Name: Air fryer french toast sticks
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 8 min
Ingredients: 6 slices brioche bread; 4 eggs; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 150 ml milk (I used semi-skimmed); 30 ml maple syrup; 6 large strawberries; 5 g icing sugar

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In our home we absolutely love to enjoy a nice hot breakfast, especially when the weather is turning cold. I like to prep things in advance, like the mix for these air fryer French toast sticks, so that I can just spend a few minutes in the kitchen in the morning and serve up something tasty for my family.

I've got quite a few air fryer recipes in my breakfast repertoire now, including air fryer chocolate protein oats, air fryer cheese crumpets, air fryer bacon and cheese turnovers, and the makings of an air fryer full English breakfast including air fryer bacon, air fryer sausages, air fryer toast, air fryer frozen hash browns.

A hot breakfast is a great way to start the day, and I feel like it really sets us up for a great start on weekends in particular when we often have a hot air fryer breakfast for our brunch.

My little girls are big fans of French toast and I've tried it in quite a few different ways now to allow them to have lots of variety. These French toast sticks are fantastic because they are a great way to use up the end trimmings of bread when I make character lunchboxes and that helps to cut food waste too.

Using the air fryer is super simple, as it is just there on the worktop at a comfortable height for using, and also the cook time is faster than using the oven which feels like a win too. Especially on the days when we have a busy schedule.

I actually got rid of my toaster recently too, and have been making most things in the air fryer. Toasting bagels, making toast etc, and I've been surprised at how good the results are and can't see a time I'll ever own a toaster again. It only takes 2-4 minutes to toast most food items, including crumpets, and is perfect for creating an easy breakfast that doesn't require me to watch the grill or hope I've picked the right toaster setting.

You can use just about any stale bread for french toast, but we often use either white bread or thick cut brioche bread. This has lots of flavour, thanks to the butter, and works great for making brioche as you get lots of little caramelised golden brown parts that are packed full of flavour.

We often stay traditional and serve our French toast with berries, syrup and a dusting of icing sugar (or powdered sugar), but I also have a list of great serving suggestions further on into this recipe post so take a look at those if you're interested.

French toast recipes are often pretty simple, and a great way to feed a nice crowd for a low price too.

A plate of air fryer french toast sticks with raspberries, strawberries and a bowl with golden syrup in.

Ingredients for air fryer french toast sticks:

6 slices of brioche bread
4 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150ml milk

Toppings – I tend to use:

30ml maple syrup
6 large strawberries
5g icing sugar

A piece of millionaire's shortbread with chocolate feathering detail to the top

Method for making french toast sticks in the air fryer:

Mix together the 4 eggs, 150ml milk, teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Pour the French toast egg mixture in to a shallow bowl.

Slice the bread into sticks. I tend to make 3-4 pieces from each slice of bread. If you're using crusts, perhaps from making sandwiches, then I would recommend freezing these in a ziplock bag until you have a few weeks worth.

Add the sticks of bread to the dish and then turn them over to ensure that they coated well and have time to soak up the French toast mixture.

Place the sticks into your air fryer basket, shaking off any excess first, in a single layer.

Air fry at 180C (355F approx) for 2-3 minutes.

Turn the French toast sticks over using tongs, or just by shaking the air fryer basket gently. This helps to avoid sticking and ensures even cooking time.

Air fry for another 2-3 minutes at 180C (355F) approx.

If you are a fan of extra crispy french toast sticks then you will want to turn the maximum heat of your air fryer up, this is usually 200C (390F approx) or 220C (430F approx) for 1 minute. If you're using a Ninja Dual model you'll likely have a mode called air crisp, which goes to 240C (465F approx) and I only use that for 30 seconds.

You can place parchment paper in the bottom of your air fryer basket, if you want to cut down on the mess, however, make sure that this is low down in the air fryer basket and cannot raise up and get onto the element as it WILL catch fire!

I've also used a little cooking spray in the bottom of the basket sometimes, to prevent sticking, but this step isn't really necessary.

No yeast flatbreads in a silver serving dish

What to serve with French toast sticks?

In our home we love to enjoy these French toast sticks with sliced strawberries, maple syrup and a nice dusting of icing sugar. This is a real sweet treat, and the flavours go great with the cinnamon.

Bacon and maple syrup is another lovely combination, and sliced bananas that have been caramelised in brown sugar are full of flavour too.

Some other great ideas are turkey bacon, turkey sausage, melons, peanut butter, dried fruits and nuts, whipped cream is lovely too.

You could even make stuffed french toast with a nice layer of chocolate spread or my homemade chocolate sauce recipe (without cream).

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What other bread can you use for this french toast sticks?

We tend to use either white bread or brioche bread, but you can use just about any bread that you have spare. Sourdough French toast is lovely, and a great way to make it a little more gut friendly.

Even plain cheap white bread works lovely for French toast sticks and is a great way to keep it budget friendly and more on the frugal side too.

Frozen berries help to keep the costs low too and you could make your own syrups or just dust it with cinnamon.

I've used leftovers of these easy fluffy waffles in the past too, with great results!

Three ginger and turmeric shots in individual bottles sitting on a tray filled with peppercorns. In the background is a black stone pestle and mortar and two other wellness shots.

Can you reheat French toast sticks in the air fryer?

I have made an entire loaf of French toast before and then re-heated this in the mornings for a super simple, and fast breakfast.

I air fry these sticks at 180C (350F approx) for 2-3 minutes, which I find to be sufficient to reheat French toast sticks, and I just check that they are hot throughout before serving.

You can make your toppings up fresh, for the best results, and you can reheat directly from the freezer by adding 1-2 minutes on to the cooking time.

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Want to make your French toast sticks crispier?

If you use very thin bread, or perhaps a loaf that is not stale, then you may find that it doesn't go very crispy. I like to use sliced brioche bread, as this is great flavour wise, and I have never had a piece that failed to turn crispy in the air fryer, or even when making it on the hob instead.

I love to use bread that is a little stale, as this is a great way to avoid any food waste, or to make the most of a reduced loaf of bread that needs using up fast.

I have also used my own chocolate chip brioche rolls in the past, and these have been full of flavour and a more fun addition to our breakfast. Sometimes I serve these French toast sticks on my breakfast platter.

Two pop tarts, cooked in the air fryer, on a white plate

How to cook frozen French toast sticks in the air fryer?

When cooking air fryer frozen French toast sticks I tend to add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time, just to make sure that they are cooked through.

This will vary slightly, depending on the thickness of the bread you use, and how crispy you like the sticks to be.

I would suggest starting with the 2-3 minute cooking time, flipping, air frying for another 2-3 minutes and then seeing how much of a difference another 1-2 minutes makes. Usually 1-2 minutes is sufficient to make the sticks nice and crispy, piping hot and reheat them thoroughly, which is effectively what you're doing.

A Ninja Foodi Multi-cooker with text that reads: click here to see my favourite Ninja Foodi accessories

How long do you cook frozen French toast bites?

Cut the cooking time down from 6 minutes total to 4 minutes for frozen French toast bites and then go from there.

I make sure to shake the air fryer basket 1-2 times, at least, during cooking, and only place the bites into the air fryer basket in a single layer. This is enough for them to cook well and I find 4 minutes the perfect amount of time at 200C (390F approx).

Air fryer grilled ham and cheese sandwiches cut in half and stacked up on a wooden chopping board

Why not try out some of my favourite sweet air fryer desserts while you're here?

Pulled pork, chicken kebabs, grilled ham and cheese and pizza bagels cooked in the Ninja air fryer.

Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!

How to cook French toast sticks in the air fryer:

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