French Toast Muffins are a fun, bite-size way to serve all the flavors of classic French toast. Cubed bread is soaked in a sweet cinnamon vanilla custard, scooped into muffin tins, and topped with a buttery brown sugar streusel.
We love these for brunch, holidays, breakfast-for-dinner, and make-ahead mornings because they’re easy to serve and so kid-friendly. Use white bread, challah, brioche, croissants, or cinnamon raisin bread to make them extra special.
For more of our favorite breakfast muffins, check out Cinnamon Roll Muffins, Glazed Donut Muffins, and Chocolate Chip Muffins.
Why you’ll love it + Why it works:
- No waste. Great way to use dried cubed bread or leftover bakery bread.
- Any occasion. Perfect for brunch, holidays and breakfast boards.
- Dried bread soaks up the custard. Slightly dry bread holds the egg mixture without turning too mushy.
- Streusel adds texture. The buttery topping bakes up golden and gives each muffin a sweet crumbly finish.
French Toast Muffins Ingredients
- Whole milk (1 cup): Adds moisture and helps create the custard base.
- Heavy whipping cream (¼ cup): Makes the custard richer and creamier.
- Sugar (2 tablespoons): Adds sweetness to the muffin mixture.
- Eggs (4): Helps the custard set and hold the muffins together.
- Vanilla extract (2 teaspoons): Adds warm, sweet flavor.
- Cinnamon (¾ teaspoon): Gives the muffins classic French toast flavor.
- Kosher sea salt (¼ teaspoon): Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor.
- Dried cubed bread (6 cups): Soaks up the custard and creates the muffin base.
- All purpose flour (⅓ cup): Gives the streusel topping structure.
- Brown sugar (¼ cup): Sweetens the topping and adds warm caramel-like flavor.
- Cinnamon (½ teaspoon): Adds extra spice to the streusel.
- Unsalted butter (¼ cup): Creates buttery crumbs for the topping.
How to Make French Toast Muffins
PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray; set aside.
CUSTARD. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
BREAD. Add the cubed bread to the egg mixture, and toss gently to combine. Scoop a ⅓ cup of the mixture into each muffin well.
STREUSEL. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, break the butter into small pea-size clumps. Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the tops of the muffins.
BAKE. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing and serving.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Use dried bread so the cubes soak up the custard without falling apart.
- Toss the bread gently so the cubes stay intact.
- Spray the muffin pan well so the muffins release easily.
- Use your fingers or a pastry blender to make small pea-size butter crumbs for the topping.
- Make-ahead tip: cube the bread and mix the streusel ahead of time, then assemble and bake in the morning.
French Toast Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 6 cups dried cubed bread, (white, challah, brioche, croissants or cinnamon raisin)
Topping
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the cubed bread to the egg mixture, and toss gently to combine. Scoop a ⅓ cup of the mixture into each muffin well.
- Meanwhile, to make the topping, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, break the butter into small pea-size clumps. Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the tops of the muffins.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing and serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Prepare the custard and toss in the bread cubes. Cover and store it in the fridge until morning. Also, make the streusel topping and keep it in a separate container.
In the morning, portion the bread cubes into the muffin pan, top with streusel topping, and bake.
STORE. Leftover French Toast Cups can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
FREEZE. Wrap each muffin with plastic wrap and store them together in a container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat French Toast Muffin recipe, pop them in the microwave until warm or in the oven at 350°F, covered with foil, for about 8-10 minutes.
STORE. Leftover French Toast Cups can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
FREEZE. Wrap each muffin with plastic wrap and store them together in a container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat French Toast Muffin recipe, pop them in the microwave until warm or in the oven at 350°F, covered with foil, for about 8-10 minutes.
This recipe was first shared March, 2018.
Looking to make these for a work event. Wondered if you could share why you recommend not using paper liners.
Custard has a much higher liquid and fat content than other types of batter, so it tends to seep into the paper liner and makes it stick to the muffins.
Can you freeze these?
Wrap each muffin with plastic wrap and store them together in a container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat French Toast Muffin recipe pop them in the microwave until warm or in the oven at 350°F, covered with foil, for about 8-10 minutes.
Awesome! Turned out great! My whole family enjoyed these! We will be making them again and again!
It’s one of my favorites too, so I’m thrilled your family enjoyed it.
This recipe is excellent! My 6 year old couldn’t stop telling me how good it was and when can I make it again! This came from a very picky eater. I also didn’t have to make any adjustments, it was perfect how it was! Definitely 10 out of 10 and highly recommend!!!
Made this for my daughter before school today. It was a winner and she didn’t even pour syrup all over it, which is her usual. I loved these muffins as well. Thank you so much for this and all your fabulous recipes 🤗
I made these this morning and they are fantastic. I doubled the recipe to make 24 and used 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons of maple extract instead of 4 teaspoons of vanilla. I also prepared everything the night before and let the bread soak in the egg and milk mixture overnight so that there would be less to do at 5 a.m.
We shared them with a couple of bachelors down the street just in time for them to eat before beginning work for the day. My husband is a very picky eater but, he thought they were great. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe.
You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing what you did. I’m glad the muffins were a hit!