Vegan French Toast - The BEST Easy Recipe! (2024)

How to make the best vegan French toast at home, with crispy golden edges and a delicious custard-like center. You’ll never miss the eggs!

Vegan French Toast - The BEST Easy Recipe! (1)

Before going vegan, French toast used to be one of my favorite brunch foods.

Whether at a fancy restaurant or a Sunday family breakfast, I loved the soft custard texture of the soaked bread topped with powdered sugar or butter and maple syrup.

This easy vegan version is just as good as the classic original breakfast, and it’s a great way to use up leftover bread.

Readers also love these Healthy Blueberry Muffins

Above, watch the video for how to make vegan French toast

Vegan French toast ingredients

You need the following ingredients for the recipe: sliced bread of choice, banana (or coconut cream or flax eggs for a version with no banana), nondairy milk, sweetener, a pinch of salt, optional nutritional yeast, and an optional sprinkle of cinnamon.

There’s no soy or tofu, no heavy cream, no eggs (not even aquafaba), and no expensive vegan binders like chickpea flour or just egg.

It’s a simple vegan French toast recipe made with only basic ingredients you can find at a regular grocery store.

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What kind of bread to use?

While almost any type of day old bread can technically be used to make French toast, spongy, hearty, sturdy breads are best because they won’t fall apart after being soaked in batter or when flipping.

Brioche, French baguette, sourdough, or challah are top choices for French toast. Be sure to read the loaf ingredients, as brioche and challah often contain eggs and are therefore not vegan.

Honestly, I usually just use up whatever bread I have on hand, even if it’s a kind that’s not often recommended for French toast, such as soft whole wheat or whole grain sandwich bread or English muffins.

As a fun variation, I love using cinnamon raisin bread to make cinnamon French toast.

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Vegan French Toast - The BEST Easy Recipe! (5)

French toast serving suggestions

Pure maple syrup and vegan butter

Powdered sugar and blueberries

Peanut butter and mashed banana

Almond butter and raspberry jam

Fresh sliced strawberries and Coconut Whipped Cream

Baked peaches and cinnamon

Mini chocolate chips or chocolate syrup

Or for savory French toast, the plant based breakfast dish is great with roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, melted vegan cheese or nutritional yeast, sliced or mashed avocado or Avocado Salad, or my homemade Mushroom Gravy.

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How to make French toast

To prevent soggy French toast (unless you’re like me and don’t mind it that way), either let the bread sit out uncovered overnight or bake the slices in a preheated oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until their moisture dries out.

In a bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the bread to make your eggless French toast batter. Dip each slice of bread fully into the mixture, then place the slices in a shallow dish.

Pour all remaining liquid over top. Let it soak into the slices for 10-15 minutes, flipping the soaked bread halfway through.

Grease a nonstick pan, and add as many slices as will fit. Cook 1 1/2 minutes over medium heat. Then flip and cook an additional minute or until the bread is lightly browned.

Repeat with the remaining slices. Serve hot, with your favorite French toast toppings.

You can also cut the slices, either before or after cooking, for vegan French toast sticks. (As a kid, I used to love ordering the French toast sticks at Burger King and was surprised to recently discover that they’re accidentally vegan.)

Or triple the vegetarian recipe, layer the slices in an oven safe pan, and bake the soaked slices in the oven for a baked vegan French toast casserole.

Vegan French Toast - The BEST Easy Recipe! (7)

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Vegan French Toast

How to make the best vegan French toast at home, with crispy golden edges and a custard center.

Vegan French Toast - The BEST Easy Recipe! (8)

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Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes minutes

Total Time 14 minutes minutes

Yield 4 slices

5 from 19 votes

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bread of choice
  • 1/3 cup mashed banana or coconut cream, or 2 flax eggs
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp milk of choice
  • 1 tbsp sweetener of choice
  • optional sprinkle of cinnamon
  • optional 2 tsp nutritional yeast, for flavor

Instructions

  • Unless you like soggy French toast (I actually do!), either let the bread sit uncovered overnight or bake the slices at 300 F for 15 minutes or until they dry out. Whisk together all ingredients except the bread. Dip each slice fully into the mixture. Place slices in a shallow dish, pour remaining liquid on top, and let soak for 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Grease a nonstick pan. Add the slices to the pan and cook 1 1/2 minutes, then flip and cook an additional minute or until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining slices.

