Churro French Toast

About this French Toast

You know the amazing experience of sinking your teeth into an airy, deep fried churro warm off the truck at the carnival. Then you’re left licking the sticky, sweet cinnamon sugar off your fingers wishing you had more. 

Well, I’ve taken that same experience and served it up on a plate as a drool-worthy stack of french toast. We are using challah bread to mimic the pastry-like texture of an actual churro, then dipping it in sweetened vanilla egg mixture before frying it up and dusting with cinnamon sugar and drizzling it with a vanilla glaze. 

Seriously, I don’t think other french toast recipes compare. Following the first bite I took of this Churro French Toast I literally said out loud “Wow, this is the best French Toast I’ve ever had”.

And if you're looking for other sweet breakfast recipes, you'll also love this Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake, Healthy French Toast Casserole, or these Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls.

Recipe Ingredients

For the French Toast:

• Challah Bread - A pillowy, sweet bread that will provide the perfect base for our Churro French Toast
• Eggs - This firms up the mixture our french toast is dipped in. You’ll want to make sure you whisk your eggs well so you don’t end up with scrambled egg pieces on the outside of your bread.
• Ground Cinnamon - Cinnamon in the wet mixture really allows the challah bread to absorb the flavor. We'll also use cinnamon in the cinnamon sugar coating.
• Sugar - Cane sugar will help achieve the classic grainy texture of churro sugar topping.
• Brown Sugar - Adds a rich caramel-y taste to the topping.

For the Glaze:

• Greek Yogurt - Yogurt will be the creamy base to our glaze. I used Two Good Vanilla.
• Confectioners Sugar - Powdered sugar in the glaze will keep it nice and smooth. 
• Almond Milk - To thin out the glaze.
• Vanilla Extract - To flavor the glaze so it’s not just straight sweetness.

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

How to Make This Recipe

1. Glaze: Use a hand mixer and beat together yogurt, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. If the glaze is really thick, add tablespoon of almond milk in increments until texture is to your liking! Store in the refrigerator until it’s time to use (You’ll want to make the glaze first so it’s ready right when your Churro French Toast is hot off the pan).

2. Wet mixture: in a mixing bowl, whisk together 3 eggs. Once they’re broken down, add milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and salt. 

3. Topping: In another mixing bowl (with a flat bottom) or small rectangular pan, combine sugar, ground cinnamon, and brown sugar together. I used a 5x7 pan so that each piece of bread could lay flat while covering it. Set aside until after cooking. 

4. Arrange the Challah bread slices in a 9x13 pyrex pan. Pour the wet mixture on top of the bread and allow it to soak for up to 5 minutes. Flip the bread halfway to ensure it's soaking completely. 

5. Heat a skillet to medium heat and wait for the pan to heat up before adding the butter. Add slices of challah bread to the pan one at a time, ensuring no overlap. Tip: I keep a stick of butter handy while making french toast so between each flip, I can hit the pan with a little bit more. Cook the french toast for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden, crispy brown.

6. Once the french toast is cooked, use a spatula to transfer it into the sugar mixture and dip on each side. Tip: after cooking, I also use the stick of butter to generously butter each side, prior to adding the sugar. This step is optional; though it will ensure the greased, churro aspect of this recipe isn’t lost. 

7. Once you're ready to serve, top the churro french toast with glaze, syrup, or fresh berries. Enjoy!

Tips for Success

If there’s any crumbs in the pan between frying each piece, wipe it clean before adding more butter and the next piece of French toast. This will ensure you don’t end up with burnt bits on the outside of your bread.

Keeping your Churro French Toast warm: Unless you’ve got a huge griddle you’re making the french toast on, you’re going to need to cook in batches. Inevitably, the pieces you cook first won’t be as warm as the ones right off the griddle. As you cook your Churro French Toast pieces, keep the done slices on a sheet pan in the oven at 250° until you’re ready to serve.

Avoid stacking the finished Churro French Toast pieces on top of each other while cooking the other pieces. as the butter/sugar will melt together due to the heat from the griddle and you’ll lose the grainy texture of the cinnamon sugar on the outside.

Recipe FAQs