Name: Croissant French Toast
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup whole milk; 3 large eggs; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 medium orange (juice + zest); 2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon nutmeg; ¼ teaspoon salt; 4 large croissants (halved horizontally); 4 tablespoons butter (unsalted, divided)

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Croissant French Toast is the ultimate breakfast treat using days-old croissants dipped into a deliciously spiced custard batter, fried to a golden brown crisp.

Buttery croissants and classic French toast combined to make a special morning breakfast or brunch that your family will love.

Who can say no to a fusion of two great breakfast treasures? Making regular French toast is super easy; almost everyone can do it, right?

Now imagine swapping your usual stale bread with flaky croissants, and you have yourself a bakery-worthy pastry dish! Revive those stale croissants by dipping them into a creamy custard mixture and letting them soak up all the flavors and eggy goodness.

Pan-fried to perfection and sprinkled with powdered sugar or drizzled with warm syrup for some sweetness. What a great way to start the day, right?

Table of Contents show

Why We Love This Recipe

EASE. Making these yummy treats is as easy as following your usual French toast recipe. It will only take you 20 minutes to get these goodies on the table.

SIMPLE. Made using a few pantry and fridge staples, fresh fruit, and fall spices. Simple ingredients are used to make something so awesomely delicious!

PRACTICAL. This simple recipe is a great way to use up croissants that have been sitting on your counter for days before they go to waste.

FUN. There are several ways for you to dress up this delicious treat! Adding a few toppings can turn them into something extra special, not just for breakfast but also as a scrummy dessert!

HOLIDAY GOODS. Adding some of your favorite holiday ingredients makes this the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas morning treat.

Ingredients

Dairy - Milk and eggs are the base of the custard batter.

Sugar - Provides the right amount of sweetness to the batter and carmelizes the French Toast.

Orange - Juice, and zest of a fresh orange add a bright and zesty flavor! If you don't have a fresh orange substitute with a ¼ cup of orange juice.

Spices - Adding cinnamon and nutmeg makes it into a festive fall-flavored breakfast treat! Vanilla adds a delicate flavor to the custard mixture. And, of course, a dash of salt- a dash of salt gives it a flavor boost.

Croissants - Use day-old, almost somewhat stale croissants.

Butter - Use unsalted butter to fry the croissants.

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Variations and Additions

For a richer, more decadent custard use half and a half or heavy cream instead of whole milk.
Aside from powdered sugar and pure maple syrup, you can use fresh berries and fruits. Fresh Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or sliced bananas work well. You can also add a dollop of whipped cream before serving.
And for extra decadent Croissant French Toast, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and make it into a yummy dessert! A sprinkling of sliced almonds is another delicious twist.
You can also serve this with some bacon, sausage, and eggs on the side to make it into a savory breakfast.

How To Make This Recipe

steps illustrating how to make croissant french toast

Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Pour the egg mixture into a shallow bowl or baking dish.
Dip both sides of the croissant halves into the batter.
Melt butter over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Place croissants into the croissant and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Recipe Success Tips

Be sure to use day-old croissants. They will hold up much better to being dipped into the batter than freshly baked croissants.
Whisk the custard batter thoroughly to ensure that your croissant toast is coated with an evenly combined batter.
Dip the croissants just enough for them to absorb the batter. Do not let them soak. A rule of thumb is not to let them soak for more than 15-20 seconds, or they will be too soggy.
Cook your croissants in batches to prevent overcrowding the buttered skillet. To keep your cooked Croissant French Toast warm, turn your oven on low heat and keep them there until you are ready to serve.
For a delicious spin, you can use an almond croissant instead of butter croissants.
Do not use high heat when cooking these. After the butter has melted, you can increase it to medium heat but nothing more than that.

a plate of croissant french toast dusted with confectioner's sugar and served with berries

How To Store and Keep This Recipe

These Croissant French Toast will keep in the fridge for up to three to five days.

Keep them in a sealed ziplock bag or in a lidded container after they have cooled down. Then, simply reheat in a microwave or oven.

PS: We've never had Croissant French Toast leftovers.