How to make the BEST Vegan French Toast! So easy to make in just 10 minutes, using everyday ingredients. You won’t miss the eggs at all in this delicious weekend morning breakfast. A secret ingredient makes these french toast incredibly crisp, thick and perfect!
French toast was one of the first meals I started making for myself as a kid. There wasn’t a lot of cooking or baking going on in my home growing up, in fact I lived on mostly convenience foods like canned spaghettios, ravioli and pop tarts. But we did make french toast a lot, especially on the weekends! It was easy, fast and simply delicious.
I had never made a vegan version of french toast before testing this recipe. Honestly, I was quite doubtful it would work, or be delicious enough to even post here. I have seen recipes for vegan french toast before, but I really couldn’t see how they could possibly taste as good as the nostalgic breakfast of my childhood.
Well, I was SO wrong! My family and I were SHOCKED at how good this vegan french toast tasted, and we ate the first batch up in about 5 minutes flat. Creamy on the inside (but NOT soggy at all), crispy on the outside, with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. The perfect french toast, period, and SO darn easy to make!!
How can I make Vegan French Toast without eggs?
The secret ingredient in my french toast recipe is so common I’m sure you have it in your pantry right now: Cornstarch. It’s perfect for getting that crisp exterior, and works like a charm as the bread cooks in the pan.
Without eggs, your batter for vegan french toast includes these ingredients: Soy milk (or any other non-dairy milk), cornstarch, ground flaxseeds (just a teaspoon, to help thicken the batter), 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (trust me), maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla.
How do you make vegan french toast?
It’s as easy or easier than the original! Whisk all the batter ingredients in a shallow bowl, large enough to hold a piece of bread.
Heat a little vegan butter or oil in a frying pan. Right before dipping the bread in the batter, whisk the mixture again (cornstarch will settle to the bottom.) Dip a piece of bread in the batter, on both sides, and soak for about 10 seconds.
Add the bread to the pan, and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy. Repeat with all remaining bread and batter, then serve immediately with maple syrup, powdered sugar and fresh fruit, if desired.
What kind of bread is best for french toast?
I used a quality loaf of ciabatta that was 1 day old. It was perfect. I wouldn’t recommend using soft sandwich bread, or your french toast runs the risk of being soggy. Thicker sliced bread works best, that is quite dry, such as french bread, sourdough or even a day old baguette. Smaller bread is fine, you will just have more french toast!
I hope you enjoy this Vegan French Toast!!
Want more vegan breakfast recipes? Check any of these out:
- Simple Vegan Pancakes
- Best Ever Vegan Waffles
- Tofu Scramble
- Easy Vegan Quiche
- Cinnamon Sugar Vegan Donuts
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Vegan French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6-8 slices thick sliced quality bread, such as ciabatta or french
- 2-3 tablespoons vegan butter or coconut oil for frying
- For serving: maple syrup, powdered sugar, or fresh fruit
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, wide enough to hold a piece of bread, whisk together the soy milk, cornstarch, ground flaxseeds, baking powder, cinnamon, maple syrup and vanilla.
- Add a little bit of vegan butter/coconut oil to a pan over medium-high heat and melt. Whisk the batter again right before dipping bread, as the cornstarch will settle to the bottom of the bowl.
- Dip each side of the bread in the batter and let soak for about 10 seconds, then add the bread to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Add more vegan butter/oil to the pan as needed in between pieces of bread.
- Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar and fresh fruit, if desired.
Video
Notes
- May use any kind of non-dairy milk, such as soy, coconut, almond, cashew or oat milk.
- For gluten free vegan french toast, use gluten free bread.
- This recipe does not freeze well, and is best served fresh.ย
I believe I have reviewed this recipe already but coming back to say it remains one of my favorites. I make larger batches (x4) and freeze the cooked slices to pop in the toaster on busier mornings. My kids love them cut up into French toast sticks for dipping. While I used to make my own French bread the day before for a truly homemade product, lately Iโve been using Trader Joeโs vegan brioche bread and it is *chefโs kiss* with this recipe. Thanks again!
