Almond Croissant French Toast

Almond Croissant French Toast

I’m not usually a frangipane person, but a flaky croissant filled with the sweet almond cream? Absolutely obsessed. This recipe, from my book “A Cozy Kitchen Cookbook” (Ten Speed Press, 2026), takes all that almond-y goodness and bakes it into a warm, golden casserole. It starts with store-bought plain croissants: Don’t go hunting for the high-quality ones! Since this is essentially a bread pudding, grocery-store croissants are ideal here. The casserole can be assembled the night before and baked off in the morning with the crunchy sliced almonds on top. It’s the perfect make-ahead brunch: rich, cozy and just the right amount of fancy.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Nonstick cooking spray

6 store-bought plain croissants, about 1 pound total (see Tip)

4 large eggs

½ cup/105 grams light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

¼ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

2 cups/480 grams half-and-half

¼ cup/25 grams sliced almonds

For serving

Powdered sugar

Maple syrup or whipped cream (or both)

Coat an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan (or a 2-quart casserole dish) with nonstick spray. Roughly tear each croissant into 5 or 6 pieces and arrange evenly in the baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt until combined. Whisk in the half-and-half to make a cohesive custard. Pour the custard over the croissants as evenly as possible, then lightly press to encourage the croissants to soak up the liquid. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature (you can start heating the oven now), or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the French toast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custard is set and the almonds are golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 15 to 25 minutes.

To serve, dust French toast with powdered sugar. Serve in big scoops with maple syrup, whipped cream or both.

Tip

Seek out grocery store croissants (rather than a more authentic variety from a nice bakery) for the French toast — this is a great way to make the most of them.

This was absolutely delicious and we're actually making it a second night in a row, which we almost never do with any recipe. The croissants come out creamy on the bottom and crispy on top, which is a really wonderful contrast. The flavor is very almond forward, and I would recommend preparing the recipe as written the first time, before experimenting with adding almond paste.

Finely grated almond paste would incorporate nicely into the custard. I made many hotel-size pans of bread pudding when I worked a pastry chef. Always used stale croissants (coarsely torn, lightly toasted if necessary). I still make bread pudding - albeit on a much smaller scale - and buy croissants at Costco. They are relatively inexpensive and good quality. Offer some bourbon crème Anglaise on the side…just delicious.

Not having made this, but having made a variety of other bread puddings, it should work just fine. I would suggest crumbling it into small pieces (or even coarsely grated) and sprinkling in before pouring in the custard mix.