Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Churro Coating
Nutella stuffed French toast might just be the ultimate dessert for breakfast recipe! Thick slices of brioche bread are filled with creamy Nutella, then dipped in egg and milk and cooked until golden brown. They’re finished with a dip in cinnamon sugar for a churro-like coating.
This french toast recipe is similar to Nutella french toast, except the Nutella is inserted into the bread instead of layered between pieces. Thick pieces of brioche bread are stuffed with Nutella, so when you bite into it, you’re pleasantly surprised by that unexpected creamy chocolate center! It’s very similar to our Nutella pancakes, except in french toast form.
About this recipe
As if stuffing brioche with Nutella and dipping in an egg and milk mixture wasn’t enough, we’re taking it one step further. These delicious pieces of Nutella stuffed french toast are brushed with melted butter and coated in cinnamon sugar just before serving. The flavors might remind you of churros, a popular Mexican treat, and even more so when the churros are dipped in Nutella.
Brioche is a popular choice for French toast for two reasons. First, the slices tend to be nice and thick – perfect for any French toast, but especially stuffed French toast. Secondly, brioche is buttery and rich, and who doesn’t want those qualities in a slice of French toast?
Day-old bread is the way to go, so you’ll want to make sure it’s not too soft and fresh. If it’s a bit dry it is better able to hold up to the chocolate center without falling apart when it’s dipped in the egg mixture.
Serve a stack of these warm with freshly sliced bananas, some maple syrup, or chocolate sauce. They’re also delicious with warm caramel sauce or whipped cream (cinnamon whipped cream is an even better choice to complement the cinnamon sugar coating). They’re great as part of a brunch for the holidays, a special occasion, or a spectacular Sunday feast!
There are limitless pairing possibilities to create a well-rounded fantastic breakfast on any occasion. A stack of cinnamon pancakes, a cup of coffee with this cinnamon brown sugar coffee syrup, a yummy cinnamon dolce latte, or a side of these Nutella pancakes to start! Yes, pancakes make a great side to French toast. Why not!
But if you’d like to balance out the sweet with a little savory, you can never go wrong with crispy bacon and scrambled eggs. If you prefer your eggs not scrambled, we still have you covered! Try over easy eggs, over medium eggs, over hard eggs, or basted eggs. What’s your favorite?
What you need
- Brioche Bread – You’ll need 2 loaves with slices that are approximately 1-inch thick. Day-old bread is best.
- Nutella – Nutella is a traditional Italian chocolate spread made with chocolate, sugar, and hazelnuts. You can substitute with your favorite chocolate spread, whether store-bought or homemade.
- Large Eggs & Egg Yolks – Using both whole eggs plus added egg yolks adds just a little bit more moisture and richness to the coating.
- Half and Half – Half and half is half cream and half milk. It’s thicker than milk so it’s rich and moist, but not quite as thick as heavy cream. It’s still thin enough to get absorbed nicely into the bread.
- Ground Cinnamon & Brown Sugar – You’ll be using both cinnamon and brown sugar for the egg coating. The remaining cinnamon will be part of the churro coating on top!
- Salt – Adding a touch of salt into the French toast mixture helps to balance the sweet flavors and enhances all of the other ingredients. The result is maximum flavor!
- Granulated Sugar – The sweet, crunchy part of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. It’s a simple combination, but oh so good.
- Butter – Melted butter is the last step before adding the finishing touch. It’s what helps the cinnamon and sugar stick to the toasted bread.
How to make it
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, light brown sugar, salt, and ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon until fully combined, and set aside.
Use a paring knife to cut a slit lengthwise in the middle of the bottom of the slice of bread. Fill a piping bag with Nutella and carefully pipe approximately 1 tablespoon of Nutella into each slice of bread.
Dip bread slices into the egg mixture, covering both sides. Cook on the preheated (275ºF) griddle for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
While your french toast is cooking, find a medium bowl that’s large enough to fit one slice of bread. In this bowl, combine the granulated sugar and remaining ground cinnamon.
