Easy French Toast Recipe

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This is my go-to easy Frech toast. It's quick, simple, and delicious! It's even easy enough for a weekday breakfast.

While traditional french toast is delicious, it can be a little heavy and leave you feeling stuffed early in the day.

My version takes a healthy spin on classic French toast, with lighter ingredients and alternatives that will leave you feeling good after that morning meal.

It’s important to start your day off on the right foot without an overload of sugar or dairy. Though the ingredients are slightly modified, this doesn’t sacrifice flavor for the sake of healthy ingredients.

Easy French toast is the best of both worlds—it still tastes rich and indulgent, but it's easier to make and lighter, too.

This version is perfect for a lazy Saturday morning with the family, or even serving as a weekday breakfast as a special treat.

Easy French Toast Ingredients

Bread

I personally like "Dave’s Killer Bread White Bread Done Right" (not sponsored) and find that it's the ideal bread for easy French toast. It’s an excellent choice for its organic flours, and it skips bleached flours as well as high fructose corn syrup, which is a common ingredient in white bread.

You can also use whole grain bread, gluten-free sliced bread, or fresh bakery bread to make French toast. If you go that route it’s best to use bread that’s at least a day old. The slightly stiffer texture will allow the bread to soak up the liquid without getting soggy.

Milk & Eggs

You'll whisk together milk and eggs to make a custard for the bread, which is an essential part of French toast.

I like to use almond milk or oat milk but any milk works. Use 2% or whole milk if using regular cow's milk.

When it comes to the milk in this recipe, you can skip the heavy cream, half and half, or whole milk and swap them for a milk alternative. It won’t harm the delicious, crispy layer on the outside of the toast.

I try to use pasture-raised, organic eggs in all of my cooking, as they offer many more nutrients than cage-raised, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and vitamin E.

The eggs are hard to replace in any recipe for French toast. You can use 2 flax eggs instead, but your dish will have a different texture than traditional French toast.

Vanilla and Cinnamon

Vanilla and cinnamon are the classic flavorings of any French toast.

Vanilla extract adds a gourmet sweetness without adding any sugar, and ground cinnamon adds that warming comfort that elevates the dish all around. They are both optional and highly recommended.

A dash of ground cardamom also makes for a wonderful addition to flavor the custard if you happen to have any in your pantry.

Butter or Ghee

French toast is cooked in a skillet with butter or oil. You can use butter, vegan butter, ghee, or a little coconut oil.

I prefer to use grass-fed butter or ghee. Vegan butter also works. Coconut oil is a strong flavor and will add a coconutty flavor to your french toast, so only use that if you're into the coconut flavor.

Ghee is dairy-free so some people prefer it. It’s also packed with vitamin A, low in carbohydrates, and high in healthy fats.

This recipe is easy to double if you find yourself cooking for a larger group or simply wanting seconds! (Let’s face it, a second helping is hard to resist.)

How to Make Easy French Toast

Step 1:

Preheat a non-stick skillet (I like to use a seasoned cast-iron, but any non-stick skillet works) over medium heat.

Step 2:

Whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla & cinnamon to make a custard. I like to add a little maple syrup and a pinch of salt to the custard for extra flavor.

Step 3:

Add butter (or a butter alternative) and swirl around the pan to coat. Do not add the dipped toast until it's preheated.

Step 4:

Dip the bread in the custard to fully saturate, then allow the excess to drip off. Add the dipped bread to the pan and cook until golden, 4-6 minutes. Flip, and cook the other side until it's golden, which will take a minute or so less than the first side.

Step 5:

Top with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of real maple syrup (or your preferred toppings) and enjoy hot.

Storing

While you technically can save French toast in the fridge, it's really best fresh. I recommend making this and enjoying it right after. If you're looking for a make-ahead breakfast, I suggest overnight oats or one of these meal-prep recipes.

French Toast FAQs

French toast is incredible when done well, but can often end up soggy or flavorless if the proper steps aren’t followed. The texture is everything when it comes to cooking French toast. I’ve found some ways to upgrade to higher-quality ingredients while making the recipe naturally dairy-free.

Let me answer a few common questions I see about preparing a delicious plate of French toast.

• How do you make French toast not soggy? Keep your French toast from getting soggy by putting it in the pan or on a griddle in a single layer. Keep your pan on medium heat to get your toast golden brown and crispy. French toast is also best fresh, so don’t try to reheat it the next day.
• Why do you put milk in French toast? The milk and the egg create a custard that makes this recipe cook properly. Without milk, you’d create a scrambled egg effect, instead. You can use almond milk or oat milk instead of regular milk.
• What is a good topping for French toast? Maple syrup, fresh fruit, peanut butter, cinnamon, and even a dusting of brown sugar are all good toppings for French toast. If you go the bacon route, choose turkey bacon that isn’t highly processed.
• How can you make healthy swaps in French toast? I’ve traded the traditional whole milk for almond milk here and added in some healthy ghee or coconut oil to ensure healthier frying options. These healthy swaps make the recipe dairy-free.

Alright, that's my version of the easiest (and probably healthiest) French toast recipe you can make.

Enjoy!

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