These French toasts are soft, tender on the inside, and deliciously crisp on the outside. Made with white sandwich bread topped with fresh fruits and syrup. And all you need are a few pantry staples and less than 20 minutes.
Table of Content
French toast is also called eggy bread because it is dipped in a custard mixture made with milk and eggs then cooked on a hot skillet with lots of butter. Usually served for breakfast topped with maple syrup, honey, macerated fruits, whipped cream, etc.
If you have bread, eggs, milk, and sugar in your pantry you can make French toast! For me, these are pantry staples because even when I don't plan my meals I have these in the fridge so the kids can make an egg sandwich or bread butter toast any time of the day.
Why make this recipe?
- Unlike pancakes, you don't need any resting time in between. That means you can have breakfast in less than 20 minutes.
- You can use up the stale bread. In fact, stale bread is a good candidate for French toast because it soaks up more of the egg and milk mixture and still does not fall apart.
- They are so easy which makes them the perfect breakfast, snack, or dinner on lazy weekends.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Bread - Today, I am using a sandwich loaf cut into thick slices. But, you can also use challah, brioche, or any other sandwich bread you like. Try my brioche French toast recipe
- Milk - I am using 3% whole milk but you can also use skimmed as well as half and half, or cream for a richer custardy toast.
- Spices - You can add more but I like just a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg in mine
- Vanilla - Use good quality vanilla extract. I am using vanilla bean paste.
Step by step instructions
- In a wide plate or baking dish, add the eggs, milk, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Pro-tip - Use a whisk to bread the egg strands, it will coat the slices better. - Dip the slices of bread into the milk mixture.
Pro-tip - Once dipped in liquid these must be handled carefully, so, it is best to put them into the hot pan as soon as they are soaked.
- Next, heat a skillet or frying pan with oil and butter. Then, add the slices of bread and cook on medium for 3 minutes on each side.
Pro-tip - Don't keep the heat on high as it will burn the butter and create black specks on the finished toast.
- Remove from the pan and keep warm. Continue with the rest until you have cooked all the slices.
- Serve immediately with sliced fruits and maple syrup or honey.
What do you serve with French toast?
- French toast is usually served with maple syrup or honey.
- Macerated fresh fruits in season are always a great option. Today, I am using fresh strawberries and blueberries because they are in season.
- To macerate fruits add 1 tablespoon sugar for every cup of chopped fruits and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- My kids love these with whipped cream and chopped fruits which is another great option.
- Of course, if you love chocolate try chocolate syrup, Nutella, or a sprinkle of chocolate chips.
- I love serving these over Creme Anglaise for dessert too.
Frequently asked questions
Well, personally, I like to serve these immediately. Any leftovers can be saved in the fridge and reheated in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds
Any sandwich-style of bread would work. You can use challah, brioche, brown sandwich bread, white sandwich bread. As long as it is flat and can be cooked you can use it.
Technically, you can. However, though the toast soaks up the milk well, it does not have a soft smooth texture when cooked. It is best to use stale but not hard bread.
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Printable Recipe
Best Homemade French Toast
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Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Custard base
Plus
- 8 slices Sandwich bread
- 2 tablespoon (30 g) Butter
- 1 tablespoon Oil (flavorless cooking)
Instructions
- In a wide plate or baking dish, add the eggs, milk, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pro-tip - Use a whisk to bread the egg strands, it will coat the slices better.
- Dip the slices of bread into the milk mixture.pro-tip - Once dipped in liquid these must be handled carefully, so, it is best to put them into the hot pan as soon as they are soaked.
- Next, heat a skillet or frying pan with oil and butter. Then, add the slices of bread and cook on medium for 3 minutes on each side. Pro-tip - Don't keep the heat on high as it will burn the butter and create black specks on the finished toast.
- Remove from the pan and keep warm. Continue with the rest until you have cooked all the slices. Serve immediately with sliced fruits and maple syrup or honey.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Prep -Ensure all the ingredients are at room temperature. You don't want the butter to solidify. You want the bread to soak up everything better when its at room temperature
- Bread - It is always best to use stale bread (a day-old bread) so it's not too soft. A slice of bread with a good crust works better and cut the slices thicker so they won't fall apart. You can also airdry the bread slices for a few hours or even lightly toast the slices in the oven.
- Egg - If you like a custardy milk mixture that's richer, use only egg yolks instead of whole eggs.
- Milk - You can use any milk - dairy or non-dairy such as almond, soy, or coconut. and let the slices soak up some of the milk and egg moisture. You don't want dry French toast. You can also switch the milk to eggnog during Christmas or add pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice in the fall to add a bit more to your French toast
- Crisp - Preheat the skillet well before you add the slices. This will give nice crisp edges while still keeping the inside soft and creamy.
- Flavor - While we use vanilla extract to flavor the milk you can also use liquor such as brandy, cognac, Irish cream.
- Serve - While French toast is usually served with honey or maple syrup, try whipped cream with fresh fruits. Or try fruit fillings such as strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry - all these are great to accompany pancakes and waffles.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Chichi
French toast is a nice breakfast. We love it and I love that’s it’s so easy to whip up. Yum!
Jeannette
Cinnamon and nutmeg are the best on french toast! Thanks for the tip on keeping the heat lower. Black specks aren't so fun to eat!
Beth
Yummy! My kids are going to love this recipe! I’m so excited to give this a try!
Heather Johnson
nothing better than buttery french toast - love the nutmeg! I've never added that - so delicious!