Delicious Twists On French Toast That Will Stir Your Cravings

French toast is a staple on many a breakfast, brunch, or anytime table. As it turns out, when you soak stale bread in beaten eggs and milk and then pan-fry it, you get a divine ratio of crisp to moist that has surely been igniting cravings since the dish first became a thing back in 4th-century Rome or the Medieval era. It's hard to pin down an exact origin for French toast, just as it's not easy to land on a single name for it globally. It's eggy bread in the U.K., pain perdu (lost bread) in France, and has an array of other monikers worldwide. Whatever you call it, French toast is undeniably as versatile a food as the mighty egg.

A good, basic French toast recipe is an already delicious blank canvas just waiting for inspired cooks to put their creative touches on it, which they have done in spades. How many variations of French toast are out there? The number is unknowable, but these some upgrades that make our mouths water with anticipation.

The best bread for French toast depends on the texture you're going for. Thin-sliced sandwich bread gone a little stale is the classic, but brioche and challah make excellent French toast too, as does sourdough. That said, we've got another suggestion: Hawaiian rolls. Hear us out.

If you're not a fan of soggy bread, texture can be a concern with French toast. Some breads are more absorbent than others, and although you want it to soak up the egg mixture, you don't want it to soak up too much or you're in for a limp, soggy experience. Hawaiian rolls are similar to sourdough bread in that they're dense and slow-absorbing. (Unlike sourdough, however, they provide a hint of sweetness.) They're notably thick, too, so to make sure they absorb enough liquid, poke a few holes in the bottom of them with a toothpick before soaking them in your egg mixture, and don't leave them in it for more than 30 seconds. Cook them like you would any other French toast, browning on all sides.

Nutella — perhaps the world's most popular chocolate hazelnut spread — is a relative newcomer to the United States, having only first graced us with its presence in 1983, but it's gained a loyal following throughout the years. There's a fascinating history and culture around Nutella, but what we're most interested in is its chocolaty, nutty richness. It's commonly spread on crêpes and bread, so incorporating Nutella into a good French toast recipe is a natural next step.

You could easily treat it like a delicious afterthought, spreading it on your French toast slices when they come hot off the pan. However, we're advocating for getting the Nutella really involved. Nutella French toast is a dangerously simple recipe that consists of Nutella sandwiches dipped in the egg mixture and cooked up. Add a side or topping of sliced strawberries or bananas and you've got a colorful, flavorful dish you'll come back to time and again.

French toast is normally cooked on the stovetop, but letting your oven and baking pan do the work instead produces equally toothsome results. A major perk of baked French toast casseroles: They're the superior choice when feeding a group, as a single casserole yields anywhere from four to 12 servings. You can whip it up the morning of or prepare it the evening before, leaving it in the fridge overnight to soak in the liquid. Either method is a mostly hands-off approach that frees you up to fry some bacon or make mint and fruit salad as a side dish.

When making the switch from pan-fried French toast to an oven-baked casserole, make sure you're using robust bread. Plain white sandwich bread (or any bread that's too soft) can yield soggy results in the oven. A crusty French loaf that's a tad stale is a great option; sourdough, challah, or brioche are excellent too. Slice the bread into 1-inch-thick pieces — or tear it into bite-sized chunks if you're doing something like eggnog French toast casserole — and bake until the top is a rich golden brown and the custard is set.

For an ultra-decadent take on French toast that will call to you more than once, consider a stuffed cannoli version. Cannoli are a traditional Sicilian dessert consisting of rolled up pastry shells stuffed with a sweet, creamy ricotta cheese mixture and deep-fried until brown and crisp. When making cannoli-stuffed French toast, the filling is the key takeaway from the original dessert. Your bread replaces the shells, and you'll use the same principle as with Nutella-stuffed French toast by making sandwiches out of the filling, soaking them in your egg mixture, and pan-frying or baking them.

To create your filling, you could adapt this Sicilian cannoli recipe to suit your desired servings of French toast. Alternatively, to keep things super-simple (and a tad lighter), mix together 1 cup of ricotta, ¼ cup of powdered sugar, and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add in ⅓ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Spoon out your cannoli filling onto two slices of bread, allowing ½ cup for each slice. Place the other slices, making the aforementioned "sandwiches," and pan-fry.

French toast already boasts a wild interplay of textures, from the crisp exterior to the custardy insides to whatever ooey-gooey fillings you opt for. Sometimes you want a little extra crunch, though. Nuts can provide that, but there's another pantry staple that adds an enjoyable crackling crispness to French toast; it also happens to be more budget-friendly than nuts. We're talking about breakfast cereal.

Crushed cornflakes are the most common cereal for this textural treat, but you're free to use any type you like, even Cinnamon Toast Crunch if you want to stay really on brand. Froot Loops could be a fun take (don't worry about having a weird mixture of fruit flavors; all Froot Loop colors taste the same). Rice Krispies work too, though their flavor won't be quite as pronounced in the finished product. The idea is simple: After soaking your bread in the egg mixture, press both sides of the slice into the crushed cereal and cook as usual.

Do a Google image search for the phrase "French toast fruit," and your computer screen will be saturated with red and blue. Strawberries and blueberries are the classic fruity accompaniment to French toast, and there's nothing wrong with that. They look pretty; they taste great. The only issue is that there's another fruit out there with the ability to wow when incorporated into French toast, and you might never think of it on your own. It took Martha Stewart's recipe for orange French toast to show us the light.

Martha doesn't have you covering your slices in orange marmalade or dousing them with hyper-sweet orange syrup. Instead, something much more subtle happens: a sophisticated, citrusy step up courtesy of orange zest, orange juice, and a smidge of orange liqueur. This trio goes right into the egg mixture itself. The result is a bright, perfectly integrated splash of orange flavor that sings its note loud and clear without silencing the rest of the ensemble. Top it with whatever appeals to you, whether that's caramelized orange slices, a dollop of marmalade, or just a pat of melting butter.