Your brunch dreams are about to come true with THE best Vegan French Toast ever. It's soft, sweet and golden with a texture just like French Toast made with eggs! Made quickly and easily with regular pantry ingredients, in under 15 minutes!
Raise your hands if you love French Toast? *me! me! me!* So why have I not created a vegan French toast recipe until now? I think I've been failing as a vegan food blogger and today I am putting it right and bringing you THE most amazing Vegan French Toast EVER!
We are talking thick, crusty bread, dunked in thick, sweet custard then pan-fried or griddled until it reaches fluffy golden perfection. The texture is perfection. It's like proper eggy French toast only without the eggs!...<Thank you tofu>
Can vegans eat French Toast?
Regular French toast is made with eggs so it is not vegan friendly. However, it is very easy to make a vegan version that is just as good, and some have said better, than the traditional egg version. To do that we make our vegan French Toast with tofu instead of eggs. It sounds strange but it really works!
Ingredients & equipment
Here's a quick rundown on what you need to make to make this amazing vegan French toast and why:
- extra-firm tofu - When you make French Toast with eggs, the eggs cook in the custard and start to set. That's what gives you the soft, melting, custardy centre. My eggless French toast recipe uses tofu instead of eggs and as the French Toast cooks in the pan, the custard starts to set a little and you end up with the same texture as you would if using eggs. I use tofu in the same way with my vegan quiche.
- plant milk - Any type you like. Preferably unsweetened. If it happens to be sweetened omit the sugar from the recipe.
- vanilla, cinnamon, salt - All for flavour!
- vegan butter - I recommend adding some to the custard for richness and to use vegan butter to cook the French toast in the pan. This will give it the very best flavour.
- bread - Crusty, sturdy, good quality bread. More on that below.
The best bread to use
Slightly stale, rustic white bread cut into thick slices makes the best French Toast. That's because it's sturdy with good texture and won't fall apart easily. Because it's stale and not fresh it is able to absorb the tofu custard better. And rustic, crusty bread tastes better too. French Toast is a simple recipe. It's important to use quality ingredients for it to be at its best.
If the bread is thin and too soft, like cheap white sliced grocery store bread, it won't absorb the custard well and will fall apart. It also won't have a nice chewy crust and good flavour.
Most important is that whatever bread you use should be a few days old. Fresh bread does not make the best French Toast. This makes it a great recipe for using up any stale bread you might have.
If you do end up wanting to make Vegan French Toast and you only have fresh bread you can leave some slices out on the counter overnight. This will dry them out a bit. Or you can put the fresh slices on a baking tray and bake in a really low oven until they are a bit dry.
How to make French Toast without eggs
(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).
Here's how to make vegan French toast:
- Make the custard by adding the tofu, plant-based milk, vanilla, sugar, salt and cinnamon to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Cut some big thick slices of
slightly stale, crusty white bread. Get those bread slices and drench them in the custard. - Place the slices in a hot, greased pan.
- Cook until golden brown and crispy then gently turn over and do the same on the other side.
slightly stale, crusty white bread. Get those bread slices and drench them in the custard.Serve up immediately or keep warm in a very low oven until you have finished cooking the entire batch.
Success Tips
- Use stale bread. Fresh bread doesn't soak up the custard so well. It should be at least 2 days old. If you only have fresh bread, slice it up and leave it out on the counter for a few hours to dry out.
- Use crusty bread and not cheap white sliced bread. Heartier bread holds it's shape better, it looks better, it tastes better and the crust part is lovely once cooked up in the custard.
- Don't change any of the custard ingredients.
- Use extra firm tofu for this vegan French Toast and not silken tofu.
- Blend the custard until absolutely smooth.
- Don't leave the bread to soak for too long in the custard. 20 seconds each side is plenty. Any longer and it will get too soggy and you will risk breakage as you transfer it to the pan.
- Use a really good non-stick pan to avoid sticking.
- Cook until really golden.
Making in advance
You can make the custard in advance and keep it in the fridge ready to dunk bread into at a moment's notice. It's not possible to make this recipe totally in advance though, but if that is something you would like to do, then I recommend you check out my Vegan French Toast Casserole. That can be made the night before, then left to soak up all of the yummy custard in the fridge overnight. Then when you get up the next day you can pop it in the oven. It's ultra-convenient for lazy weekend or holiday brunches.
