This air fryer French toast is an excellent, healthier version of this family favorite breakfast dish! The best part is that it comes together in under 30 minutes with just a few basic pantry staples, and there's nothing better than eggy bread on busy mornings.
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💭 Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick 30 minute recipe with simple ingredients. It really doesn't get easier to make this breakfast favorite: perfect crispiness, minimal mess
- Indulgent but healthier: Skip the butter and make a healthier version of this delicious dish. Use a whole grain bread to make it even healthier.
- Great for make-ahead and batch cooking: The only constraint is the size of your air fryer basket, but can be prepped and cooked so easily!
📋 Ingredients and notes
You'll need eggs, milk, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon, and a thickly sliced bread for this easy air fryer French toast recipe. You'll also need some cooking oil spray for the air fryer.
Notes and Variations
- What kind of bread works for French toast? Thick slices of bread that can hold the egg custard without getting soggy (e.g., brioche bread) are the best bread types for French toast. I've tested with challah, buttermilk bread, white bread, sandwich bread, French bread, and sourdough an even whole wheat bread - they don't always get as fluffy, but all works!
- What type of milk to use for air fryer French toast? Whole milk works best, but 2% milk or dairy-free milk (almond or oat milk) also work. But I recommend not using fat-free milk - this recipe doesn't use butter, so you'll miss the fattiness required to get the right consistency. You can also use half and half if you prefer, for a more indulgent toast.
- What type of sweeteners should I use? I've used brown sugar in this recipe, but any sugar or maple syrup will work. This helps caramelize the toast from the outside. I tested the recipe with monk fruit sweetener and it also worked but didn't cause as much caramelization.
- What other seasoning can I use? I've used vanilla and ground cinnamon, but you can add warm spices like nutmeg, or cardamom.
📖 Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 380°F (if your air fryer is a tray style one that needs to be preheated). If it's a basket style air-fryer, don't preheat!
- Make the egg custard: Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large but shallow mixing bowl. Combine until all the ingredients are mixed into a smooth wet batter. Set aside.
- Set up an assembly line: Place a slice of bread on one side, the egg mixture in front of you, and your air fryer basket or tray to the other side. Line your air fryer basket or tray with parchment paper.
- Soak the bread in the French toast batter: Now, with your assembly line set up, take a piece of bread, one at a time, into the egg mixture. Let it soak 3-4 seconds on each side, and then flip and soak. Ensure both sides of the slice are well-coated.
- Remove excess egg custard: The best way to do this is to let the excess drip back out in the bowl. Then, gently place on to the air fryer basket or tray, in a single layer, without touching each other. Then spray a coating of cooking spray on top of the slices.
Prepare air fryer French toast: Cook at 380°F for 5 minutes, then remove the tray or basket carefully and use tongs or a long spatula to flip the bread slices to the other side. Air fry at 380°F again for 3-4 minutes. Note here, time might vary based on the air fryer model. So, watch for a nice golden brown color on both sides before you're done.
👩🏽🍳Top tips and FAQs
Tips for perfect air fryer French toast!
- Leftover bread works better than fresh bread. Sometimes, I like leaving the bread overnight to get "stale" so it crisps better.
- Choose a shallow bowl (with flat bottom) or a pie plate for the egg custard. This will ensure there is enough space and you're not squishing the toast while trying to dip it in the egg mixture.
- Mix the egg custard well until the sugar is fully dissolved. Ensure there no large pieces of the yolk remain.
- Allow excess to drip back into bowl before placing in the air fryer. This helps avoid "pooling" of egg custard under toast slices.
- Dust with cinnamon sugar on top for extra crunchy French toast. The sugar caramelizes making it a delicious treat.
Troubleshooting
Air fryer French toast has crispy edges, and is crunchy on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside, with a delicious eggy custard flavor.
Yes! Most parchment paper or baking paper can handle heat up to 400F or 425F (check the packaging of your specific brand to ensure the right temperature). Spraying a bit of cooking oil or non-stick cooking spray (non-aerosol version) on the tray or basket can help the parchment paper stick to the air fryer. Do not use wax paper though! Those are not air fryer or oven-safe!
Traditional French toast gets brown due to both the butter and the fat in the egg custard. If you use whole milk and/or half-and-half, you'll get a nice browning naturally. But the exact browning will depend on the type of milk, the type of bread, and the strength of your air fryer. Even if your air fryer French toast doesn't brown, it'll still taste crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and delicious!