Once the French toast is fully cooked, brush both sides with melted butter. Immediately toss the bread in your cinnamon-sugar mixture, covering all sides, and serve.
FAQs
Nutella is a popular Italian chocolate spread that has made its way to the hearts of Americans. It can be spread on anything your heart desires! It’s used as a filling for things like baked goods, cookies, bread, pies, cakes, croissants, danishes, etc. It’s so good, you could eat it with a spoon!
As much as it’s been marketed as a healthy breakfast spread, it’s essentially more sugar than it is pure cocoa or hazelnuts. As outlined in this Healthline post, it also comes with other additives like emulsifiers and synthetic ingredients. While it’s delicious as a spread on your pancakes, french toast, or waffles once in a while, it’s probably one of those things where moderation is key.
First and foremost, use day-old bread! If your bread is too soft to begin with, not only can your bread end up soggy, but it may end up falling apart.
You also want to make sure the french toast is cooked all the way through. Sometimes you may need to adjust the heat down to achieve this.
How to make this stuffed french toast your own
- You can play with the amount of Nutella you use in your French toast to your preference. However, be careful not to use more than 2 tablespoons per slice or your French toast will overflow when you cook it.
- Completely omit the Nutella for a cinnamon sugar or churros French toast.
- Use this melted maple cinnamon butter instead of regular butter to brush on your toast.
- Top with homemade pancake syrup, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, or cinnamon whipped cream.
- A topping of fresh fruit slices or berries is a nice choice to balance out the sweetness. You could also swap the churro coating and use a dusting of powder sugar instead.
- This recipe yields 16 slices of toast. If you are serving a smaller crowd, half this recipe and just use 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk for the mixture and halve the remaining ingredients as well.
Make Ahead Ideas
French toast is best served immediately because it tends to get soggy the longer it sits. If you’d like to prep, you could slice the middles of the bread, and leave it out overnight to dry out a bit.
Storage Suggestions
Keep any leftover French toast covered in the fridge for the next day or two, but no more than that. They’ll get quite soggy if left any longer, especially when stuffed with Nutella.
Reheating Tips
You can lay them out on a baking sheet and reheat them in the oven to warm through and crisp up. Reheating them on the griddle again also works, but if you’ve already dipped them in sugar, be aware it burns easily. The microwave works okay as well, but be careful, the center chocolate will heat up and thin out quickly.
More french toast recipes
Get the Recipe: Nutella Stuffed French Toast
Ingredients
- 2 loaves (16 oz. each) brioche bread, approximately 16 1-inch slices
- 1 cup Nutella
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 ¼ cup half and half
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat griddle to 275ºF.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, light brown sugar, salt, and ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon until fully combined, and set aside.
- Use a paring knife to cut a slit lengthwise at the middle at the bottom of the slice of bread.
- Fill a piping bag with Nutella and carefully pipe approximately 1 tablespoon of Nutella into each slice of bread.
- Dip bread slices into the egg wash, covering both sides, and cook on the griddle for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
- While your french toast is cooking, in a medium bowl large enough to fit one slice of bread, whisk together your sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, set aside.
- Once french toast is fully cooked, brush both sides with melted butter and immediately toss in your cinnamon sugar mixture, covering all sides, and serve.
Notes
- You can play with the amount of Nutella you use in your french toast to your preference, but be careful not to use more than 2 tablespoons per slice or your french toast will overflow when you cook it.
- The Nutella could also be omitted for a cinnamon sugar french toast.
- Top with maple syrup, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, fruit, or your favorite breakfast topping.
- I used a non stick griddle to cook this on. If you prefer using a frying pan, just add 1-2 tablespoons of butter or nonstick cooking spray before placing the slices on the pan to prevent sticking. If you want to halve this recipe, use 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk. The rest of the ingredients will also be halved.
This looks fantastic!! Definitely making it this weekend for a special breakfast treat. Thank you for sharing!
I hope you love it!