Air Fryer Croissant French Toast with Strawberries

Air fryer croissant french toast is what happens when you stop using sandwich bread and start using something with actual butter in it. The croissant layers crisp up into shattery, caramelized edges while the inside turns custardy and soft — and the whole thing takes 18 minutes.

I make this with roasted strawberries on top, because the tartness cuts straight through all that butter. But the base recipe works with whatever fruit you’ve got.

If you’ve only ever made air fryer cinnamon french toast with regular bread, this is the upgrade.

Why Croissants Beat Bread for French Toast

Regular bread absorbs custard evenly and cooks evenly. Croissants don’t — and that’s the point.

A croissant is dozens of laminated butter layers. When you dip one, the custard soaks into the cut face and the airy interior, but the outer shell stays relatively dry. In the air fryer, that dry shell crisps and browns hard while the soaked interior sets into something closer to bread pudding.

You get two textures in one bite. Sandwich bread can’t do that.

The air fryer matters here too. A skillet only browns the two flat sides. Circulating hot air hits every ridge and fold of the croissant, so the whole surface crisps instead of just the top and bottom.

Ingredients Needed For Air Fryer Croissant French Toast

Remember, the step-by-step directions and detailed ingredient list are below in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, as well as the nutritional information.

For the French Toast:

• Croissants: Day-old bakery croissants hold their shape best.
• Eggs: Large eggs bind the custard and add richness.
• Whole Milk: Creates a tender, creamy custard interior every time.
• Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the custard and helps edges caramelize beautifully.
• Vanilla Extract: Adds warm aroma that pairs with buttery croissants.
• Ground Cinnamon: Brings gentle spice without overpowering the strawberries.
• Salt: Just a pinch keeps the custard from tasting flat.
• Butter: Greases the basket and prevents any sticking issues.

For the Roasted Strawberries:

• Fresh Strawberries: Hulled and halved, they soften into jammy sweetness.
• Granulated Sugar: Draws out juice and creates a light syrup.
• Lemon Juice: Brightens the berries and balances all that butter.

Substitutions: Half-and-half in place of milk makes it richer; oat milk works for dairy-free. Costco croissants run large — use 3 instead of 4.

Day-old croissants are genuinely better here. A fresh croissant is too tender and collapses in the custard. If yours are fresh, split them and leave them uncovered for a few hours, or dry them in the air fryer at 300°F for 3 minutes and let them cool.

How to Make Air Fryer Croissant French Toast

Step 1: Roast the strawberries. Toss the halved strawberries with sugar and lemon juice. Air fry at 350°F for 6–8 minutes until they’ve slumped and released their juice. Set aside — they’ll thicken as they cool. You can do this the night before.

Step 2: Split the croissants. Cut each croissant in half lengthwise, like you’re making a sandwich. You’ll have 8 halves.

Step 3: Whisk the custard. In a shallow bowl wide enough to lay a croissant half flat, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until completely smooth. No streaks of egg white.

Step 4: Don’t soak. Lay each croissant half cut-side down in the custard for about 5 seconds, then flip and give the outside 3 seconds. That’s it. Let the excess drip off. This is the step people get wrong, and it’s the difference between crisp and soggy.

Step 5: Preheat and grease. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F for 3 minutes. Rub the basket with butter.

Step 6: Air fry. Place the halves cut-side up in a single layer — don’t stack or overlap them. Cook 4–5 minutes, flip gently with a thin spatula, then cook another 3–4 minutes until deep golden and crisp at the edges.

Step 7: Serve immediately. Spoon the roasted strawberries over the top, add whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar, and drizzle with maple syrup.

Air Fryer Temperature and Time

Croissant size	Temperature	First side	After flip
Standard (grocery bakery)	350°F	4 minutes	3 minutes
Large (Costco-style)	350°F	5 minutes	4 minutes
Mini croissants	350°F	3 minutes	2 minutes
Stuffed (Nutella, cream cheese)	340°F	5 minutes	4 minutes

Air fryers vary more than any other appliance in your kitchen. Check at the earliest time listed. If you’re new to yours, my air fryer cooking charts and tips cover the calibration basics.

