Oct 4, 2022

Cinnamon French Toast Bites

The BEST French toast is bite sized and so much fun to eat! Cinnamon French Toast Bites are a perfectly sweet treat that's easy to make and eat! Great for dipping! 
Cinnamon French Toast Bites ready to eat finger food
I’m a huge fan of breakfast-y items like pancakes, waffles, muffins, and French toast.

Especially with a big cup of hot coffee.

When we think of foods like this we tend to think of them in their traditional forms – Stacks of fluffy pancakes, Belgian waffles, freshly baked muffins, etc...

But, sometimes it’s fun to mix it up a little and change the form like we did with this bite sized french toast recipe. Kids of all ages will love them!
Cinnamon French Toast Bites served in a bowl with dipping sauces

What are French Toast Bites?

These Cinnamon French Toast Bites are the perfect way to mix things up!

Everything we love about French Toast in tasty little bites!
  • Golden and buttery
  • Creamy on the inside
  • Crunchy on the outside
  • Perfect balance of cinnamon and sugar
  • & they taste great with maple syrup

Instead of using whole slices of bread like traditional French toast, the bread is cut into bite-size pieces and sauteed stir-fry style.

The bite sized pieces are then dipped into a cinnamon-infused maple dipping sauce.

These french toast bites prove that mixing it up every now and then is totally worth it!
Bread cubes for cinnamon french toast bites soaking in egg mixture

Ingredients

  • Stale bread cut into bite sized chunks, such as Italian, French bread, brioche bread, or challah
  • Large eggs
  • Whole milk or heavy cream
  • Vanilla extract - be sure it is labeled 'pure' vanilla extract
  • Unsalted butter - if you only have salted butter on hand, omit the salt in the recipe
  • Granulated sugar
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Kosher salt - just a pinch to elevate the flavors
  • Maple syrup - I recommend using pure maple syrup
  • Powdered sugar

How To Make Cinnamon French Toast Bites

Whip up the egg mixture that is used to coat the bread chunks. This is a super easy mixture!
  • Crack eggs into a large bowl and whisk
  • Add milk or heavy whipping cream along with 1 tsp. of vanilla extract & whisk to combine
  • Place half of the bread chunks into the bowl to coat & remove to another bowl and set aside
  • Coat the remaining bread cubes in the egg mixture
Soaked bread cubes transferred to a bowl before frying up in a skillet for cinnamon french toast bites
The Cinnamon French Toast Bites get fried in batches as well. Frying them in batches allows each piece to cook evenly so each bite is nice and golden brown.
  • Use 10 to 12 inch pan. Place pan over medium heat
  • Melt butter in hot pan
  • Cook bread in batches. Add bread cubes, but don't crowd pan. Cook 2-3 minutes each side. Once toasted on both sides feel free to toss bread cubes around in the pan. It is finished ‘stir-fry’ style.
  • Remove the first batch of bread from the pan and repeat the process. Add another Tbsp. of butter or ghee and cook the second half of the bread chunks. Remove that batch from the pan when finished.
Cinnamon French Toast Bites being fried up in a skillet
Now for the good stuff! These French toast bites get tossed in a cinnamon sugar mixture that sends them over the top.
  • Simply combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine.
  • Add toasted bread chunks to the cinnamon/sugar mixture and toss them around until coated. This will need to be completed in batches as well – Once the first batch is coated remove and place on a serving tray.
  • Repeat with the remainder of the bread.
TIP: It’s best to do this while the bread is still warm. The cinnamon and sugar will then stick to those warm, buttery bread chunks!
A stack of cinnamon french toast bites ready to eat

Bread cubes on a baking sheet ready to toast for making cinnamon french toast bites

What is the best bread to use for French Toast Bites?

The key to these Cinnamon French Toast Bites is to use a nice hearty loaf of bread.

It’s best to choose a thick bread with substance such as an Italian loaf or something like brioche bread, french bread, or challah bread.

This recipe is a great way to use up a loaf of bread that is starting to dry out. Slightly stale bread or oven-dried bread is always best when making french toast bites.
A cinnamon french toast bite on a fork being dipped into cinnamon maple syrup dipping sauce

Cinnamon French Toast Bites Dipping Sauces

What would these French toast bites be without a couple of dipping sauces?

