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Ever wondered if a Donut could become French Toast? The answer is yes. And it is really, really good.

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What can I do with leftover donuts?

This was the question that prompted this whole recipe. I had a box of donuts a few days old. Only 2 donuts remained. Sure they could easily be eaten dunked into a cup of coffee, but I wanted to do something more.

At first, I considered whipping up a french toast casserole with the donuts, but I worried the moisture of the mixture would render the whole thing inedibly soggy.

And so it was decided: the dry, day old donuts would become delectable french toast!

I’ll review a detailed process on how to make donut french toast later, but for now here’s what I did, briefly:

1. Slice the donuts in half lengthwise, like you’d cut a bagel
2. Prep the french toast liquid as per any other recipe, minus the sugar
3. Soak the donuts in the liquid
4. Fry in butter

While it may be rare to have any donuts leftover, if you happen to have a few day old donuts, this is the best recipe!

What donuts make the best french toast?

I had one sugar donut and one sprinkle donut. Before embarking on this experimental recipe, I figured the sugar donut would yield the best results.

Turns out, my hypothesis was correct. The plain sugared donut made the best french toast.

The sprinkle donut, while still delicious, yielded a much softer end result. The sprinkles melted directly into the pan and the glaze kind of, well, fell off.

I imagine a plain glazed donut would also be favorable as french toast. I’d avoid using anything too heavily topped, like with cinnamon crumb or chocolate chips.

If you are planning to use these types of donuts in your french toast, remove those toppings first. You can always add them on again later once the french toast is complete. Otherwise they may end up a melted, gummy mess in the pan.

How do you make donut french toast?

This donut french toast recipe is fairly straightforward. If you’ve ever made french toast before, you’ll surely be succesful!

Gather your ingredients

The first step is to gather your ingredients. To make donut french toast, you’ll need:

1. Day old donuts (sugar donuts or plain glazed preferred)
2. 2 eggs
3. 1/2 cup milk
4. 2 tsp cinnamon
5. 1-2 tablespoons butter (for frying)

Next, slice the donuts lengthwise. Think of this as if you were cutting a bagel. I used a bread knife and it worked extremely well.

Slice your donuts

I recommend laying the donuts flat and cutting horizontally, keeping fingers out of the way. This is more stable than standing up the donuts and trying to cut them that way!

If you have a bagel slicer, it may work well. However, I haven’t tried this method and if your donuts aren’t dry enough they may get squished under a dull bagel blade.

Prepare the mixture

Next, in a shallow dish or bowl, whisk two eggs. Integrate 1/2 cup milk and 2 tsp cinnamon.

If you are making a larger quantity of donut french toast, increase the ingredients in the mixture accordingly. You can do this easily by resizing the recipe at the end of this post.

Soak the donuts

After you’ve made your french toast batter, it’s time to let the donuts soak. I added the donuts cut side down and let soak for a few minutes before flipping over. The cut side absorbed considerably more liquid, since the crumb was exposed.

While you are soaking the donuts heat your frying pan over medium heat. Add your butter to melt. I used about 1 tablespoon, but feel free to use more if you like things extra buttery.

Fry the donuts

Once the donuts are done soaking and your butter is melted, time to fry! Add the donuts cut side down into the pan. Fry about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and fry another 3-5 minutes until golden.

And voila! You have just made donut french toast. Prepare for a life-changing breakfast.

Donut French Toast serving suggestions

Donuts are by nature, very sweet. It’s important to keep this in mind when serving your donut french toast.

I added a small sprinkling of powdered sugar on mine. You could also add berries to provide a balance of freshness.

To balance out the heavy sweetness of this dish, whip up some Orange Carrot Ginger Juice. Serve alongside a Pepper and Onion Strata for a well-rounded breakfast.

Or, embrace the sweetness and serve this french toast with some Spiced Poached Pears for ultra decadance!

Serve donut french toast alongside a plate of crispy bacon and fried eggs for a classic American breakfast.