This Vegan French Toast is just as delicious as the original, but it’s made without eggs or dairy. The bread gets nice and toasted on the outside, with a tender center, and I love how quick and easy it is to prepare.
Vegan French Toast Recipe
All you need to make this Vegan French Toast is your favorite bread (many breads are naturally vegan, but be sure to check the label!), milk or water, and an egg substitute. I like to add a little maple syrup and ground cinnamon for flavor, but that’s totally optional.
You’ll also need oil or vegan butter for greasing the pan. I used olive oil in my cast iron skillet, which worked very well.
Gluten-Free Vegan French Toast
I tested this batter with several types of bread, and all seemed to work well. My first attempt was with Canyon Bakehouse Gluten-free bread, and then I realized that it is NOT vegan. The little “V” logo at the bottom of the package is confusing, as it looks like it’s a “vegan” label, but it’s not– so don’t make the same mistake I did and carefully read the label if you need a vegan option.
In fact, most gluten-free bread is not vegan, but I did find one brand that was: BFree White Bread. (I found it at Costco in the freezer section.) This little French Toast experiment has given me new motivation to work on my own gluten-free bread again, but in the meantime, this works!
And if you can eat gluten, any sturdy bread is a great choice for French Toast. I used a bakery loaf of sourdough for the photos here, as I wanted something thicker. Keep in mind, though, that thicker bread takes longer to cook than the thinner slices. I might actually prefer the thinner slices now that I’ve tasted both options!
Vegan French Toast Egg Replacer
I tested this recipe both with a flax egg and arrowroot starch as a vegan egg substitute, and I’ve come to the conclusion that either will work. Ultimately, I think the starch “egg” produces a slightly crispier result, so that’s what I’ve used in the recipe below, but be sure to check the notes below the recipe for a flax or chia seed variation.
Vegan French Toast
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water or non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch (or tapioca starch)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- 6 slices bread , thickly sliced (see note)
- olive oil , for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Grease your skillet generously with olive oil and preheat it over medium-low heat on your stove top.
- In a medium bowl, combine the water or non-dairy milk, starch, maple syrup, and cinnamon, and stir well to combine. (I think using a whisk helps it combine faster.)
- Dip one slice of bread into the mixture, then quickly flip it over and dip the other side in so that the bread is coated. You don't want it to stay in there too long or it will get soggy. When you lift the bread out of the bowl, let any excess liquid drip back into the bowl.
- Place the coated bread into the preheated skillet. It should start sizzling right away. After a minute, slide a spatula under the bread to make sure it isn't sticking to the skillet. (Don't flip it yet, this is just to ensure the coating doesn't totally stick to the pan.)
- Flip the bread after 2 to 3 minutes, and cook the other side. In my experience, the first side usually wants to stick to the pan more than the second side does. Continue flipping the bread every minute or two, until it's nice and golden on both sides. Repeat this process with the remaining bread and "egg" mixture until all of the French Toast is cooked. (Stir the egg mixture each time, as the starch has a tendency to sink to the bottom as it rests.)
- I like to keep the cooked French Toast slices in a warm oven (around 200ºF) while I finish cooking the rest of the batch. Serve warm with fruit and maple syrup, as desired.
Nutrition
Per Slice (will vary by bread): Calories: 108, Fat: 3g, Carbohydrates: 16, Fiber: 2, Protein: 3g
Recipe Notes:
- To use a flax or chia egg, replace the starch with 1 heaping tablespoon of ground flax or chia seeds. Whisk well into the liquid, and let it rest for about 10 minute before dipping the bread into the mixture so that it can thicken slightly.
- For gluten-free french toast, I’ve found that the BFree brand gluten-free white loaf works well for this recipe, though the bread is a little more fragile. Most other gluten-free breads do contain eggs, so be sure to read labels carefully if you need a bread that is gluten-free and vegan.
Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite weekend breakfast? The weekend is when we usually take the time to make my gluten-free toaster waffles (in No Excuses Detox) or my fluffy Gluten-free Vegan Pancakes!
My son only wants toast and butter. Lol! But i like to have home made pancakes and waffles available in freezer as well. I like things grab and go in the morning. I don’t do cereal. Health benefits aside I find it uneconomical. It’s usually overpriced and who ever stops at just one bowl?! 🤣
I like how you experimented with eggs! How creative! Never would have thought to do a starch! ! Sometimes I mix in a
Purée in with a regular egg and make a fruit syrup when I make French toast for overtop (blueberry lemon). French toast … is something I’ve beem meaning to try to freeze. It should be one of those things you could take directly from freezer to skillet. (Like i said. … I like grab and go 😂)
Oh, how I have missed french toast! I just made this using not thin bread, and it ended up making almost an entire loaf’s worth, which is great since I ate five slices. I did have a little trouble getting them off the pan — especially with the first round — but increased the heat, the amount of oil used, and left them on the pan longer — and the second batch came up easier. I’ve gotta admit that I was a little dubious about the entire recipe, but it really was delicious. Great flavor and texture and I will definitely be making it again. Oh, and it was super easy! Mixing it all together took less than a minute. Would definitely recommend this one.
Such a tasty and delicious french toast! Love more vegan breakfast ideas!
Loved this recipe! It was easy to make and tasted just like french toast with eggs! I topped mine with a blueberry compote and sugar free maple syrup!
This is my first time making and eating vegan french toast! I cannot believe how the consistency really felt like it had eggs in it. Super easy and delicious! Thank you for another amazing recipe.
Super cool that you can make French Toast even without eggs. Didn’t have any eggs on hand as my brother’s chickens have slowed down their laying in the cold weather. Used my homemade sourdough bread and this was wonderful – my family couldn’t tell the difference. Looked and tasted the same as we’ve always been used to when we have French Toast. This made Christmas morning breakfast super easy and yummy as we put real whipping cream and berries on top with real maple syrup. Thanks again Megan for your helping us understand there is always more than one way to do things!
I love my french toast but being diagnosed with egg white allergy has put a damper in that craving until now. This recipe was easy to mix, texture was spot on. I used oat milk and little northern bakehouse whole grain bread. Only challenge I had was getting it golden brown on first batch of two and flavouring of cinnamon – I will had more next time and maybe pumpkin pie spice for my husband. Yes I will make again and recommend.