    View Nutrition Facts

Notes

Readers also really love this Vegan Chocolate Cake.

Have you made this recipe?

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Vegan Breakfast Ideas

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Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Vegan French Toast - The BEST Easy Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

Should French toast have more eggs or milk? ›

Whatever you decide on, the ratio of liquid to egg will still be about ¼ cup liquid to one egg, and one egg per two slices of bread. So, if you want to make four slices of French toast, you would need four slices of bread, two eggs, and ½ cup milk. How's that for an easy recipe?

How do you make French toast taste less like eggs? ›

A basic rule of thumb is about 1/4 cup of milk and one egg per two-slice serving—and if you want to avoid that "scrambled" taste, use only the yolks of some or all of the eggs. (Sulfur compounds in the whites are what give eggs their unique "egg" taste.)

Is heavy cream or milk better for French toast? ›

A creamy custard is the key to incredible French toast, so skip the watery skim milk and go for whole milk or half-and-half. Straight heavy cream turns French toast into dessert, so lean that way if you're looking for decadence.

What is the most common fault when making French toast? ›

The 7 Most Common French Toast Cooking Mistakes
  • Adding too much dairy and sugar to the custard. Don't go overboard with the dairy. ...
  • Not mixing the custard thoroughly. ...
  • Not choosing the right bread. ...
  • Under-soaking the bread. ...
  • Using too much heat or not enough. ...
  • Not preheating the pan. ...
  • Only using butter.
Mar 29, 2013

Is it better to make French toast with oil or butter? ›

As you cook the French toast, bits of that nutty brown-butter flavor slowly develop — much slower than they would if you cooked with just butter alone — so the the French toast has time to cook evenly without burning. A neutral oil, like canola, is the way to go since it won't disrupt the flavor of the butter.

What happens if you soak French toast too long? ›

The first is using fresh bread, which soaks up too much of the egg mixture and doesn't cook through, remaining eggy and soggy in the middle. Leaving the bread in the egg mixture for too long is another route to soggy French toast.

What is the secret to good French toast? ›

The secret ingredient in this fluffy French toast recipe: all-purpose flour! Flour binds the liquids together, which creates a more traditional “batter” and helps prevent soggy results. This extra ingredient ensures the French toast is crispy on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside.

Why is restaurant French toast so much better? ›

Restaurant French toast is generally a superior product because of time. Letting it soak in the custard for up to five minutes allows more delicious dairy to be absorbed. This step is where having stale bread is essential. Using soft fresh bread will take on too much custard and become a mushy mess.

What is the best pan for French toast? ›

Your perfect companion for making French toast is a non-stick frying pan. CRISTEL® has an exceptional selection of non-stick frying pans with removable handles that are great for both pan-frying and also oven-cooking.

Why is my French toast falling apart? ›

The reason? "If you use fresh bread, it will soak up the [custard] so quickly that you run the risk of your French toast falling apart," explains Traci Weintraub, founder and head chef at Gracefully Fed. Alternatively, "slightly stale bread tends to hold up better in the liquid mixture," she says.

Why does my French toast look like scrambled eggs? ›

What is the trick to French toast? I like to use all egg yolks (as opposed to whites + yolks) for the French toast batter. This makes things just a little bit more decadent, and it will help you avoid any thick, scrambled egg-type bits on your French toast.

What are the disadvantages of French toast? ›

If you are watching your weight and health then you should know that French toast contains quite a high amount of saturated fat. This could be attributed to the eggs and milk that are among the ingredients of French toast. Saturated fat is one of the types of fats that you should avoid on a regular basis.

How do you know if French toast is cooked all the way? ›

"You know when your French toast is done when the center is set and doesn't have a runny consistency once cut," Oliveira says. If you're cooking a thinner French toast or omitted eggs from your soaking liquid, a quick pan-fry will do the trick, with 3 to 6 minutes on each side.

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