Yesterday was the first time Iโve made or had vegan French toast, and this was the best French toast Iโve had. I couldnโt wait to have some more this morning. Iโve never commented on a recipe website before but just had to!! Your recipes are absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing your gifts with us as we learn to navigate eating plant-based. Much love!
Hi Kayla. Your feedback is amazing and uplifting! I am really glad you loved the French toast, as well as my other recipes! Thank you for taking time to respond and leave your wonderful review! Happy cooking!
This is so delicious! We boiled our own maple syrup and I wanted to have French toast as the first thing with it. Since going vegan two years ago, I hadnโt found a French toast recipe that compared to a non-vegan version, until I found this! โค๏ธ
How fabulous that you love the recipe, Lindsay! Thanks for sharing your fabulous comments!
OMG BEST recipe for vegan French toast I have ever found!! My craving has been fulfilled. I have tried way too many other recipes and non have been like this. Im seriously so happy and I never comment on stuff like this but I just had to tell everyone.
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Lauren! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and review!
Love this recipe!!! So easy to make.
Best French toast I have ever had.
Thank you for sharing.
Adding a little tip. Add milk slowly while mixing to avoid corn starch or cinnamon powder to make lumps.
You are welcome, Ambreen. I appreciate you sharing your excellent feedback and tips! Happy cooking!
Better than ANY regular non vegan French toast IMHO. Plus you don’t have to worry about whether or not the egg is cooked enough to be safe to eat since there’s no egg! Fair warning, however, if you don’t like a soggy middle, use thick slightly old bread ๐ I prefer mine with thick cut homemade sourdough that’s past it’s prime as sandwich bread!
I’m glad you are loving the French toast! The bread tip is great! Thanks for your fabulous feedback and review!
This really is the best french toast ever! I made it a few weeks ago and been dreaming about it ever since! lol Iโm making some again this morning (finally!) and canโt wait! Itโs perfectly toasted on the outside and soft on the inside. The flavor is wonderful! For anyone contemplating using this recipe, just do it! You wonโt regret it. Thank you Nora for sharing your wonderful vegan recipes. Iโve tried a few already without disappointment.
You are welcome, Marie! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and review! I’m so glad you are loving the french toast! Welcome to my site! Wishing you happy cooking!
Wish I could have tried this recipe. You said you dont recommend using soft bread cuz it could be soggy. Well I grew up using soft bread for French toast and actually like it a little “soggy” but you LITERALLY CANNOT even make this French toast with soft bread. It literally burns and tears the bread up and does not crisp up AT ALL to flip. Had to throw it all away. Guess I have to buy specialty bread to make French toast from now on..so sad.
Hi Jessica, sorry it didn’t work out for you. This is exactly why I don’t recommend using soft bread. I always have great results with day-old ciabatta!
Jessica, You CAN make this recipe with soft bread; I use this recipe with soft bread all the time due to our family’s severe egg and dairy allergies. I just use my grandmother’s tried-and-true tip for baking French Toast with soft bread: Either leave the bread you will use on a sheet pan overnight (making it into stale, “day-old” bread) or heat in an oven preheated 300F for 10-20 minutes until stiff and dry. Then soak the “stale” soft bread in the batter for ten seconds on each side and cook at medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes on each side as suggested in the recipe (any more time and the bread will burn).
Thank you for this vegan French Toast recipe, Nora! It is absolutely scrumptious; it has become a family favorite!
Has anyone tried this with gluten free bread? I may just give it a go and see.
Hi Noreen. Gluten free bread can be used in this recipe. Enjoy!
I make it with gluten free bread for my son and it’s PERFECT because gluten free bread is usually pretty dry to begin with.
Thank you for sharing!
Yum Yum! Thank you Nora for the wonderful recipe!
You are welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your fabulous feedback!
Absolutely amazing recipe! Perfect flavor, texture and doesn’t take long at all! Thank you!! ๐
Hi Natalie. You are welcome! I appreciate your marvelous feedback!
This is definitely the best vegan french toast recipe I have tried — it reminded me of the french toast I used to make before becoming vegan!! Thank you!! I love your site and have not been disappointed in any recipe yet!
Hi Debbie. I am thrilled you love the French toast! Thank you for your glowing feedback! I appreciate you using my recipes, and am happy you are loving them!
