Caramelized Sheet-Pan French Toast Recipe (2024)

This is how i've made French toast for Christmas morning for 40 years. i use a baguette, so that the kids can pick up the small slices and dip in the heated syrup/butter that i put in small ramekins on their plates. i use cinnamon instead of cardamom and no liqueur. you can top them with this lovely compote or syrup or sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or chocolate sauce.

Yes. Each 2” slice is cut in half ( like a thick half moon), so the final step is caramelizing the cut end by standing the pieces upright on the cut ends.

Quibbles: 1) a half-cup of sugar seems like an enormous amount to sprinkle on just two slices of bread before baking, especially ones that are going to be doused in maple syrup; I would think a tablespoon apiece would be sufficient? And 2) I can't picture two slices of bread being adequate to serve 4 people, even if the slices are 2" thick. Everybody gets just half a slice? Seems kind of stingy for a holiday breakfast.

So much sugar! I add none to the custard, and reduce the sprinkled amount by more than half. Still get caramelization but also flavor of the vanilla/cardamom spiced custard, fruit and maple syrup.

Do I have the only mother who made french toast with 2% milk and a soup spoon of sugar? Has everyone else been using whole milk and heavy cream this whole time? Seriously, 2% milk works.

I'd bump up the cardamom to at least a half tsp.; and sub out the white w/ brown sugar instead....

No, you are not alone. My mom also made grilled cheese by scraping a minimum amount of butter across the bread. But as writer Rick Bragg's momma likes to say, "Grease is good." Low fat things taste good. Higher fat things often taste Really Good.

You can check out NYTimes Cooking instagram -- they have a complete IG story with step-by-step videos on how to make!

the bread slices are almost like cubes because they are cut very thickly (2 inches), so you cook one side, then the other side, then the last cut side which is the end.

because the bread is cut very thickly, they are almost like cubes, so its very easy to stand on end.

Wanted to like this. Used sourdough loaf which didn’t seem extremely dense. Cut 2” slices. Soaked overnight in bag in fridge. Turned bag over a couple of times. Baked as directed. Fail. Custard didn’t soak into the center. About an inch was dry in the middle. Flavor was rather bland. I did use less sugar to coat as per comments. Glad I didn’t try it on Christmas morning.

Made the recipe with less sugar than in the recipe. Used round sourdough bread and soaked for 24 hours. Placed in pre heated cast iron skillet and broiled the last 3 min for a nice Carmel crunch. Would definitely try again.

Love this technique. I never remember to make breakfast ahead. So I reduced the eggs and milk and used more slices of bread about 1-1 1/2 in thick. 2 in did not soak thru in about 30 min. Used maybe 1/3 c sugar on 6 half slices, cast iron, and I also forget to reduce heat from 425. The crispy outsides are wonderful, and I am sure inside would be even creamier with overnight soak.

I didn't soak overnight and used thinner slices of cinnamon bread. So definitely could have done with less sugar. Still delicious though!

Made a large batch (4x) for a brunch and it seemed like a lot of work, but everyone loved it. Cut down the 1/2 cup of sugar to just sprinkle on each side and that let the sweetness of the maple syrup/fruit compote shine through. Definitely make this again.

Yes this has a ton of sugar, but for a special event like Christmas morning, it's delicious and decadent. The sugar basically turns into creme brulee topping, candied and caramelized. Nothing about this is an everyday french toast, so I say go for it. I forgot to halve into half moons but still worked well. Next time I make for two I will only do one slice.

This is soo good!!!

Absolutely the best french toast recipe ever!

Lovely. I made 6 pieces with this recipe. It was great. Because of the crowded pan didn’t caramelize the end but I got some of it because of the crowded pan. Used a large cast iron skillet and served with fresh fruit. Yummy

Cut the sugar coating to about 1/8 cup. Used a cast iron pan. Worked great, delicious, will make again.

I bought country bread but they sliced it thin! Will this recipe still work for thinner sliced bread?! I'm nervous it may make it too soggy, so might soak for an hour or two in the morning rather than overnight. Any other tips are really appreciated!!

Soaked the bread for 2 hours and it turned out as great as when I’ve done an overnight soak. Loved the caramelization and nice bit of crunch.

Made this pretty much as stated however I saw a note to use a baguette and I cut 2 inch cuts of that and it worked great. I put the sugar on both sides of each slice and that seemed to work out great. I also eyeballed the butter and used maybe a little more than the 2 Tbs listed.

Do you think using Traditional Panettone would work?I received a big boxed one from Christmas!

So much more labor-intensive than regular French toast. Messy. Not sure it’s that much better than my normal recipe on the griddle.