Maple syrup is classic for recipes like this one. To amp the maple syrup up a bit I thought it would be fun to serve it heated with a cinnamon stick.

Cinnamon Maple Dipping Sauce: Pour 3/4 cup maple syrup into a small sauce pan and heat it on the stove top to medium-low. Add a cinnamon stick or 1 tsp. cinnamon and heat for 5 minutes or so.

Powdered Sugar Dipping Sauce: To make this recipe more of a ‘dessert’ you can prepare a powdered sugar dipping sauce by adding 1 cup of powdered sugar to a small bowl along with 2 Tbsp. of water and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract. This will create a sticky sweet glaze.

Feel free to serve these Cinnamon French Toast Bites with one or both sauces.

The combination of the buttery cinnamon toast bites along with the cinnamon-infused maple syrup creates a rich flavor profile that everyone will love!

For a more decadent dipping sauce, try one of the sauces we suggest for our French Toast Sticks.

Cinnamon French Toast Bites is a great recipe to serve to guests over the holidays or in a brunch buffet.

They’re a little bit ‘breakfast’ and a little bit ‘dessert’. There’s one thing for sure – These bites are totally addicting!

French Toast Recipes on Pinterest

****PIN FRENCH TOAST BITES to save for later****
Cinnamon French Toast Bites on Pinterest


French toast bites
breakfast
American
Yield: 8
Author: Life Tastes Good
Cinnamon French Toast Bites

Cinnamon French Toast Bites

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min
The BEST French toast is bite sized and so much fun to eat! Cinnamon French Toast Bites are a perfectly sweet treat that's easy to make and eat! Great for dipping!

Ingredients

French Toast Bites
  • 1 loaf bread, cut into bite sized chunks (see notes)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp butter, divided
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • Pinch of kosher salt
Dipping Sauces
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

French Toast Bites
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees (if bread is fresh and needs to be dried out).
  2. Cut loaf of bread into bite-size chunks
  3. Place the bread chunks on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 5-8 minutes. Remove the bread once it is slightly toasted (Skip this step is using stale bread)
  4. In a large mixing bowl whisk 4 eggs, 3/4 cup milk or heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of salt until completely combined.
  5. Add half of the bread cubes to the egg mixture and stir to coat evenly. Remove and set the bread cubes in another bowl. Repeat with the remainder of the bread cubes. (The bread should be coated in the egg mixture and not saturated).
  6. Use 10 to 12 inch pan. Place pan over medium heat
  7. Melt butter in hot pan
  8. Cook bread in batches. Add bread cubes, but don't crowd pan. Cook 2-3 minutes each side. Once toasted on both sides feel free to toss bread cubes around in the pan ‘stir-fry’ style.
  9. Remove the first batch of bread from the pan and repeat the process to toast rest of bread.
  10. Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl. Mix until combined.
  11. Add the toasted bread cubes to the cinnamon/sugar mixture in batches until they are all coated in the mixture. Place on a serving tray.
Maple Cinnamon Dipping Sauce
  1. Heat 3/4 cup maple syrup in a small sauce pan on medium-low
  2. Add 1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp. cinnamon to the pan
  3. Heat for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Enjoy!
Powdered Sugar Glaze
  1. Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp water, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract in a small bowl
  2. Stir until the mixture becomes a glaze. Enjoy!

Notes

  1. Day old or stale bread is best
  2. Choose a thick bread with substance such as an Italian loaf or something like brioche bread, french bread, or challah bread
  3. If your bread isn't stale, be sure to follow the directions to oven dry the bread before coating in the egg mixture

Nutrition Facts

Calories

384

Fat (grams)

10

Sat. Fat (grams)

4

Carbs (grams)

61

Fiber (grams)

4

Net carbs

57

Sugar (grams)

25

Protein (grams)

13

Sodium (milligrams)

475

Cholesterol (grams)

103

Nutrition label disclaimer: Nutrient values are estimates only. Variations may occur due to product availability and food preparation. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.

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