Sheet Pan French Toast

By
Updated on 10/22/21
Tested by
Diana Andrews
Diana Andrews
Tested by Diana Andrews
Diana has served as head recipe developer and editor for the Emmy-nominated PBS series Moveable Feast, food editor and test kitchen manager at Fine Cooking Magazine, and recipe developer and product tester at Food Network. 
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Sheet Pan French Toast topped with syrup on a plate

The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 28 mins
Total: 33 mins
Servings: 3 to 4
Yield: 6 to 9 Pieces
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
321 Calories
11g Fat
41g Carbs
15g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 4
Amount per serving
Calories 321
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g 14%
Saturated Fat 4g 21%
Cholesterol 197mg 66%
Sodium 502mg 22%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 15%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 15g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 206mg 16%
Iron 3mg 19%
Potassium 249mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Ditch the stove top and the skillets and instead rely on the magic of the sheet pan to whip up a French toast breakfast. This sheet pan French toast still yields buttery, crisp French toast thanks to a pre-heated sheet pan that gives a perfect sear once the custard-dipped and buttered pieces of bread hit the pan. Pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee or tea (or better yet, a sparkling breakfast bev), sit back, and let your oven do the brunch work for you.

“Using a sheet tray to bake multiple pieces of French toast simultaneously is an ingenious way to have all the slices ready and hot at the same time. I tried two different kinds of bread (white and whole grain). Both were deliciously crunchy around the edges and custardy in the middle.” —Diana Andrews

Sheet Pan French Toast/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs

  • 1 cup milk

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • Dash of kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

  • 6 to 9 slices bread, preferably stale or day-old bread

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Sheet Pan French Toast ingredients

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  2. Place a large rimmed sheet pan in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 F. After the oven reaches 400 F, allow the sheet pan to sit for an additional 5 minutes in the hot oven while you prepare the custard.

    Sheet pan

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  3. Break the eggs into a wide, shallow bowl or pie plate and beat them lightly with a fork or whisk. Whisk the milk, sugar, salt, and, if using, vanilla extract and cinnamon, into the beaten eggs. Set aside.

    Eggs, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and cinnamon in a bowl with a whisk

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  4. Place the bread slices, one at a time, into the bowl or plate with custard. Let the bread soak up the egg mixture for a few seconds and then carefully turn to coat the other side. Place soaked bread on a separate plate and continue until all bread is soaked.

    Slice of bread in a bowl with the egg mixture and bread slice on a plate

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  5. Carefully remove the hot sheet pan from the oven and add the butter to the pan, spreading it around until it melts.

    Melted butter in a sheet pan

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  6. Add the soaked bread slices to the buttered pan, spacing evenly. Return the pan to the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 F. Cook until the bottoms of the bread are evenly burnished and golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

    Bread slices on a sheet pan

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  7. Flip each piece of bread and return the pan to the oven to cook until the bread is browned on the other side, an additional 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately with toppings of your choice.

    Sheet Pan French Toast on a sheet pan

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

What Kind of Bread Should I Use For French Toast?

  • The best kind of bread for French toast depends in part on the kind of recipe you are making. For a stuffed French toast or this creme brûlée French toast, denser breads like brioche and challah are a better choice for these decadent recipes. However, this sheet pan recipe is for an everyday, quick French toast, which means that even your favorite, pre-sliced, grocery store loaf of white or wheat bread will do the trick.
  • The biggest thing to keep in mind when making French toast is to allow the bread slices to sit out overnight or to pull from a loaf of slightly stale bread for this recipe, as this will allow for maximum custard soaking without a soggy finished product.
  • This recipe is timed to bake thinner, grocery store style bread loaves, so if you opt to use a thicker or denser bread like brioche or challah, plan to increase the bake time by 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Tip

Prior to heating up the sheet pan, check to make sure all of your bread slices can fit on one pan by laying them out. Bread slice sizes will vary depending on brand. If a second sheet pan is required, heat up two pans and use an additional tablespoon of butter on the second sheet pan.

Caramelized Sugar Sheet Pan French Toast

For a caramelized sugar finish to your French toast, try this variation:

After adding the butter to the hot sheet pan, but before laying the bread slices down, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar or cinnamon sugar evenly over the pan. Lay soaked bread slices down on the sugared butter and bake according to recipe. This will yield a crispy crust around the finished pieces that will resemble a brûlée finish.

How to Store and Reheat

Refrigerate any leftover French toast slices in a covered container or wrapped in a piece of foil for up to 4 days. To reheat, warm the slices and re-crisp the bread in a skillet over medium to medium-low heat, flipping to heat both sides, or pop the slices in a toaster oven and rewarm at a low setting for about 1 minute.