
4 ingredients and 4 minutes are all you need for the perfect afternoon snack or breakfast treat! This cinnamon toast recipe is a faster method that still delivers a crunchy, caramelized cinnamon sugar crust on slightly soft toast!

Why You Will Love This
- A tasty snack in less than 5 minutes! Believe it or not, there are several ways to make cinnamon toast. The most elaborate is to make a cinnamon sugar compound butter and spread that over slices of bread before baking then broiling, but that requires planning and softening butter. As a mother of 2, that isn’t a luxury I often have!
- I bring you an alternate way to get that same crunchy, caramelized cinnamon sugar crust on top of soft toast! As a pastry chef I am always looking for more efficient, faster ways to achieve the same results, and today I apply that to toast!
- I’ve written the recipe to use all the cinnamon sugar, but you don’t need to make 8! I store the cinnamon sugar in my spice cabinet and make about 2 pieces of cinnamon toast at a time!
- One optional secret ingredient. I will say that the benefit of making cinnamon sugar butter is that you can add vanilla extract like Ree Drummond did. This is a way to get the same flavor without having to make a flavored butter.

Ingredients & Substitutions
- Granulated Sugar: I always use granulated white sugar but you could use light brown sugar. I think substituting half the white sugar for brown sugar would be a better alternative.
- Ground Cinnamon: Ultimately the ratio of cinnamon is up to you. My family loves cinnamon, so I am on the heavier handed side. If you aren’t sure, reduce the cinnamon to 2 teaspoons for every 4 tablespoons of sugar!
- Butter: You can use unsalted butter or salted butter depending on what you have on hand. I think both are delightful but I do slightly prefer salted butter!
- Vanilla Powder: Vanilla powder is completely optional but kind of an awesome ingredient to have on hand. You can use it as a 1:1 substitute for vanilla extract but it doesn’t add a brownish tint. This is especially wonderful in buttercreams like my vanilla buttercream frosting!
- Slices of Bread: This is where your own personal flare can come into play! If you want to pretend this is a healthy snack, use whole wheat bread or even multigrain bread, but you want this to be the treat that it always was for me, then cut off a thick slice of cinnamon swirl bread, brioche loaf, or even challah and get toasting! It goes without saying that you can use your favorite store-bought bread!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations

How to Make this Fast Cinnamon Toast Recipe
Use these instructions to make caramelized cinnamon sugar toast in under 5 minutes! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Prep the bread. Place desired number of slices of bread on a baking sheet, and adjust the top rack to the highest setting.
Step 2: Mix cinnamon sugar. In a small bowl or spice jar, combine sugar, cinnamon and vanilla powder (if using). Whisk together or stir well with a fork.
Step 3: Add butter. Slice butter as thinly as possible. This ensures a quick melting and even coating. If you have softened butter, bravo! Spread on a nice layer on one side of the bread all the way to the edges.
Step 4: Sprinkle topping. Sprinkle about 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon sugar mixture over each piece of toast. It is worth having a tiny bit of patience at this moment, so every inch of toast will get a nice caramelized sugar topping. If you are using unsalted butter, you can add a tiny pinch of salt to each toast.
Step 5: Broil the toast. Place baking sheet on the uppermost rack under the broiler and broil 2-3 minutes, or until the sugar is bubbling and the top is golden brown. It will burn quickly, so it is best to set a time and watch it.
Step 6: Serve. Remove baking sheet from the oven, allow toast to cool slightly, then serve!
For crunchier toast, I do recommend either pre-toasting the bread in a toaster oven or bake the assembled toasts in the oven preheated to 350°F for 5-8 minutes, then broiling 1-2 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
I don’t recommend making this toast in advance. It is best eaten warm, straight from the oven! It only takes 5 minutes, so just keep the cinnamon sugar in your spice cabinet in an empty cinnamon spice jar or a small OXO pop container for when the craving strikes.
You can make as large a batch as you’d like. I recommend lining up the toast on a rimmed baking sheet, assembling and then broiling in batches!

Recommended Cinnamon Bread Recipes
Breakfast & Brunch
Breakfast & Brunch
Rolls & Biscuits
Yeast Breads
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
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Place the desired number of slices of bread on a baking sheet, and adjust the top rack to the highest setting.
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In a small bowl or spice jar, combine sugar, cinnamon and vanilla powder (if using). Whisk together or stir well with a fork.
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Slice butter as thinly as possible. This ensures a quick melting and even coating. If you have softened butter, bravo! Spread on a nice layer all the way to the edges.
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Sprinkle about 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon sugar over each piece of toast. It is worth having a tiny bit of patience at this moment, so every inch of toast will get a nice caramelized sugar topping.
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Place the baking sheet on the uppermost rack under the broiler and broil 2-3 minutes, or until the sugar is bubbling and golden brown. It will burn quickly, so it is best to set a time and watch it.
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Remove the baking sheet from the oven, allow toast to cool slightly, then serve!
Variations – For crunchier toast, I do recommend either pre-toasting the bread or baking the assembled toasts in the oven preheated to 350°F for 5-8 minutes, then broiling 1-2 minutes.
Storage – I don’t recommend making this toast in advance. It is best eaten warm, straight from the oven!
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 147kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 136mg, Potassium: 62mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 178IU, Vitamin C: 0.04mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
