Crispy Captain Crunch French Toast

Your favorite crunchy, sweet treat cereal makes the perfect coating for buttery brioche in this crispy pan-fried Captain Crunch French Toast.

Want to turn boxed cereal into a gourmet brunch? This Crispy Captain Crunch French Toast does just that!

Just when you thought a bowl of sugary cereal couldn’t get any better, you use it as a crispy coating on french toast and YOUR MIND IS BLOWN. This Captain Crunch French Toast will transform your old childhood favorite into an over-the-top gourmet brunch.

French Toast is a classic breakfast treat that usually consists of sliced bread soaked in egg and then pan-fried. And it’s flippin’ delish as is. So how do you elevate it?

Well, you can stuff it, top it, or you can add a crispy, crunchy, sweet cereal exterior coating. This Captain Crunch French Toast lies behind door number 3.

Captain Crunch French Toast Tips and Tricks

Stretch Before You Run

You wouldn’t run a marathon before stretching, would you? Set yourself up for success by prepping your ingredients and setting them up in a cute little assembly line.

Egg mixture. Then, crushed Captain Crunch. Then your pan, with your butter melted and already hot. Easy as 1, 2, 3!

You should now be able to move your bread down the line pretty quickly. If you leave your bread in the egg wash for too long, it will make the middle of your French toast soggy. Womp womp 🤦‍♀️!

Here’s everything you’ll need:

Green Tip: Did you know that of the billions of pounds of food wasted annually, it is estimated that 50% of it happens in our homes. It’s always best to avoid food waste as much as you can! If you have leftover egg wash, cover it up tightly and stick it in the refrigerator. It will last another 2 days!

Crush it, Cap’n

Your Captain Crunch should be crushed, almost like fine dust. It’s okay (encouraged, even) to leave some larger pieces, but the dust sticks to your egg wash really well.

There are several ways to crush it. You can use a Food Processor, Blender, or your trusty Mortar and Pestle (affiliate links). All super quick and easy.

But if you want less clean up like me, put your cereal in a Ziploc bag and use your rolling pin to crush it. Then, you can just pour it into a bowl!

Hot ‘n Ready!

This French Toast is best served right out of the pan, but if you need to keep it warm, transfer it to your pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s best to put them right in the oven and keep them warm, rather than heating them up later.

The best part of this Captain Crunch French Toast is that crispy exterior—protect it at all costs!

Brioche is Best, But This Hack Will Do for other Bread

The airy and buttery texture in brioche is the perfect contrast to the crunchy exterior on this Captain Crunch French Toast. If for some reason you can’t find brioche, challah is delicious too!

This recipe is also an incredible way to re-vamp stale bread and bring it back to life!

Green tip: Don’t chuck your stale bread! This Captain Crunch French Toast is a great way to use up stale bread.

If you are using regular white or wheat bread, it’ll still make for delicious french toast! However, you’ll want to soak the bread in your egg mixture just a little bit longer.

So to be clear, with brioche or challah we want a quick dip, to avoid your bread getting soggy. While using thicker and heartier sandwich bread or stale bread, leave it in the egg mixture for about 30 seconds on each side, to get that airy, buttery, pillowy texture on the inside.

Should You Have Leftovers

French toast will stay delicious for 5-7 days wrapped and sealed in the refrigerator after preparing it. You can also freeze it for up to a month!

From the fridge, reheat on a frying pan for about 5 minutes on each side, until thoroughly heated through. You can also reheat it in the toaster or the oven at 375°F for 10 minutes from the refrigerator or 15 minutes from frozen.

The microwave will work in a pinch, but does tend to make it a little soggy.

Why You Should Make This Captain Crunch French Toast

• It’s extra crispy on the outside. The outer layer of Captain Crunch gets a perfect golden brown.
• It’s buttery and pillowy on the inside. The egg and milk-soaked brioche is to die for.
• It’s unique. That Captain Crunch flavor really shines and adds a twist to classic French Toast.
• It’s fun! Fun to make and even more fun to eat, with bright flavors that’ll bring out the kid in you.

Want more outrageous brunch ideas? Try these Light And Airy Whole Wheat Pancakes and this Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict.

Captain Crunch French Toast

5 from 7 votes

Course: Brunch

Servings

4

toastsPrep time

15

minutesTotal time

25

minutes

Your favorite crunchy, sweet treat cereal makes the perfect coating for buttery brioche in this crispy pan-fried Captain Crunch French Toast.

Ingredients

• 4 slices of fresh brioche
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk, half and half, or cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 and 1/2 cups Captain Crunch cereal, crushed
• 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted

Directions

• Whip egg, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon together until combined.
• Crush Captain Crunch and put in a separate bowl.
• Dip one slice of bread at a time, first into the egg mixture, and then into the cereal. Make sure it is coated well.

Transfer coated brioche to a frying pan over medium heat with butter. Start with 2 tablespoons of butter and add more as needed. The pan should always be buttery to get your outer layer crispy.

Flip after about 2 minutes and repeat for all 4 slices of bread. Keep warm in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit until ready to serve.

Recipe Video

Pro Tips

• Don’t soak your bread in the egg mixture for too long- it may make the brioche soggy.
• You can easily crush the cereal in a food processor, blender, with your trusty mortar and pestle, or by putting it in a Ziploc bag and using a rolling pin.

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The Inspiration Behind This Captain Crunch French Toast

One of my favorite memories growing up is when we had a foreign exchange student from France. I remember vividly that he introduced me to Nutella, which has since been one of my favorite spreads and baking ingredients (check these Banana Muffins with Nutella Ganache!).

And in attempt to make him feel at home, we started a tradition of Saturday morning French toast. It sounds silly in hindsight, but he acknowledged the gesture with gratitude.

Because of this silly tradition, the taste of French toast has long been nostalgic for me, bringing back memories of home—in the first house I ever lived in—that little 90’s styled kitchen that is forever close to my heart.

But I always felt, as delicious as French Toast was, that adding an exterior coating with a crunch would elevate it to the next level.

One morning, my husband was pouring a bowl of healthier cereal when a lightbulb went off. I thought, what about adding this cereal to French Toast? Verdict: crunch level good, flavor level meh. And after some brainstorming, we decided together that Captain Crunch was the move.

We knew before the first bite we were onto something special. It is now our official Christmas morning breakfast, 3 years in counting. I hope this Captain Crunch French Toast recipe helps you create new traditions and sweet memories in your home.

Cheers!

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