Cinnamon Toast Recipe

4 ingredients and 4 minutes are all you need for the perfect afternoon snack or breakfast treat! This cinnamon toast recipe is a faster method that still delivers a crunchy, caramelized cinnamon sugar crust on slightly soft toast! 

This is the cinnamon toast recipe that my mom made for me growing up. She bought cinnamon sugar but I’ve included a recipe to make your own cinnamon sugar. You can store it in a small container or a used ground cinnamon spice jar.  Use leftovers for future cinnamon toast, snickerdoodles, or brown sugar cookies. 

You can use this nostalgic recipe with any type of bread including whole wheat bread, potato bread, or oatmeal bread, but using cinnamon swirl bread makes it extra special. And I do mean extra special. Alternatively you can use Sun Maid Cinnamon Swirl Raisin bread or cinnamon raisin bagels like my Mom did, or even cinnamon raisin sourdough bread! 

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Granulated Sugar: I always use granulated white sugar but you could use light brown sugar. I think substituting half the white sugar for brown sugar would be a better alternative. 
• Ground Cinnamon: Ultimately the ratio of cinnamon is up to you. My family loves cinnamon, so I am on the heavier handed side. If you aren’t sure, reduce the cinnamon to 2 teaspoons for every 4 tablespoons of sugar!
• Butter: You can use unsalted butter or salted butter depending on what you have on hand. I think both are delightful but I do slightly prefer salted butter! 
• Vanilla Powder: Vanilla powder is completely optional but kind of an awesome ingredient to have on hand. You can use it as a 1:1 substitute for vanilla extract but it doesn’t add a brownish tint. This is especially wonderful in buttercreams like my vanilla buttercream frosting! 
• Slices of Bread: This is where your own personal flare can come into play! If you want to pretend this is a healthy snack, use whole wheat bread or even multigrain bread, but you want this to be the treat that it always was for me, then cut off a thick slice of cinnamon swirl bread, brioche loaf, or even challah and get toasting! It goes without saying that you can use your favorite store-bought bread! 

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations 

• Give cinnamon toast a festive upgrade this holiday season. Find me making a pumpkin spice variation with pumpkin challah this Fall, and using slices of eggnog cinnamon swirl bread all December long! 
• Adapt the spice to your family’s taste. You could add a pinch of nutmeg to the cinnamon mixture or replace up to ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon with homemade pumpkin spice, apple pie spice or even speculoos spice. A drizzle of maple syrup or a sprinkle of maple sugar would lend lovely Fall vibes. Your family would also enjoy my brioche french toast recipe, just sayin’.

How to Make this Fast Cinnamon Toast Recipe

Use these instructions to make caramelized cinnamon sugar toast in under 5 minutes! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Prep the bread. Place desired number of slices of bread on a baking sheet, and adjust the top rack to the highest setting. 

Step 2: Mix cinnamon sugar. In a small bowl or spice jar, combine sugar, cinnamon and vanilla powder (if using). Whisk together or stir well with a fork. 

Step 3: Add butter. Slice butter as thinly as possible. This ensures a quick melting and even coating. If you have softened butter, bravo! Spread on a nice layer on one side of the bread all the way to the edges. 

Step 4: Sprinkle topping. Sprinkle about 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon sugar mixture over each piece of toast. It is worth having a tiny bit of patience at this moment, so every inch of toast will get a nice caramelized sugar topping. If you are using unsalted butter, you can add a tiny pinch of salt to each toast.

Step 5: Broil the toast. Place baking sheet on the uppermost rack under the broiler and broil 2-3 minutes, or until the sugar is bubbling and the top is golden brown. It will burn quickly, so it is best to set a time and watch it. 

Step 6: Serve. Remove baking sheet from the oven, allow toast to cool slightly, then serve! 

For crunchier toast, I do recommend either pre-toasting the bread in a toaster oven or bake the assembled toasts in the oven preheated to 350°F for 5-8 minutes, then broiling 1-2 minutes. 

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this easy snack recipe. Check out our other delicious appetizer & snack recipes or find the perfect bread for this recipe in our yeast bread recipes!