No Air Fryer? Oven Method

Heat the oven to 400°F. Place the dipped croissant halves cut-side up on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 12–14 minutes, flipping at the 8-minute mark. You won’t get quite the same all-over crispness, but it’s close, and it handles a bigger batch at once.

Troubleshooting

Soggy in the middle. You soaked too long. Croissants are already porous — 5 seconds per side is genuinely enough.

Burnt outside, wet inside. Your air fryer runs hot. Drop to 330°F and add 2 minutes.

They fell apart when I flipped them. Use a thin metal spatula and slide it fully underneath before lifting. Flipping at the 4-minute mark rather than earlier also helps — they firm up as they cook.

Not browning. Overcrowded basket. Air needs to circulate. Cook in two batches and hold the first batch in a 200°F oven.

Sticking to the basket. Butter the basket, or use a perforated parchment liner. Solid parchment blocks airflow and defeats the whole purpose.

Variations

• Nutella-stuffed — spread Nutella on the cut side before dipping, then press the halves back together
• Almond croissant — a thin layer of almond paste inside, sliced almonds on top after cooking
• Cream cheese and jam — softened cream cheese plus raspberry preserves, stuffed before dipping
• Savory — skip the sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon; add black pepper and grated gruyère
• Blueberry lemon — swap the strawberries for blueberries and add lemon zest to the custard

If strawberries and cream is your thing, my air fryer strawberry shortcake french toast takes the same idea in a different direction, with a sweetened cream cheese layer.

Storing and Reheating

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat in the air fryer at 350°F for 3–4 minutes. This is the only method worth using — it re-crisps the exterior completely. Microwaving turns them to steam-soaked mush, and the oven takes twice as long for a worse result.

You can freeze them, cooked and fully cooled, in a single layer for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen at 350°F for 6–7 minutes.

The roasted strawberries keep separately in the fridge for 5 days and are excellent on yogurt.

What to Serve With It

This is rich, so it wants something to balance it — crisp bacon, breakfast sausage, or just black coffee. For a bigger spread, air fryer french toast and sausage roll-ups cover the sweet-and-savory angle in one bite, and air fryer french toast sticks are the version my kids ask for on school mornings.

Planning ahead? The strawberries and custard can both be made the night before — it’s a good addition to my weekly meal plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you toast croissants in an air fryer? Yes. To simply warm and crisp a plain croissant with no custard, air fry at 320°F for 3–4 minutes. Split it first if you want the interior crisp too. It’s the best way to revive a day-old croissant — better than the oven, and dramatically better than the microwave.

How do you air fry a croissant from frozen? Cook frozen baked croissants at 320°F for 5–6 minutes. For frozen raw croissant dough, air fry at 300°F for 12–15 minutes, checking at 10.

What can I make with leftover croissants? This recipe is the best use for them — stale croissants actually outperform fresh ones. Beyond french toast, day-old croissants make excellent grilled cheese, breakfast sandwiches, and bread pudding. Anything that involves soaking or melting rewards a drier croissant.

Do I need to preheat the air fryer? Yes. A cold basket means the custard sets slowly and the exterior never crisps properly. Three minutes at 350°F is enough.

Can I make this ahead? Partially. Whisk the custard and roast the strawberries up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate. Dip and cook right before serving — dipped croissants don’t hold.

Can I use crescent roll dough instead of croissants? Not for this recipe. Crescent dough is raw and needs to bake through before it could handle custard. Use fully baked croissants.

How do I make it dairy-free? Use oat or almond milk in the custard and oil instead of butter for the basket. You’ll need dairy-free croissants, which are harder to find but do exist at specialty bakeries.

Is croissant french toast the same as french toast casserole? No. A casserole soaks torn croissants overnight and bakes as one dish. This keeps the halves intact so you get crisp edges on every piece — a casserole is uniformly soft throughout.

Why did my croissants shrink? They were too fresh. The air pockets in a just-baked croissant collapse under custard. Day-old is the fix.

More Air Fryer French Toast

• Air Fryer Cinnamon French Toast — the classic, with thick-cut bread
• Air Fryer Cinnamon Raisin French Toast — built on cinnamon raisin bread
• Air Fryer Pumpkin French Toast — for fall mornings

Browse every air fryer french toast recipe or the full air fryer recipe collection.