This is typically because you've added too much dairy or sugar in relation to the egg in your custard mixture. This results in wet soggy French toast. Make sure you let the excess drip back into the bowl before placing in the air fryer, and you'll get perfect crispy French toast.
Yes! If you picked up frozen French toast or frozen French toast sticks in the grocery store, preheat your air fryer or oven to 350° and cook for 4 - 5 minutes. You don't need to thaw or flip them halfway.
Yes! Once cooked and cooled down, arrange the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, and flash freeze for at least 30 minutes. Once it's frozen, you can pack them into a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to a month.
🍴 Serving and storage suggestions
I prefer serving French toast warm or freezing it to be reheated later. But in a pinch, you can store French toast in the fridge. To do so, you need to place it in the fridge within 1-2 hours of cooking it. Cover the French toast with foil or plastic wrap to avoid drying it out. Then place in an airtight container in the fridge. It should last a couple of days.
You can freeze cooked French toast by flash-freezing on a baking sheet first, and then transferring to a ziplock bag or a freezer safe container. Then, once you're ready to reheat, place them in the air fryer and cook for ~3 minutes at 400F. Flip over and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
What to serve with air fryer French toast:
There are so many great options for toppings that you can serve with air fryer French toast, my favorites being:
- Mixed berry compote (made with fresh or frozen berries)
- Fresh or frozen berries (I topped mine with raspberries and blueberries)
- Other fresh fruit (like bananas)
- Maple syrup or honey
- Nutella (hazelnut spread), peanut butter, or other sweet spreads or jams
- Chocolate syrup or strawberry syrup
- Whipped cream
Other French Toast recipes to try:
I also have a couple of other French toast recipes you can try:
- Classic French toast with berry compote (simple stovetop version!)
- Bombay toast (Indian savory French toast)
If you like this recipe, check out my other quick breakfast recipes:
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Please leave a comment and a star rating and let me know how it went! We love hearing from you, thank you so much
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer French Toast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, large
- ⅓ cup milk, substitute half and half
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 slices bread, thickly sliced brioche, or similar
- 1 teaspoon cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 380°F (if your air fryer is a tray style one that needs to be preheated). If it's a basket style air-fryer, don't preheat!
- Combine 2 eggs, ⅓ cup of milk, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon in a large but shallow mixing bowl. Whisk well until all the ingredients are mixed into a smooth wet batter. Set aside.
- Set up an assembly line with your bread slices on one side, the egg mixture in front of you, and your air fryer basket or tray to the other side. Line your air fryer basket or tray with parchment paper. One great tip to make it stick is to first spray a tiny bit of non-stick spray on the tray and then lay down the parchment paper on top. Then, spray the top of the parchment paper with a non-stick cooking spray. Note: You might need to cook these in batches depending on the slice of your bread slice and the size of your air fryer basket or tray! I was able to cook four slices at once in my air fryer. If your air fryer doesn't hold as many, wait to soak the bread until you're able to air fry them.
- Now, with your assembly line set up, take one slice of bread, one at a time, into the egg mixture. Let it soak 3-4 seconds on each side, and then flip and soak. Ensure both sides of the slice are well-coated.
- Then, let the excess drip back out in the bowl and gently place on to the air fryer basket or tray, in a single layer, without touching each other. Then spray a coating of cooking spray on top of the slices.
- Bake at 380°F for 5 minutes, then remove the tray or basket carefully and use tongs or a long spatula to flip the bread slices to the other side. Air fry at 380°F again for 3-4 minutes. Note here, time might vary based on the air fryer model. So, watch for a nice golden brown color on both sides before you're done.
- Serve your air fryer French toast with some maple syrup, a delicious berry compote, and/or some powdered sugar to your liking.
Notes
- This recipe can easily be scaled up or down for one person (use just 1 egg and a couple of tablespoons of milk) or for a larger family (use the scaling device on the recipe card).
- Can you use parchment paper in an air-fryer? Yes, you can! Reynolds parchment paper is safe until a temperature of 425F, so it works just fine with this recipe. Make sure to not use wax paper and don't line the tray with parchment paper when you're pre-heating.
- You can substitute milk with nut milk of choice (almond milk tastes great in this recipe!) or half-and-half for a more indulgent version.
- Time may vary slightly depending in air fryer model. Watch out for a nice, even golden brown on the surface to know when it's done!
- Serve with maple syrup, berry compote and a number of other great toppings!
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