Easy Vegan French Toast

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Vegan French toast is the perfect breakfast for a weekend. Crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside, and so easy to make with only 8 everyday ingredients.

This is the plant-based version of a classic recipe, which is usually made with eggs, milk, and sometimes cream, but this vegan alternative is healthier and lighter and I promise you won’t miss the eggs and dairy at all!

Stalk of vegan French toast on a plate with some maple syrup and vegan butter on top.

It's the perfect recipe for a Sunday morning, so flavorful, thick, and perfect that everybody loves it. Besides, you can customize it and eat it with anything you want.

It's the perfect recipe to make on a Christmas morning as a special treat as it's very rich and extremely decadent, but you can also enjoy this as a part of a wonderful brunch. Explore my Vegan Brunch Recipes for more tasty ideas!

Feel free to serve it with anything you’d like! It pairs really well with maple syrup, vegan butter, vegan whipped cream, Vegan Whipped Cream, powdered sugar, jam, or fresh fruit, among many others!

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🌟 You’ll love this recipe because it is
🧾 Ingredients
🔪 Instructions
📋 Substitutions & variations
🍽 Equipment
❄️ Storage
💭 Expert tips
❓Recipe FAQs
🥞 More vegan breakfast recipes
📖 Recipe

🌟 You’ll love this recipe because it is

Ready in just 20 minutes.
Made with only 8 everyday ingredients.
Extremely easy to make, and doesn't require any special equipment.
A healthier and lighter alternative to the classic recipe, so tasty you won't miss the eggs and dairy.
Perfect for a delicious vegan breakfast, or brunch, but also as a treat on a Christmas morning.

🧾 Ingredients

All-purpose flour: it's used as the egg replacement in this recipe.
Unsweetened non-dairy milk: feel free to use any non-dairy milk you have on hand as long as it's unsweetened. I used soy milk, but almond milk is also a great choice.
Sugar: it adds sweetness and also helps caramelize the bread.
Vanilla extract: homemade or store-bought. You could omit it if you can't find it, but it will make your French toast taste even better.
Ground cinnamon.
Salt: I used ionized salt, but any salt will do.
Bread of choice: stale bread works best for this recipe, so I try to use one-day-old bread when possible.
Vegan butter or coconut oil for frying: using butter will make the toast tastier, but coconut oil is also delicious and healthier.

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

🔪 Instructions

The batter to make vegan French toast in a shallow dish.

Step 1: Whisk all the batter ingredients (flour, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt) in a shallow bowl or dish.

Step 2: Preheat a skillet over medium-low heat (you can also use a griddle). Add the vegan butter or coconut oil to melt.

Step 3: Dip both sides of the bread into the batter allowing the bread to soak in some of it for a few seconds.

Step 4: Add the bread to the skillet and cook over medium-low heat until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

📋 Substitutions & variations

I've only made this recipe using all-purpose flour, but any type of flour should work.
Use a gluten-free flour blend and gluten-free bread for a gluten-free version of this recipe.
I've tried this recipe with granulated and brown sugar and both works great, but any sweetener will do, even maple or agave syrup. Make sure the sugar you're using is vegan.
Although vegan butter and coconut oil are my favorite sources of fat to fry the bread slices, please feel free to use any oil you have on hand.
If you're not using coconut oil, I would use a neutral flavor oil like canola or sunflower oil.
Add other ingredients to your batter like orange or lemon zest, almond extract instead of vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, or add a splash of vegan Baileys.

🍽 Equipment

To make this recipe you'll need:

Measuring tablespoons and measuring cups (or a scale) to weigh your ingredients.
A shallow dish and a whisk or a fork to make the batter.
A skillet or a griddle to cook the bread slices.
A spatula or something similar to flip them.

Overview of a stalk of vegan French toast on a plate with some maple syrup and vegan butter on top.

❄️ Storage

Refrigerator: store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
Freezer: place a sheet of parchment paper between each slice, wrap them tightly in aluminum foil or inside a freezer bag and freeze. They will last for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Thaw: use the microwave, the toaster, or the oven.
Reheat: you can reheat them in the microwave, in the toaster, or in the oven. If you use the oven, make sure to heat them in a low-heat setting so they don’t get burnt.

💭 Expert tips

Always use stale bread as it soaks up the batter better than fresh bread does.
If you only have fresh bread, leave it out on the counter overnight, or put the fresh slices onto a baking tray and let it dry for 15 minutes in the oven at 180ºF or 80ºC.
Don’t soak the bread slices for too long, because if they get soggy, they might break. Soaking time depends on how old the bread is and on the type of bread.
Use a non-stick skillet to avoid sticking.
Keep the skillet well-buttered to prevent the bread slices from burning.

❓Recipe FAQs

What can you substitute for eggs in French toast?

You just need a simple and common ingredient you already have in your pantry: all-purpose flour. It thickens the batter wonderfully.

Cornstarch is also a good choice, but I prefer the taste and texture of all-purpose flour for this recipe.

I've seen some recipes using ground flax or flax egg, but I promise you all-purpose flour is all you need.

What is the best bread to use for French toast?

While almost any type of bread can technically be used to make French toast, some work better than others.

I usually just use up whatever bread I have on hand, even if it’s a type that’s not often recommended for this recipe.

French toast should be crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside, so you need a type of bread with a soft but dense crumb that doesn't fall apart after being soaked in batter or when flipping.

Spongy, hearty, sturdy bread is the best. Brioche, challah, baguette, ciabatta, and sourdough work amazingly well, but make sure they’re vegan.

Can you make vegan French toast in advance?

You can make the batter in advance and store it in the refrigerator ready to dunk the bread slices into when you're ready too cook them.

I recommend eating it as soon as it's made for the best texture, but French toast can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.

Why is my vegan French toast soggy?

You're using the wrong type of bread. Use a spongy bread that can soak up enough batter to make a creamy piece of toast, but that is also sturdy and dense enough not to fall apart while cooking or flipping.

Another two common mistakes are using fresh bread instead of stale or slicing it too thinly.

🥞 More vegan breakfast recipes

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