WOW!!! The BEST French toast EVER, vegan or not! Thank you, Nora!
You are welcome! Thanks for your great feedback! I’m happy you loved the French toast!
Can this recipe be made as a casserole for a crowd and baked?
Hi Phyllis. It could work, however I have never tried so am mot completely sure.
Fantastic French toast!
Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you loved it!
So glad to have found this recipe. Made it for my Vegan daughter
I’m new to this vegan lifestyle..lol I was legit just wondering if powdered sugar and pure maple syrup is vegan. I’m sorry I’m just learning
Donโt worry about it. Ironically not all sugar is vegan. ALL organic sugar is vegan by default.
However if itโs not organic youโll need to trace its source. A lot of white sugar uses animal bones to refine it.
Stick to raw cane sugar if possible, absolutely stick to organic sugar otherwise. I make powdered sugar at home, I donโt buy it anymore. I get 10lb bags of organic raw cane sugar from BJโs and use my Vitamix to powder it.
I LOVE this recipe! I make this for our family at least once a week ๐
I’m so glad you are loving it! Thanks for your wonderful feedback!
I have tried so many vegan french toast recipes that turned out horrible, I had almost given up. But this one is a keeper!!! It turned out perfectly! I loved the texture and the flavor. Thank you so much!!! Most of my family members are vegetarian so they eat the typical French toast and I usually can’t partake. I can’t wait to make this for the whole family — they’re going to love it!!
Hi Rosemarie. I’m happy you’ve found my French toast and that you love it, and all of your family can eat it, including you! It is so rewarding for me to know my recipes allow people to once again eat food they love and miss! Thanks for your positive feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
This is very good!! Made it this morning for me and my daughter and we both loved it!! Used sourdough bread and my griddle French toast heaven!! ?
I honestly rarely comment on recipes…whether I like them or not (yeah I should do better). However, this recipe was SO good! I was craving french toast and was wondering how I can still get that crispiness yet fluffy texture from a vegan recipe (new to plant based eating). This recipe was amazing! Thank you for sharing!
You are welcome! It’s wonderful that you love the French toast! Thank you for taking your time to share your magnificent feedback and review!
The best vegan french toast ever.
Thank you for this recipeโ๏ธ
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
hi รora, love your recipes!
can I keep the batter in the fridge to use the next day?
Hi Jasmine. That should work!
So good and so easy!
Hi Beth. I’m glad you loved the French toast. Thank you for your wonderful review and feedback!
Oh my God! Thank you Nora! This is delicious, much more than with eggsโฆ โค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ I divided the recipe by 3 for one thick sliceโฆ maybe I should not haveโฆ I would have made myself a second one. I made it with my homemade whole wheat breadโฆ I ate this for lunchโฆ it was a cool day and rainyโฆ thank you! I just added a pinch of my ginger powder ย that I dehydratedโฆ this is definitely going in my favorite recipe folder as I did for many of your recipes. Thank you againโฆ now debating if I make myself a second oneโฆ ??
Hi Danielle. Sounds like it was a perfect day for french toast! I’m thrilled that you loved it! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and ideas!
This turned out great. My 2y/o is a VERY PICKY eater & he devoured this.
Side Note: If you don’t use think quality bread as suggested (I didn’t, I used what I already had). It can still turn out good. I had to lower the temp a little & cook for 4min on each side. It was soggy at first but cook a little long sloved that.
I’m so happy you and your son loved the french toast, Dana! Thanks for your review and for sharing your feedback!
Can I omit the flax seeds in this recipe ?
Yes, you can leave the flax seed out.
Rarely ever leave comments but these were EPIC!
Substituted Flax with chia and Maple Syrup with honey and added a hint of nutmeg! Also threw them in the toaster at the very end for extra crunch and OMG! ย SO SO good! ย And very easy and fast.
My go to now!
Thanks so much for your amazing review and feedback, Sheila! I love the idea of toasting them for a slight crunch. ๐
Hi Nora!! I’m wondering if the cornstarch can be substituted? I’m running low, and have a big bag of arrowroot. Will that also work? Thank you!!
Hi Angie. Both arrowroot starch and tapioca starch will work in place of the cornstarch. Happy cooking!