How to serve
A couple of slices stacked up with a knob of Vegan Butter and some maple syrup, or some vegan yogurt and berries of choice is quite literally brunch perfection.
Of all of my vegan tofu recipes, this Vegan French Toast is my favourite. It is absolutely incredible just as it is with a generous glug of real maple syrup. Take it up a notch with a big knob of vegan butter to melt over it too.
It is also amazing with a dollop of vegan yogurt or whipped vegan ricotta, and berries of choice and a glug of maple syrup too if you are feeling generous!
Or try serving it with my Vanilla Roasted Strawberries, Date Caramel, Vegan Lemon Curd or Blueberry Lavender Sauce.
Storage & reheating
This eggless French toast recipe is best when eaten fresh. If you have any leftovers though, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat on a griddle or in a frying pan over low heat.
Leftover custard can be kept in a sealed container or jar in the fridge for up to 4 days. It might thicken a bit but before you use it just add a drop or two of plant milk and give it a quick whisk before dipping your bread and cooking it.
Recipe FAQs
To make vegan French toast, simply cut the slices of bread into chunky sticks and follow the rest of the recipe as it is. It won't really affect the cooking time at all.
Extra-firm tofu works best in this recipe and if you want the very best results then that's what you should use. Any other type will produce a less texturally realistic result. So just bear that in mind. The taste will stay the same but the texture will be much softer because the toast won't set the same in the pan.
Use gluten-free bread. The custard is naturally gluten-free.
📖 Recipe
Vegan French Toast
Author:
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 mls) plant-based milk
- 4½ oz (130 grams) extra firm tofu (equates to about ½ a very packed cup)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sugar , cane, turbinado or white (not brown or coconut sugar)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon OPTIONAL vegan butter , plus a little extra for brushing on the griddle/pan
- 6 thick slices crusty, sturdy, white bread , it should be a couple of days old (use gluten-free bread if necessary)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add everything except the bread to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Preheat a griddle or a pan over a medium/low heat.
- Brush the griddle/pan with a little vegan butter (oil can be used instead but butter tastes better).
- Pour the blended 'custard' into a wide bowl and dip the bread in it. Leave it to sit for around 20 seconds then turn over and leave for another 20 seconds. Make sure all areas are covered, then lift it out and quickly dip the crust around the edges.
- Carefully place the custardy bread slices onto the preheated griddle or pan. Cook for around 4-5 minutes or until deeply golden, then flip carefully and cook for another 4-5 minutes on the other side, or until deeply golden. Try to leave it alone and not peek while it's cooking. If you move it too early the golden surface can get damaged and not look quite so pretty.
- Remove from the pan and serve immediately.
NOTES
- Use stale bread. Fresh bread doesn't soak up the custard so well. It should be at least 2 days old. If you only have fresh bread, slice it up and leave it out on the counter for a few hours to dry out.
- Use crusty bread and not cheap white sliced bread. Heartier bread holds it's shape better, it looks better, it tastes better and the crust part is lovely once cooked up in the custard.
- Don't change any of the custard ingredients.
- Blend the custard until absolutely smooth.
- Don't leave the bread to soak for too long in the custard. 20 seconds each side is plenty. Any longer and it will get too soggy and you will risk breakage as you transfer it to the pan.
- Use a really good non-stick pan to avoid sticking.
- Cook until really golden.
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
This recipe was originally published on February 2nd, 2018. The post has been updated with new information and now I am republishing it for you. The recipe itself remains the same. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!
Edie says
Which plant based milk do you like best for this recipe?
And thank you for this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
I usually have unsweetened cashew, soy and coconut milk in my fridge so it's usually one of those. If I had to choose it would be cashew. Light canned coconut milk is lovely in it too. As long as it's a creamy milk you like though it doesn't really matter. Hope you enjoy it!
