These air fryer French toast sticks are so quick and easy to make! Perfect for busy mornings when time is short!
Only a few simple ingredients (stale pieces of bread, milk, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, and cinnamon sugar) are needed to make this air fryer French toast recipe, leaving the air fryer to work its magic and cook perfect crispy French toast! You might also like my air fryer cheese toastie recipe!
I love easy air fryer recipes like this one, and my kids LOVE classic French toast, so it's a win-win.
Using the air fryer to make French toast has been a real game-changer in this house, not least because it makes the process so easy and the results are so good!
👩🍳 Love this air fryer breakfast recipe? You'll also love my air fryer breakfast frittata too!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
Here's why this is the best air fryer French toast recipe!
- Air frying results in crispy French toast perfection
- Made with simple ingredients from your pantry or fridge
- French Toast = Indulgent breakfasts!
- Quick, easy and delicious recipe for the whole family
- Great way of using up leftover bread
- Serve with fresh fruit, real maple syrup, and even chocolate chips!
🛒 Ingredients
- Bread Slices - I leave the bread slices out on the side overnight to go stale. You don't want to use fresh bread for French toast! You can use thick slices of sandwich bread, brioche bread or texas toast. I prefer using white bread, you can use whole wheat if you prefer!
- Egg Mixture - made with fresh beaten eggs, whole milk, cooled melted butter, and vanilla extract.
- Cinnamon Sugar - I mix up white granulated sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl, ready for sprinklnig on the eggy bread!
- Fry Light - or other cooking spray, to prevent the french toast from sticking to the air fryer basket.
🥄 Equipment
An air fryer is an obvious requirement for this recipe, and I use the Ninja Foodi Health Grill and Air Fryer* (*affiliate links). It not only air fries food but also grills, bakes, and dehydrates too. It's a super useful kitchen gadget and one that I definitely wouldn't do without.
What is an air fryer?
Air fryers are small(ish) kitchen appliances that operate like a convection oven—except in a smaller, more concentrated space. My air fryer* has a large capacity (5.7 litres) so is relatively large compared to some of the smaller fryers you can buy.
The hot air is circulated at a high temperature and evenly around the food, which makes the food cook more quickly than in a conventional oven and helps give foods a crispy coating without the need for lots of oil and fat
🔪 How to cook French toast in air fryer
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Cut the 5 slices of thick-cut stale white bread into thirds.
Two: In a jug whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract with the cooled melted butter. In a separate small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
Three: Pour the eggy mixture into a wide shallow bowl and soak each piece of bread in the egg custard mixture, turning each slice over to make sure all sides are coated. Be careful not to oversoak the bread though, it will disintegrate in your hands if you do!
Four: Lay the bread on a large plate and sprinkle both sides with the cinnamon sugar.
Five: Spray your air fryer basket with a little fry light oil (there is no need to line it with parchment paper), then place the bread slices in a single layer and cook for 8 minutes, turning halfway. You may need to do this in two batches depending on how big your air fryer is.
Six: Serve with maple syrup and fresh berries!
💭 Top tips
- The bread you use must be stale before you start making the French toast. I leave my bread slices out overnight, but if you forget, cheat a little and place them in a recently turned off oven for 3-4 minutes.
- Preheat your air fryer! If you don’t, the French toast won’t cook through evenly and the middles may still be raw
- Make sure the melted butter has cooled down to room temperature before whisking it in with the eggs, otherwise you may end up with lumps in the mixture where the egg has partially scrambled due to the heat.
- Spray the air fryer basket with a few sprays of fry light or other cooking spray to prevent the French toast from sticking.
- The French toast sticks must be in one single layer in the air fryer basket to ensure the hot air is allowed to circulate.
💡 Get Ahead Tip - whisk up the egg mixture the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight. You can also mix together the cinnamon sugar.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the air fryer French toast sticks with fresh fruit and maple syrup. Blueberry compote is also a great option.
For a treat breakfast, you could serve the French toast with peanut butter or chocolate hazelnut spread and sprinkle with chocolate chips!
📖 Variations
Use oat milk instead of cow's milk if you prefer.
Serve the perfectly crisp French toast in whole slices rather than sticks.
Make a double batch and freeze half for another day! The French toast can be reheated in the air fryer from frozen! Perfect for a quick breakfast!
Storage
- To Store. The french toast sticks can be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 days, and reheated in the air fryer.
- To Reheat. Reheat in the air fryer for 2 minutes (or 3-4 minutes from frozen).
- To Freeze. Allow the french toast sticks to cool, then open freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer safe container.
❓ FAQs
180c (350F) is the optimum temperature for cooking French toast in an air fryer.
Experts think that the origins of French toast date back to ancient Rome. A similar recipe can be found in the book of Apicius from the 5th century BC. This would be in line with one of the theories that developed about French fries, which is that the name “French” does not designate necessarily the country of origin of the dish, but is instead in reference to the verb “to French” which means “to slice”.
😋 More air fryer recipes to try!
Check out all of my easy air fryer recipes for more inspiration!
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Recipe
Easy Air Fryer French Toast Sticks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 Slices White Bread thick-cut is best
- 150 ml Milk
- 3 Eggs beaten
- 20 g Melted Butter cooled
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 30 g Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Cooking Oil Spray e.g Fry Light
Instructions
- Cut the 5 slices of thick-cut stale white bread into thirds.5 Slices White Bread
- In a jug whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract with the cooled melted butter. In a separate small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.150 ml Milk, 3 Eggs, 20 g Melted Butter, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 30 g Granulated Sugar, 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- Pour the eggy mixture into a wide shallow bowl and soak each piece of bread in the egg custard mixture, turning each slice over to make sure all sides are coated. Be careful not to oversoak the bread though, it will disintegrate in your hands if you do!
- Lay the bread on a large plate and sprinkle both sides with the cinnamon sugar.
- Spray your air fryer basket with a little fry light oil (there is no need to line it with parchment paper), then place the bread slices in a single layer and cook for 8 minutes, turning halfway. You may need to do this in two batches depending on how big your air fryer is¼ teaspoon Cooking Oil Spray
- Serve with maple syrup and fresh berries!
Video
Notes
- The bread you use must be stale before you start making the French toast. I leave my bread slices out overnight, but if you forget, cheat a little and place them in a recently turned off oven for 3-4 minutes.
- Preheat your air fryer! If you don’t, the French toast won’t cook through evenly and the middles may still be raw
- Make sure the melted butter has cooled down to room temperature before whisking it in with the eggs, otherwise you may end up with lumps in the mixture where the egg has partially scrambled due to the heat.
- Spray the air fryer basket with a few sprays of fry light or other cooking spray to prevent the French toast from sticking.
- The French toast sticks must be in one single layer in the air fryer basket to ensure the hot air is allowed to circulate.
- To Store. The french toast sticks can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, and reheated in the air fryer.
- To Reheat. Reheat in the air fryer for 2 minutes (or 3-4 minutes from frozen).
- To Freeze. Allow the french toast sticks to cool, then open freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer safe container.
Krissy
I'm loving my air fryer and hadn't yet tried making these. They were great and the kids loved them!
Mairead
I love my air fryer and am always in search of new recipe to try. This one is perfect for my crew, who love French toast and French toast sticks. Thanks for adding so many detailed instructions for cooking these French toast sticks in the air fryer.
Tara
Oh yum! I wish I was starting the day with these French toast sticks. Such a fantastic texture with the air fryer and they will be such a hit with my family.
Andrea
A quick and easy breakfast that's perfect for on the go.
Tavo
Absolutely delicious french toasts, we had them today for breakfast; thank you for this fantastic recipe! I will make it again!!