I saw Half Baked Harvest post this recipe for baked cinnamon crunch french toast to her IG and it had to be done! I was shopping at Trader Joe's that day and saw they sell a vegan brioche loaf. Seems the stars were aligned for this to happen, no?
This vegan baked cinnamon crunch french toast is nearly like the original recipe, but obviously doesn't include eggs or dairy! The end result is a bread pudding-type baked french toast with a crunchy cinnamon toast layer on top. I used Just Egg and oatmilk to make the dredge for the french toast, and just like Tieghan I stuffed that brioche with a whipped cream cheese filling. I mixed the vegan cream cheese with vegan sour cream though because I know how loose vegan cream cheese gets when it melts. It doesn't act at all like regular cream cheese does, unfortunately! I also sweetened it a little and added some more cinnamon. There's no such thing as too much cinnamon!
I used the whole loaf of brioche, about 10 slices, and nearly a whole bottle of Just Egg. There's a bit left in the bottle—the perfect amount for a small breakfast of eggs on toast!
The final baked cinnamon crunch french toast isn't too sweet! There are sweet crunchy parts, of course (the best parts) hidden amongst gooey, sort of savory brioche bits. I topped mine with some plain vegan yogurt at the end, but you could also use a vegan whipped cream which would deliver the right hint of sweetness it needs to finish it off. Or do the yogurt but add a little drizzle of maple syrup too!
As far as leftovers go, I ate this cold—it was weirdly good!—and I took slices and fried them in a pan with a little vegan butter and topped with maple syrup. This casserole is very very good leftover. I like that you can eat it multiple ways too. However you decide to serve this baked cinnamon crunch french toast, it's delicious and comforting. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Ingredients
cream cheese filling
- 4 oz vegan cream cheese, softened to room temp
- 4 oz vegan sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
baked french toast
- ¼ C packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
- 1 vegan brioche loaf (10 slices)
- 1 C Just Egg liquid
- ½ C unsweetened oat or soy milk
cinnamon crunch topping
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
- ⅓ C packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
Instructions
- To make the cream cheese filling, beat the cream cheese, and sour cream in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add vanilla extract, confectioners sugar, and cinnamon and mix together until combined.
- In a small bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter to a 9 x 13 baking dish, coating the bottom. Add half the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly on top of the melted butter.
- Cut the brioche slices in half. Spread a generous amount of the cream cheese mixture between two halves, creating 10 half sandwiches.
- Combine the Just Egg and nondairy milk in another bowl or dish where you can dip the brioche sandwich halves. Dip the brioche sandwiches in this mixture and allow to soak for about 30 seconds. Then place crust sides up in the baking dish. Pour any remaining Just Egg mixture evenly on top of the bread and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture evenly on top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking.
- When ready to bake preheat the oven to 375°F. To make the cinnamon crunch topping, melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave and then combing with brown sugar, cinnamon and flour until you have a smooth paste. Dollop all over the top of the bread slices.
- Cover the entire dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes, uncover and bake another 25 minutes. Serve with dollops of vegan yogurt or whipped cream, a drizzle of maple syrup and another sprinkle of cinnamon.
Lauren Toyota
Lauren is a plant-based powerhouse, a former TV host turned wildly successful food creator, best-selling cookbook author, and the woman responsible for making vegan comfort food a thing worth craving. Through her blog and YouTube channel, hot for food, she’s amassed a dedicated following by recreating all the nostalgic, indulgent dishes we love—mac & cheese, burgers, cinnamon rolls—but making them entirely plant-based. No compromise on taste, no weird ingredients, just damn good food.