Janice says
This recipe is a keeper! Plant based for six years; vegetarian 36 years before that, I recently needed to convert my husband to a plant based lifestyle due to health issues. Breakfast has been a major sticking point. Most vegan French toast doesn’t have the substance it needs - this was perfect! I used a thick whole wheat bread, added ground nutmeg and ground clove along with the cinnamon and used black salt (so stinky, but worked) for the salt. Definitely needs the small amount of time to soak the bread (don’t skip that part). Three pieces were eaten without an unhappy face! Yay!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yay! Glad you both enjoyed it and thanks so much for coming back to leave a review/rating!
Marcy says
Can you explain why silken tofu would not work as well? Too much liquid? Could that be offset with less "milk"?
A Virtual Vegan says
Extra firm tofu works best in this recipe because it sets like egg would as it cooks. That's why this recipe is so similar to "eggy" French toast. You really can't tell the difference. Silken tofu doesn't give such a good texture. If it's all you've got you can use it by all means but the recipe won't be at its best.
This French toast casserole recipe uses silken tofu though: https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-french-toast-casserole/ The reason being that even though I wanted to use extra firm tofu to get the same texture as my regular French Toast, it didn't turn out as well in tests and got a strange texture. Extra firm is best for pan frying, silken for baking. Hope that helps!
Leila Spalenka says
This is one of the absolutebest French toast recipes I have tried! Not to mention satisfying and nutritious. I will keep this in my favorite recipes. Thank you for creating this!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Leila!
Jodie A Foreman says
I've tried all sorts of vegan french toast. This is by far the best one. Easy and fast too.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Jodie. I'm really pleased you're enjoying it!
ASHU SINGH says
This recipe is phenomenal!!! I've been passing it along to so many friends... Huge thxs for posting it!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you're enjoying it!
Harleen says
What a fantastic recipe! Made it today and wow! The sugar and cinnamon was spot on! I added a tbsp of flaxseeds to the mix :)
Thanks for the recipe. An absolute favourite!
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you enjoyed it!
Matt R says
I have made this recipe several times now. It is absolutely delicious. I sneak it in to my non-vegan friends, and even they love it. They can't tell it's vegan.
Thanks for this recipe. One of the easiest, most delicious, comforting recipes I've found in 6 years of being vegan.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much Matt! I'm really pleased you're enjoying the recipe. It's one of my favourites too!
Nica says
This is the best french toast i’ve ever tasted!!! i swapped 2tbsp of almond flour for tofu because we ran out. i cant tell the difference between this one and the one i make with egg. This one is definitely better than non vegan french toast that i make before.
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you enjoyed it Nica!
Chey says
I never write reviews for recipes but this time i have to! I am not vegan but made this for a friend and its better than non-vegan french toast!!! Such an amazing recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Chey! It always means even more coming from someone who isn't vegan. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Kristen says
This recipe was DELICIOUS!! My entire family (vegan and non-vegan) loved it. You absolutely cannot taste the tofu and it has a wonderful sweetness to it. This is a new family favorite that I will be making many, many times!
A Virtual Vegan says
I am so pleased you all enjoyed it Kristen. I love knowing that it will be a family favorite from now on!
Brian says
What is your favorite tofu? I've used the Trader Joes extra firm for other recipes & I could taste the tofu (which I personally don't mind because I'm a long-term vegan) but I don't want non-vegans to taste it?
Meghan M. says
I am excited to try this in the morning! Just curious, why does coconut sugar not work?
Melanie McDonald says
It would technically work, but it would change the colour and flavour of the custard and make it caramelly and not like regular French Toast. I hope you enjoy it for your breakfast tomorrow!
Laura says
This is hands down the most amazing vegan french toast. THIS is just like egg batter french toast. French toast was my FAVORITE before quitting animal products, and all the other recipes were sooo off and tasted nothing like it. Also, they took forever to cook. It's worked fine with any bread I use. You're a genius!
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you so much Laura. I'm really pleased you are enjoying it so much!
Timesaflyin says
Have you made this with Oat Milk?
Melanie McDonald says
Yes, it's great with oat milk!
Amber says
Loved this! The bread definitely matters. I tried this with a hearty locally made loaf but it was too dense- the batter ended up not absorbing properly and sort of peeled off. I had some Dave’s Killer Bread in the freezer and tried that and it was delicious (although a touch thin for French toast). Can’t wait to make this again with a thicker cut whole grain sourdough. Love the idea of using tofu- it’s such a great egg replacer.