of bread and place them in a cooking-sprayed air fryer basket.
Step 4: Air fry for about 3 minutes.
Step 5: Flip and air fry for 3 additional minutes or until done before serving with your favorite accompaniments.
What Kind of Air Fryer is Best for Cinnamon French Toast Sticks?
I like to use an XL air fryer. The bigger the basket, the better so you can cook more air fried French toast sticks at once. However, use whatever sized air fryer you have.
Can I Make French Toast Sticks Without an Air Fryer?
Yes, of course you can.
If you don’t have an air fryer, I recommend either pan frying the battered bread in a skillet with a bit of butter like you would make traditional French toast.
Alternatively, you can bake the French toast sticks on a Silpat-lined baking sheet in a 375F oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, flipping once halfway through baking.
What Kind of Bread is Best for Air Fryer French Toast Sticks?
I like to use thick cut Texas toast for a nice hearty bite of air fryer cinnamon french toast. It’s readily available in the fresh bread section of the grocery store and it’s inexpensive.
Artisanal thick cut, soft, bakery bread is also a good option.
You can also use brioche bread. It’s a nice option because it’s soft, slightly sweet, and soaks up the egg mixture well.
For another flavor twist, try cinnamon raisin bread. It will play up the wonderful cinnamon flavor vibe.
I do not recommend using bread slices from a regular loaf of bread – either white or wheat. It’s too thin and skimpy in my opinion to give you the mouthfeel of French toast sticks.
Plus it can easily become over soaked and a bit soggy from the egg mixture.
I don’t know how gluten-free bread will hold up but if you try it, let me know.
What to Serve with French Toast Sticks
There are a variety of great serving suggestions for your air fried French toast sticks, including the following:
- Maple syrup
- Honey
- Dusting with powdered sugar
- Sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar
- Melted peanut butter, almond butter, or cookie butter
- Fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or sliced bananas
- Diced or chopped nuts such as slivered almonds or walnuts
- Easy Air Fryer Twisted Bacon!
How to Store Leftover French Toast Sticks
Air fryer cinnamon French toast sticks are best hot and fresh out of the air fryer because they’re perfectly crisped on the outside, tender on the inside, and let’s face it French toast is one of those things best eaten warm and fresh!
That being said, if you make extra to have on hand for grab-and-go breakfasts for car rides to school or work, or to have as snacks, the French toast sticks will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tips for the Best Air Fryer French Toast Sticks
Making French toast sticks in an air fryer is a cinch! Some helpful tips include preheat your air fryer. And make sure not to overcrowd the air fryer basket.
You will need to cook the sticks in batches – possibly three or 4 batches.
Don’t try to cheat on the batch cooking because overcrowding the bread in the air fryer basket will result in French toast sticks that aren’t as crispy and are more mushy.
Therefore, coat only as many pieces of bread that can fit in your air fryer basket at once with the liquid mixture, probably about 8.
Don’t oversoak the bread but also make sure each slice of bread is sufficiently coated and not dry.
If you don’t have quite enough liquid mixture to coat every slice of bread, then don’t. Just make a few less French toast sticks.
Make sure to spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil spray before beginning. Not only will this prevent sticking but the trace amount of oil will help with the crisping-up factor.
I also give a quick, light spray on the actual sticks right before I close up the air fryer when they are sitting in the basket. The small amount of oil helps them get crispy!
For less mess and easier cleanup, line your air fryer basket with parchment paper. In the photos I don’t show using parchment paper but it definitely will help reduce the time spent cleaning up the eggy mixture.
Just spray down the parchment paper with cooking spray and get started air frying your French toast sticks!
All air fryers vary in their size, heat intensity, and therefore cooking times will vary. Approximately 6 minutes total, flipping once halfway through, works for me but keep an eye on yours so they’re cooked properly yet don’t burn.
I use heavy cream or half-and-half in the batter mixture for my French toast. I suppose you can use whole or 2% milk or plant-based milk such as almond or soy. The richer the dairy you use, the richer tasting the air fried cinnamon French toast sticks will be.
For picky eaters or to have more of a “cute” or restaurant-style appearance to your French toast sticks, you can cut off the crusts either before or after air frying. It’s not necessary but if you’re trying to replicate how French toast sticks look from a restaurant or drive-thru, cut off the crusts.
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Air Fryer Cinnamon French Toast Sticks
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, whisked
- 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half*
- 2 to 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 12 slices thick-cut bread, cut into thirds**
- Condiments for serving, as desired (maple syrup, honey, confectioners' sugar, melted nut butter, cinnamon-and-sugar, fresh berries or fruit, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat an XL air fryer to 375F.*** See Notes if you don't have an air fryer.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and lightly whisk, making sure to break up the yolks.
- Add the cream, cinnamon to taste (I love a really strong cinnamon flavor - if you do not, scale this back to 1 teaspoon), brown sugar, melted butter, and whisk to combine.
- Dip, dunk, and flip each slice of bread in the liquid mixture. Tips - Coat only as many pieces of bread that can fit in your air fryer basket at once, probably about 8. Don't oversoak the bread but also make sure each slice of bread is sufficiently coated. If you don't have quite enough liquid mixture to coat every slice of bread, then don't since the absorbency of all bread varies. You will simply yield a bit fewer French toast sticks.
- For easier cleanup, spray the basket of your air fryer with cooking spray, then add a piece of parchment paper, and spray again. If you don't choose to use parchment, the spray the basket well with cooking spray.
- Add the coated slices of bread to the air fryer basket, making sure not to overcrowd the basket. I can fit about 8 slices at a time.
- Give a quick, light spray of cooking spray over the top of the bread.
- Close the air fryer and fry for 3 minutes.
- Open the air fryer and use a tongs to flip over the bread. Give a quick, light spray of cooking spray over the top of the bread.
- Close the air fryer and air fry for 3 additional minutes, or until as necessary so they are done and lightly crisped and golden browned.
- Repeat the process with all the remaining coated bread until all the French toast sticks have been air fried.
- Serve immediately with the condiments of your choice. French toast sticks are best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. Note that they will lose their crispy exterior after they are refrigerated and reheated.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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