Coconut Cinnamon French Toast Muffins with Blueberries

Name: Coconut Cinnamon French Toast Muffins with Blueberries
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 5 tablespoons butter, divided; 5 large eggs; 1 can coconut milk; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut; 9 cups 1-inch cubed bread from a French loaf; 1 cup blueberries; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup all purpose flour; pinch of kosher salt; powdered sugar, for serving; maple syrup, for serving

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Like a cozy hug. Coconut Cinnamon French Toast Muffins with Blueberries have all the deliciousness of French toast in a fun to eat muffin. Coconut milk makes these muffins extra rich and AMAZING! A brown sugar streusel crumble puts them over the top. Perfect for breakfast or a mid afternoon snack.

a powdered sugar topped French toast muffin with blueberries.

Monday thru Friday are for eating healthy. Am I right?

But weekends are for cozy breakfasts that are a little out of the ordinary. When Saturday and Sunday roll around, lingering over a Fresh Herb Zucchini Pie, a Crustless Spinach and Bacon Quiche Squares, or these fluffy cinnamony French Toast Muffins along with big mugs of hot coffee is heavenly.

what's to love about this recipe

It's unique! ~ Traditional French toast is delicious. But these muffins are delicious and out of the ordinary. They're a combination of custardy French toast and airy bread pudding making them amazing!
It feeds a group ~ No more flipping individual pieces of French toast. This muffin recipe makes enough to feed at least 6 hungry breakfast guests.
The muffins reheat beautifully ~ If you've got some sleepy heads in the morning, just reheat the muffins when they wake up. They can be made in advance. Heat on 60% power in the microwave at 30 second intervals.

coconut milk, coconut, butter, bread cubes, cinnamon.

the ingredients for French Toast Muffins

With all the ingredients for French toast (with a couple changes to up the scrumptiousness), these muffins are just the fun twist on the traditional recipe.

salted butter
large eggs
coconut milk ~ Use full fat and not low fat coconut milk to add extra richness to the muffins.
vanilla extract
cinnamon
nutmeg
unsweetened shredded coconut ~ In a pinch, use sweetened shredded coconut.
cubed bread from a French loaf ~ A sturdy loaf that holds up to the custard works best. Airy bread will dissolve in the custard.
blueberries ~ Fresh berries are my first choice. But frozen ones work too.
light brown sugar ~ Dark brown sugar is an alternative.
all purpose flour
kosher salt
powdered sugar
maple syrup

Scroll to the complete recipe for the full quantities of the ingredients.

baked French toast muffins in a muffin tin.

the recipe steps

A little like bread pudding and a little like a muffin. The aroma is intoxicating as the muffins bake in the oven.

My inspiration for the muffins is from the fluffy pancake/bread pudding version of this recipe. I developed my childhood favorite of custardy in the middle and golden brown on the edges French toast into a streusel topped muffin instead.

It all starts with a standard custard. But with a few changes.

After beating the eggs, stir in sweet, floral and nutty coconut milk instead of the usual cow's milk. Add in an extra dose of coconut to the custard with some unsweetened and shredded coconut. Warm spices of cinnamon and nutmeg and a some caramelly vanilla extract finish off the custard.

Stir the bread cubes into the custard. You'll want to use a sturdy loaf French bread for the perfect French toast muffins.

Scoop the muffin batter into a greased nonstick muffin pan. A one cup measure works well for this task. Tuck a few blueberries among the coconut custardy soaked bread.

If these French toast muffins weren't already delicious enough, a buttery brown sugar streusel is the topper.

After baking for about 25 minutes, let the muffins cool for a few minutes before removing them from the pan. Serve with a couple shakes of powdered sugar and warm maple syrup.

a few chef tips for recipe success

Cut the bread into about 1-inch cubes. A sturdy loaf of French bread is perfect for these French toast muffins. The cubes will hold their shape even after soaking up the custard. That makes for the wonderfully jagged muffin tops. Better to grab all the streusel crumbles!
For a more sugary French toast muffin, add sweetened flaked coconut instead of the unsweetened flaked coconut.
If you stir the berries in along with the bread cubes, they are likely to break and mash. Tuck them in around the bread cubes after scooping the custard soaked bread into the muffin cups.

FAQs for French toast muffins

What type of muffin pan is best for making French toast muffins?

A nonstick muffin pan is insurance that the muffins will come out in one piece. Coating the inside of the pan with melted butter (cooking spray is also an option) is extra assurance for beautiful muffins.

How do you ensure the muffins won't stick to the pan?

Coat the muffin pan with butter or cooking spray. Also, don't rush to take the muffins out of the pan. Let them cool for 5 minutes or so. Then run a knife around the edges to loosen any caramelized streusel around the muffin tops. A fork can help lift the warm French toast muffins out of the pan.

just one more thing

If you make these fun to eat and deliciously awesome French Toast Muffins, I’d love hearing from you.

Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.

Also check out my Facebook and Pinterest pages for lots of fabulous foodie stories and videos, cooking tips, and recipes.

a French toast muffin with powdered sugar.

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