French Toast Sticks Recipe: Cinnamon Roll French Toast Roll Ups

Erika Wassall, author of Bees Matter (Bioindicator Species), here, with a recipe for how to make French Toast Sticks. Seriously, knowing that homemade French toast sticks exist in the universe just makes it a better place. They are so good!  We are talking about rolling up cinnamon-sugar-filled bread slices before dipping them in eggs and pan frying. I guess you could also call them cinnamon roll French toast roll-ups! By any name, these are delicious. What’s more? You can make extra and keep them frozen. So you can have your cinnamon roll French toast sticks any time!

This was first published May 26, 2016. I have added a recipe card and made a few updates and republished it for my new readers to enjoy.

Cinnamon roll French toast roll ups are a fun, hand-held twist on classic French toast! Here’s why you will love making them:

1. Perfect for Dipping – Since they’re rolled up, they’re easy to dip into syrup, fruit sauces, or even yogurt.
2. Customizable Fillings – These have a cinnamon roll-style filling. However, you can use cream cheese, Nutella, peanut butter, or fresh fruit, inside before rolling them up.
3. More Flavor in Every Bite – Unlike regular French toast, where most of the flavor is on the outside, roll-ups allow fillings to be tucked inside. This creates an even richer taste.
4. Crispy Outside, Soft Inside – Pan-frying the roll-ups (which just means cooking them in a pan with a little butter or oil) gives them a slightly crisp outer layer. It keeps the inside soft and warm.
5. Great for Kids – If you have kids already, the smaller, handheld size makes them more appealing. They are also less messy for little ones.

How To Make French Toast Sticks

So here I am, pregnant with my first child, (yay), and I’m ALL about trying to make things as simple as possible once the Little Minion comes into the world. I’ve talked to other moms, and many, many moms suggest having as much frozen food as possible. And even more specifically, easy grab food. Casseroles are great, but (A) that’s often what people bring over for new moms and (B) sometimes there really isn’t time to heat a whole casserole and sit and eat.

So I’ve been on the look out for food I can freeze, individually, and then pop in a microwave and devour. These frozen french toast sticks fit the bill perfectly for a sweet tooth. It is a delightful twist on traditional French toast.

The ingredient list is simple. The homemade french toast sticks are versatile (you know how much I LOVE versatility!), quick to make, AMAZING fresh, and JUST as good frozen. They are delicious when properly reheated. These French toast sticks taste like cinnamon rolls. That’s because they sort of are! Really quick ones!

Let’s get to how to make french toast sticks or cinnamon roll French toast roll-ups. However, you choose to call them!

Homemade “Cinnamon Roll” French Toast Sticks

These Cinnamon French Toast Sticks ingredients are very simple. Grab a loaf of soft, white bread. Simple sandwich bread. I used Italian. (Brioche bread slices or potato bread would be delish as well!)  Cut off the edges, and squish it!  Sure, you COULD use a rolling pin.  If yours is on hand, grab it!  But if you’re like me and couldn’t find yours, just use your fingers and squish it down.

Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave.  Then mix in white sugar, light brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Get out a shallow bowl that will be used for dipping. Mix up some egg, milk, and a touch of maple syrup or vanilla extract. Set this egg batter aside.

This is what the prep station for your cinnamon roll ups will look like.

Scoop out some sugar/butter/cinnamon mix and spread on a slice of bread.  (A fork is the best way to spread this cinnamon sugar mixture).

Roll it up the stuffed french toast.

Then dip and roll through the egg mixture.

You can make up a few, and then pop them into a hot skillet with some butter.  Brown ALL sides.  When I say ALL, I mean it might be more than two.  Some of mine ended up having three sides.  The more you can get that golden brown, the better, really. It’s only a minute or two per side in the frying pan, so brown it up nicely.

Take the homemade french toast sticks out and place them on a paper towel on top of a baking sheet. This allows the paper towels to absorb any extra grease.

These delicious french toast sticks actually have a bit of a crepe texture because the bread was flattened. These cinnamon french toast roll ups hold the filling well and are a fun finger food.

COOKING NOTES: 

You may need to play with the heat and butter on the skillet. Burnt butter will leave a funny taste. What I ended up doing is wiping the butter out after each batch, and starting with new. This didn’t take as long as it sounds. You only need a small amount of butter in the pan for each batch anyway, just to coat the pan.

If you find yourself running out of filling, just mix up a bit more. Or you could add Nutella to stretch it in the end, that’s what I did!

Frozen Frech Toast Sticks

TO FREEZE:  Place them on a piece of aluminum foil, in ONE single layer, and place in the freezer for two hours. Then you can stick them all in one freezer bag. They won’t stick together. They’ll keep for months.

HOW TO COOK Frozen French Toast Sticks:  Here’s the thing, these homemade french toast sticks can taste JUST as good reheated.  No joke.  Take a paper towel, wet and ring it out entirely, but it’s still damp.  Take out however many you need, wrap maybe 3 max per paper towel and pop in microwave for 20 seconds. Check. You’re looking for them to be unfrozen throughout. This will depend on how many you’re making. Keep going for 10-20 second intervals until they’re thawed. (Listening helps, if you hear the sizzle, they’re ready.)

THEN, pop then on the stove in a half a TBS of butter, and brown your sides again, just quickly.

If you follow those directions for how to make french toast sticks and freeze them, they will taste JUST as good reheated. Simply AMAZING.

Frech Toast Sticks Variations

DISCLAIMER:  These are BARELY a quick breakfast food. They’re more of a snack/dessert. But you could make them healthier with a lighter filling.  

More ideas for the filling of these stuffed french toast sticks:

• Nutella
• Cream cheese and a minced fruit 
• Jelly
• Toss some walnuts or nut mixes in there
• Peanut butter and mashed bananas

Printable Recipe For Cinnamon Roll French Toast Sticks:

TO FREEZE:  After they’re cool, place on a piece of aluminum foil, in ONE layer, and place in the freezer for two hours. Then you can stick them all in one freezer bag. They won’t stick together.  They’ll keep for months.

TO REHEAT:  Wet and wring out a paper towel. Wrap up to maybe three in each paper towel. Pop in microwave for 20 second intervals until hot. Toss them all in a skillet with a tablespoon of butter and let them crisp up a bit. Alternatively, you can reheat them in your air fryer or toaster oven for about 4 minutes until they are nice and hot and crispy.

Serve with fresh berries and whipped cream if you want to go all out!

Conclusion

This frozen French toast stick recipe is seriously exciting to me. Have you ever had homemade french toast sticks?  Will you make this Cinnamon French toast sticks recipe? 

What unique ideas do you have for the filling? Let me know in the comments. I love to hear from you.  If you make these easy french toast roll-ups, tag @familyfocusblog and @NJFarmScribe so we can see how they came out!

Related Recipes:

Instant Pot Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe

Orange-Pecan Ricotta French Toast

Frozen Burritos Recipe, Tips, and Tricks