Quick and easy French toast bagel recipe

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Why choose between bagels and French toast when you can have both? These French toast bagels are soooo delicious, with a melt-in-your-mouth inside and crispy, buttery outside. Trust me, you can't go wrong with this one.

Bagel French toasts in a white plate with maple syrup and strawberries.

💙Why you'll love it

Quick and easy - ready within 10 minutes, it's the perfect breakfast when you don't want to spend your whole Sunday morning in the kitchen!
Few ingredients - all you'll need is 6 basic ingredients...and I'm pretty sure most of them are already in your cupboards!
Can be stored for several days, which makes it an ideal recipe for batch cooking!
So versatile - I give you tons of ideas to make this recipe THE BEST, according to your tastes!
So many occasions - wether it's a regular week-end morning or you want to celebrate a special occasion (I loooooove to make them on Christmas morning, everyone enjoys it so much!), a brunch with friends...

🥯Ingredients

You can find the full recipe (list of ingredients and measurements) in the recipe card below. Here are a few ingredient notes to make these amazing bagels.

Bagels - use plain bagels, cinnamon raisin or blueberry bagels, regular or mini bagels. You can even make regular or sourdough bagels at home - I mean, there are so many options here, choose what you love!
Brown sugar, as it will add a tasty caramel flavor while cooking. But regular white sugar would work just fine too.
Eggs - ideally pasture-raised organic. You can refer to the Eco Tips I've written on eggs to help you choose the right ones.
Milk - I recommend going for whole milk, as its fat content is higher. And if you want a richer texture, you can replace it with half and half.
Ground cinnamon, for a sweet and delicious cinnamon flavor.

French toast bagels' ingredients in white and beige bowls.

🧈Variations

I suggest different ways to personalize this bagel French toast according to your tastes, for even more deliciousness:

Gluten-free - make sure to use gluten-free bagels.
Dairy-free - replace cow's milk with vegetal milk (almond milk, soy milk, hazelnut milk, coconut milk, rice milk, etc...) and butter with Ghee or vegan butter.
Vegan - replace cow's milk with vegetal milk (almond milk, soy milk, hazelnut milk, coconut milk, rice milk, etc...), butter with Ghee or vegan butter and eggs with flax eggs or "vegan eggs".
Replace cinnamon with pumpkin spice.
Replace brown sugar with cinnamon sugar, maple sugar or molasses powder.
Lemon, grapefruit or orange - add the zest of a lemon, a grapefruit or orange (according to your tastes) to the milk/egg mixture and replace ¼ of the milk with the fruit's juice.
Coconut or almond shavings crust - after soaking bagel slices, add some flaked almonds or coconut shavings on top, before cooking. You'll end up with a deliciously crispy exterior!
Coffee-perfumed - replace ¼ of the milk with freshly-made coffee.
Tea-perfumed - place the milk in a saucepan, add a bag of your favorite tea and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
Hazelnut, almond or coconut - add 1 to 2 tablespoons of hazelnut, almond or coconut powder to your milk/egg mixture to add some flavors.

This recipe has not been tested using any other substitutions. If you do try substituting ingredients, it may not turn out as it's meant to. Please leave a comment below letting me know if it worked out!

🍓Customization & topping ideas

Here are many ways to personalize this bagel French toast according to your tastes, for different flavors!

Sweet

Honey, agave syrup, malt syrup or pure maple syrup
Fruit jam or marmelade
Melted chocolate, Nutella or Nocciolata (much better for your health and for the planet).
Cream cheese, that you can take to the next level by making whipped vanilla cream cheese
Fresh fruits, such as fresh strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (berries are in season during summer), bananas, peaches, kiwis...
Nuts - hazelnuts, almonds, etc...
Whipped cream
Chocolate chips, caramel chips or cinnamon chips
Crushed Graham biscuits or Speculoos
Vanilla ice cream or sorbet...or any other ice cream that you like (chocolate, strawberry, etc...).

Savory

Crispy bacon, Prosciutto or ham
Fried or poached eggs
Avocado
Smoked salmon
Roasted veggies
Cheese - mascarpone, burrata or Parmesan are my favorite ones!
Classic basil Pesto
Sun-dried tomatoes
Caramelized onions
Béchamel

🥞Brunch and breakfasts suggestions

The best easy waffles, classic chouquettes (French sugar puffs), Benedict Eggs with homemade Hollandaise sauce, stuffed crescent rolls, best homemade granola, juices, chocolate smoothie bowl, dreamy pancakes, etc…

✨How to make the best French toast bagels?

Recipe details and quantities are in the recipe card below.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs.
Then add milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon and brown sugar and whisk again until totally combined.

Vanilla extract added to the bowl of eggs and milk.

Ground cinnamon added to the bowl of eggs and milk.

Brown sugar added to the bowl of milk and eggs.

French toast bagels' batter in the bowl.

Cut the bagels in half lengthwise then dip each slice in the egg mixture for 25-30 seconds.

A hand dipping half a bagel into the batter.

The bagel out of the bowl, with the batter dripping.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
When the pan is hot (not warm, hot, I insist) and the butter is completely melted, place the bagel slices and let them cook on each side for a few minutes, until golden brown.

Four half bagels baking in a large pan with butter.

Remove them from heat, place on a plate and enjoy right away with your favorite toppings (if not enjoyed right away, place them in your oven, preheated at 185°F/85°C).

👩🏻‍🍳Chef's tips

Use stale bagels, leave them out the day before or toast them - if you don't have stale bagels on hand, but you're craving for this recipe, I recommend to leave them out of their packaging, at room temperature, the day before you've plan to cook them. And if you forget, you can lightly toast them in your toaster or in your oven (300°F/150°C, for a few minutes).
Soak the bagel slices well to achieve best texture. This may take a little longer than for classic French toast, as bagel slices are much thicker than brioche slices. I strongly recommend that you follow the recipe and the soaking time indicated.
Cooking - make sure your frying pan is hot and the butter is totally melted. If you put you soaked bagels in a warm pan, it will stay soggy and not crispy as it should, as it won't cook the right way.
Serve them right away OR leave them in the oven - I get it, no everyone wakes up at the same time in the week-end and you're not going to make them one by one. So I advise you to make a big batch, place them in a baking dish or a baking sheet, and then leave them in a hot oven (185°F/85°C).

💡Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make them in the Air Fryer?

I've never tried it, but I'm sure you could! Just be careful to the cooking time, because Air Fryer cooks fast, and flip your slices over at the half of the cooking time, to ensure an even texture.

Why are my bagel French toast soggy?

You didn't use stale bagels (if you don't have some, look at the Chef's tips above) or you soaked them for too long...

❄️Storage and freezing

Store - let them completely cool to room temperature then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezing - let them cool to room temperature then place them in a freezer bag, with a piece of wax paper between each bagel slice, and freeze.
Reheat & defrosting - place them in a preheated oven (320°F/160°C) for 5-10 minutes, until pipping hot. If you want to defrost frozen bagels, it will be a little bit longer (15 minutes approximatively).

If you make this recipe, it would be so nice to leave me a comment and rate the recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. You can also tag me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or Tik Tok, or even send me a photo, I love seeing my little dishes in your homes!

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