French Toast Muffins

Jump to Recipe

French Toast Muffins are your favorite breakfast and bakery treat all in one! Bake up some delectable French Toast Muffins with this easy recipe. Perfect with a cup of fresh mint tea!

Jump to:

Why we love this recipe
What is French Toast?
Ingredients you need
How to make this recipe
Recipe FAQs
Other muffin recipes we love
Could you leave us a review?
French Toast Muffins

Why we love this recipe

Who loves French toast? (Raises hand.) Who loves warm muffins right out of the oven? (Raises both hands!)

If you have your hands raised along with me, I’m here to tell you that these baked French Toast Muffins are your new breakfast and brunch best friend.

See the top of that muffin up there? That topping is pieces of cinnamon bread that have been soaked in the egg batter and then plunked on the top of the muffin batter, so they cook up as little heavenly pieces of actual French Toast right on top of your French Toast flavored muffin.

And they are a snap to bake up…you can have glorious French Toast muffins cooling on your counter in less than an hour. No yeast or rising time required. Now THAT’S something to wake up to.

What is French Toast?

French toast (known as pain perdu in French, which means lost bread) is bread that is soaked in a mixture of eggs and milk, fried to golden perfection in butter, and drizzled with maple syrup.

I will sometimes take things to the next level by introducing some caramel to the picture, but that’s a story for another day!

These muffins use a couple of surprise ingredients to replicate that glorious sugary flavor but in muffin form. Here’s everything you’re going to need to bake them up.

Ingredients you need

Topping Ingredients

3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
6 slices cinnamon swirl bread, crusts trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Muffin Ingredients

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon maple extract
2 cups flour
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

The only things you might not already have hanging out in your pantry are the cinnamon bread (which you can find right next to the regular bread in your supermarket) and the maple extract (which is in the baking aisle).

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.

How to make this recipe

Heat your oven to 375°F and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

Cut up 6 slices of cinnamon swirl bread into ½ inch cubes.

Combine 3 tablespoons of milk, 1 beaten egg and the bread cubes in medium bowl, stir it up until it is nice and wet and set aside.

Now for the main muffin part! Put 1 cup of milk, a half cup of melted butter, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of maple extract in another medium mixing bowl.

Now put 2 cups of flour, ¾ cup of brown sugar, 2 teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture just until combined.

Spoon the batter into your greased 12-cup muffin pan. Divide the French toast topping evenly over the batter and smoosh it down ever so slightly.

Pop the muffin tin in the oven and bake your gorgeous muffins for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Immediately brush muffins with a little maple syrup.

Last but definitely not least! Put 2 tablespoons of sugar and a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle it over the muffins.

Cool the muffins for the longest 5 minutes of your life, then take them out of the tin and put them on a cooling rack (I like to run an offset spatula around the edges to loosen them up first – you can use a knife for this as well.

Recipe FAQs

Do I have to use the maple extract?

If for some reason you don’t have maple extract, you can swap in vanilla. It does add a magical extra flavor!

Is cinnamon raisin bread okay to use?

Yep! Either regular cinnamon swirl or cinnamon with raisins will both work just fine.

How long do these keep for?

This has rarely come up in my house because they are gobbled up before they even have a chance to cool, and as with all baked goods, they are best on Day One, but they will keep for another day or two.

Have a question that I didn’t cover?

Leave your question (or comment or suggestion) in the Comments box below the recipe and I will answer pronto!

Now watch as everyone who lives with you comes out of the woodwork to snag a muffin while they are still warm.

These babies are perfect for an Easter or holiday brunch…or anytime when you want to surprise your family with an unexpected breakfast treat!

Other muffin recipes we love

Looking for more muffin deliciousness? Here is our complete collection of muffin recipes, both sweet and savory!

Could you leave us a review?

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.