Homemade cinnamon toast crunch – cinnamon breakfast croutons Recipe
Cinnamon breakfast croutons are a homemade version of the popular American breakfast cereal Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Bread cut into cubes, coated in butter, sugar and cinnamon, is baked into crunchy bites that you can eat with milk or yogurt. It’s a great way to use up stale bread and make kids “cereal” without the long ingredient list from a box.
This recipe turns simple bread into crunchy, cinnamon-sugar bites that taste like a favourite cereal but are made from basic pantry ingredients. It’s budget-friendly, reduces food waste and feels like a treat.
Chef's tips
Use bread that’s at least a day old – it soaks up the butter mixture better and bakes up crunchier. Spread the cubes in a single layer so they dry evenly and don’t steam.
How to serve
Serve in small bowls for kids to snack on during movie night, or pack in airtight containers as a sweet lunchbox treat. They’re also great as a crunchy topping for fruit salads or baked apples.
Ingredients
- sandwich bread can be slightly stale - 6 slices
- butter melted - 60 g
- sugar - 40 g
- brown sugar for a caramel flavour, can be replaced with white sugar - 20 g
- ground cinnamon - 1.5 teaspoons
- pinch of salt - 0.25 teaspoons
- vanilla extract optional - 0.5 teaspoons
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 160°C top and bottom heat. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Cut the bread slices into cubes about 1–1.5 cm on each side. Transfer to a large bowl.
- In a separate small bowl mix the melted butter, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and vanilla extract until you get a thick, fragrant sauce.
- Pour the butter-sugar mixture over the bread cubes and mix thoroughly with your hands or a large spoon so every cube is coated.
- Spread the bread in an even layer on the prepared tray. Bake for 20–25 minutes, gently stirring every 8–10 minutes, until the cubes are dry, crunchy and golden.
- Remove the tray from the oven and leave the croutons to cool completely – they will firm up and become even crunchier as they cool.
- Serve like breakfast cereal: in a bowl with milk or yogurt, or simply as a sweet snack to nibble on.
Storage
Once completely cooled, store the cinnamon croutons in an airtight jar or container at room temperature for up to a week. If they soften, you can briefly re-crisp them in a low oven.
Whenever I have leftover sandwich bread, I turn it into these cinnamon croutons. They disappear so fast that I often have to hide a jar if I want any left for breakfast the next day.
