Baked French Toast Sticks

Thick sliced bread dipped in a sweet cinnamon custard and baked in the oven. Served with your favorite maple syrup for dipping, these Baked French Toast Sticks are freezer-friendly and make a quick & easy breakfast option!

 

I would consider myself more of a French toast person than a pancake person. While I do love my mom's recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes, I am more likely to choose French toast when given the choice between the two. I remember having the toaster version of French Toast Sticks growing up as a quick breakfast for busy school mornings. I also remember my dad standing over the griddle on a Saturday morning making a batch of homemade French toast. Topped with a good pat of butter and maple syrup, it's one of my favorite breakfasts to make.

My girls both love French toast. I had been in the habit of buying the premade sticks in the freezer section of the grocery store. While they pass for a quick breakfast for a 5 and almost 3 year old, I decided to come up with a way to make a batch of homemade ones that I could keep in the freezer that would be easy and delicious. Thus, these Baked French Toast Sticks were born. 

The Key to Perfect French Toast

There are a couple key points to follow to make the perfect French toast as well as these Baked French Toast Sticks.

• Good bread - you want to use a thick slice of bread that is at least one inch thick for French toast. A thicker bread will hold up to the custard and soak in all of it's goodness. A loaf of Texas toast works great. As a regular Aldi's shopper, I buy their Artisanal Style bread for French toast as it's on the thicker side. 
• Egg to milk ratio - this can be tricky. Too much milk, and you'll end up with soggy French toast. Too many eggs, and your French toast will end up with more of a scrambled egg coating. For a standard recipe, I use 4 eggs to 1 cup of milk for the perfect Baked French Toast Sticks. Another note on the milk: use whole milk for a nice, rich texture. 
• Soak time - there is a fine line between soaking the bread in the custard for too short or too long of a time. You want the bread to soak up the custardy goodness all the way through, but not be so soggy that it falls apart and stays mushy when cooked. For these Baked French Toast Sticks, I simply dip the bread in the batter and let the excess drip off. 

How To Make Baked French Toast Sticks

1. Prep the bread - Cutting each bread slice into 3 long rectangles seems to be the perfect size for a French toast stick.
2. Make the batter - in a 8X8 baking dish combine milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon & vanilla and whisk together. Be sure the eggs are thoroughly mixed into the custard.
3. Dip - take each bread piece and dip it in the baking dish with the custard letting the excess drip off. Place the soaked bread sticks on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure they are not touching.

4.Bake - bake the French Toast Sticks at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Flip them then continue cooking for another 10-12 minutes.

5.Enjoy! Serve with fresh fruit and a ramekin of maple syrup for dipping.

Can They Be Frozen?

Yes! My favorite thing about these Baked French Toast Sticks is that they freeze beautifully! I can make a batch and easily pull what I need out of the freezer in the morning for a quick breakfast that my family loves. To freeze the French Toast Sticks, allow them to cool completely after baking. Then, place the baking sheet of sticks in the freezer and let them freeze solid. Remove the French Toast Sticks from the baking sheet and place them into a freezer bag. Freezing them on the baking sheet first prevents the French Toast pieces from sticking together, making it easy to pull out just a few each morning.

To reheat the Baked French Toast Sticks, simply remove them from the freezer and place them on a microwave safe plate. Reheat for somewhere between 90 seconds to 2 minutes. The timing will vary depending on how many sticks you are reheating. 

 

Other quick & easy breakfast ideas:

Bran Muffins

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Homemade Granola