Panettone French Toast

This Panettone French Toast is the perfect breakfast during the holidays. Use those sweet Italian breads you were gifted and transform them into a festive Christmas morning!

Why You’ll Love This

Festive and Flavorful – Panettone, with its rich and buttery sweet bread, provides a flavorful foundation for your French toast. It’s a unique twist on the classic French toast.
Texture and Flavor – The airy and fluffy texture of panettone translates into a light and airy French toast with the classic crispy French toast exterior. Panettone often contains a blend of aromatic spices such as vanilla, citrus zest, and even dried fruits. These spices are infused into the French toast.
Leftovers – It’s the perfect way to use those gifted panettones!

Some of our other favorite breakfast recipes are Morning Buns, Double Chocolate Muffins, Breakfast Casserole with Sausage and Hash Browns, Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, and Apple Turnovers with Puff Pastry.

Ingredients for panettone french toast on a dark surface.

Key Ingredients

Panettone – You will need 8 thick slices of panettone bread. Several days old or stale panettone works best.
Large Eggs – Eggs are what make the custard-like mixture of French toast. It coats the slices of bread contributing to the creamy texture.
Half and Half – Half and Half adds moisture and richness to the mixture.
Spices – Vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, and kosher salt. All of these spices add warm flavor to this panettone french toast recipe.
Butter – This is used for greasing the griddle when cooking French toast. Plus additional for a topping if desired.

How to Make Panettone French Toast

Slice the panettone into 1-inch thick rounds. Then slice the rounds in half making half moons. Preheat the oven to 200-250 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with a wire rack inserted. In a large shallow baking dish whisk together the eggs, half and half, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt.

Panettone sliced into half moon slices on a wooden board.

Panettone french toast egg mixture ingredients whisked together in a shallow baking dish.

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Melt a tab of butter on the griddle until it starts to foam and bubble. Dip the panettone slices in the egg mixture, turning them until they just start to become saturated. Allow excess to drip off, then place the coated bread on the griddle and cook slowly for about 6-7 minutes, turning occasionally until golden brown. Do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.

Slice of panettone french toast cooking on a buttered griddle.

Slices of panettone french toast cooking on a buttered griddle.

Place the cooked panettone French toast on the prepared rack and baking sheet, and place it in the warmed oven to keep warm and crispy while cooking the remaining toast. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Cooked panettone french toast on a wire rack lined baking sheet.

Toppings

We keep it simple with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup but choose your favorite topping!

A dusting of powdered sugar and a dollop of whipped cream.
A drizzle of maple syrup or agave syrup.
Fresh berries such as blueberries, raspberries, or diced strawberries.
Chocolate sauce of caramel sauce.

Tips

We like to reserve the dome for toast. So we typically slice the dome off and then slice the panettone loaf into rounds.
Dip the panettone slices right before cooking. This enriched bread is light and airy and can become mushy if soaked too long in the egg and milk mixture. Don’t soak them too long.
Hold the slices up with tongs to sear the exposed end after cooking on both sides.
Panettone is a slightly sweet bread so we don’t add sugar to our egg mixture. But if you like it sweeter you can add about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to the egg mixture.
Don’t be tempted to cover the cooked French toast with aluminum foil, they will become soggy.
You can substitute whole milk in place of the half and half if desired.

FAQs

Can panettone French toast be made ahead?

I wouldn’t. It’s best served fresh. You can slice the bread ahead but keep it in an airtight bag or container. You can also make the egg mixture ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator.

Can I use another bread for the recipe?

Absolutely! This recipe is just as delicious with challah or brioche bread.

More Easy Breakfast Recipes

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Overnight Maple Bacon Baked French Toast

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