This Hawaiian Roll French Toast recipe is one of my favorite breakfast recipes. Kings Hawaiian rolls are submerged in a simple french toast batter, fried in salty butter and tossed in cinnamon sugar. I recommend serving with salted caramel or regular syrup.
Table of Contents
What is Hawaiian Roll French Toast?
Hawaiian Roll French Toast with Cinnamon Sugar is a delightful twist on the classic breakfast favorite, blending the sweet, pillowy softness of King's Hawaiian rolls with the rich and indulgent flavors of French toast.
Each sweet roll is soaked in batter and fried to perfection in a skillet with just the right amount of salty butter, creating a perfect contrast of flavors and textures.
The final touch, a generous coating of cinnamon sugar, adds a sweet and spicy note that dances on the palate.
To make it even more delicious, I love drizzling it with a rich, salty caramel sauce or classic maple syrup.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Eggs - No real substitute for eggs in this recipe unless you use the vegan egg alternatives. I have never used these but I imagine they work the same.
- Half n Half - Whole milk works fine if you don't have half and half
- Cinnamon - If you don't like cinnamon, you can leave it out or replace it with a spoonful of white sugar.
- Vanilla Extract - Same goes with vanilla extract. If you're not a fan, leave it out or swap it for another extract like almond, rum or even butter.
- Salted Butter - If you're using unsalted butter, just add a pinch of salt when you're melting the butter.
- Kings Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls - These are the OG - there are no subs for them.
- Cinnamon Sugar - this is optional but it adds so much flavor to the french toast.
- Salted Caramel - You could substitute regular ole' syrup if you're not into salted caramel.
How to make them
Making Hawaiian rolls french toast is so easy! And best of all, it's incredibly delicious!
Begin by grabbing a medium sized bowl and add eggs, half n half, cinnamon and vanilla and whisk until combined and smooth.
Now tear your sweet rolls into individual pieces and submerge them in the French toast batter for about 15-20 seconds but no longer as they will get too soggy.
Meanwhile, heat a large fry pan over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoon of salted butter.
Add half of the soaked rolls and cook until golden brown on all 6 sides.
Remove them from the pan, add the rest of the butter and the rest of the rolls and repeat the process.
Once they’re all cooked, add white sugar and cinnamon to a shallow bowl or dish and stir until combined.
Toss each one of the cooked French toast sweet rolls in the cinnamon sugar until coated.
Plate them and serve with salted caramel sauce for dipping or syrup if you're more traditional.
What goes with Hawaiian Roll French Toast
Hawaiian roll french toast is the perfect breakfast recipe. Since they're so sweet, I recommend serving it with savory dishes like:
- Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
- Easy Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit Sandwich
- Bacon and Cheese Strata
- Hawaiian Roll Breakfast Sliders
- Cheesy French Onion Crockpot Potatoes
Variations
If you're not into the churro approach, here are some more flavors that will take your hawaiian roll french toast to the next level.
- Diced Strawberries & Condensed Milk
- Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer and Whipped Cream
- Blueberry Jam and Sweet Cream
- Guava and Cream Cheese
- Simple Maple Syrup and Salted Butter
Recipe
Hawaiian Roll French Toast with Cinnamon Sugar
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large Eggs
- ¾ cup Half n Half
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3 tablespoon Salted Butter divided
- 1 12 pack Kings Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls
- ¼ cup White Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ⅓ cup Salted Caramel or syrup for dipping
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, combine eggs, half n half, cinnamon and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Tear your sweet rolls into individual pieces and submerge them in the French toast batter for about 15-20 seconds but no longer as they will get too soggy.
- Meanwhile, heat a large fry pan over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoon of salted butter.
- Add half of the rolls and cook until golden brown on all 6 sides. Remove them from the pan, add the rest of the butter and the rest of the rolls and repeat the process.
- Once they’re all cooked, you can either serve them right away OR add white sugar and cinnamon to a shallow bowl or dish and stir until combined. oss each one of the cooked French toast sweet rolls in the cinnamon sugar until coated.
- Plate them and serve with salted caramel sauce (or syrup) for dipping.
Jaime
Made these as a Christmas Eve dessert and they were AMAZING!!! Absolutely delicious, and only took 20 minutes of work. Make these!!
Cori
Can you cut the rolls smaller or should they be left in original size? They look usual size while soaking but smaller in your hand. Thank you!
grilledcheesesocial
I left them in their original shape but you could for sure cut them... just don't let them soak for very long bc they get soggy fast 😉
Russell
These look and sound great! Going to serve mine with some warm cinnamon syrup!!