French Toast (Only 3 Ingredients!)

French toast is so delicious! And while it’s a classic breakfast recipe, I actually find it funny when sweet, sugary things are passed off as breakfast foods.

I’m also honestly not much of a breakfast person. Don’t get me wrong, I love French toast and pancakes and waffles and oatmeal. It’s just that as I’ve just found a rhythm for eating healthily over the last few years, I’ve found in parallel that I’m not typically very hungry first thing in the morning.

I’ve generally ditched the idea that specific foods are meant for specific times of day, so you might find me eating a cookies or leftovers earlier in the day, and ‘breakfast’ foods for dinner. But I decided in 2020 after seeing SO many old and new vegans alike repeatedly saying that unique breakfast foods were some of the hardest to come by that I wanted to commit to sharing more breakfast ideas with you 😁

French toast happens to be one those recipes that’s fallen off my regular menu since going plant-based; I just hadn’t considered there might be a simpler, healthier way to make it then dumping bread in dairy, frying it up in a pan with oil and pouring sugar all over it. This recipe has at least resolved the dairy and oil problem, and if you can practice a bit of self control, it can even minimize the sugar intake, too.

It’s just a few ingredients (plant milk, flax seeds and bread are pretty much all it takes) but you can spice it up with a little bit of agave or maple syrup in the wash, and sprinkle in some cinnamon and vanilla extract to add some depth of flavor and make it a bit more exciting. I tend to go light on the added sugar in the wash because I do pour some over the top when serving, and opt for serving it with fresh fruit for most of the sweetness.

When it comes to taste, this recipe is:

• Spongy
• Sweet
• Cinnamon-y
• Delicious
• The perfect base for your preferred toppings

Figuring out how best to cook French toast is always a slight challenge, but at the end of the day your still just soaking bread and browning it on each side in a non-stick skillet. The main caveat to this recipe is you have to use a non-stick frying pan if you don’t want to cook with oil.

Following a whole food, plant based diet, I don’t cook with oil, and while some frying can be done with fancy oil-free tricks, unfortunately for these specific frying purposes, a sticky pan, be it cast iron, stainless steel or otherwise, even on a low heat, won’t give you the easy, non-sticky result we’re looking for with this French toast.

I’m not saying you can’t try it! You’ll still end up with an edible breakfast, and I can promise you the flavor will still be great, but there’s a high chance you’ll end up with a mangled-looking mess rather than the put-together stack you’re seeing in these photos.

I’ve also got some cooking tips to make the process a bit easier:

1. With any cooking like this, I’ll always recommend that you do a couple testers to find the right amount of soaking and cooking time, and the right stovetop temp for the rest of your recipe.
2. Start on a lower heat so you have more control over how fast your slices are cooking – better to have to flip them a couple times to get them browned rather than burning them the second they hit the pan.
3. If your bread is fresh or doesn’t have a hard crust, aim to under-soak your slices; better to have a lightly seasoned piece of bread than a soggy one that’s difficult to flip and easy to break.

I use fresh sourdough or French bread with a stiff crust, soak my bread for 30-40 seconds, and cook each side on close to the lowest heat for about 2-3 minutes a side. But all of this will vary based on your bread, your pan, and your stove.

If you try out this recipe, please share it with me by commenting here or on my YouTube channel, or even tagging me in a photo on Instagram @plantsnotplastic. Enjoy!

4-Ingredient French Toast

Plants Not Plastic

This spongy, sweet, and delicious plant-based, classic French toast is just three basic ingredients (with optional additions), simple to make, and a perfect base for all your preferred toppings. It's a basic, sugary little recipe to make on lazy weekend mornings to mix up your routine and add some variety to your breakfast options.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time per Slice 5 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine French

Servings 8 slices

Calories 50.8 kcal

Equipment

• non-stick skillet or griddle
• shallow or flat-bottomed bowl

Ingredients

  

• 1+ tbsp ground flax seeds sub ground chia seeds
• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk I prefer almond
• 2 tsp agave optional; sub maple syrup or sugar (cane, coconut, etc.)
• 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon optional; plus more for topping
• 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
• 6-10 slices bread of choice [note#1] 3/4-1 inch thick; check ingredients for oil-free!

Instructions

 

• In a shallow or flat-bottomed bowl, mix together all ingredients (except the bread) to make a wash. Let it rest to 'activate' [note#2] the flax seeds for at least 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, slice your bread. If you're using a smaller baguette, slice at an angle to increase the overall size of your slices.
• Heat your non-stick pan or skillet over a low to medium-low heat.
• Place each piece of bread in your wash for 20 seconds to a minute on each side to absorb the liquid [note#3], then place it in the pan and cook for 2-5 minutes per side [note#4] until each side is golden brown to brown, but not burning [note#5].
• Serve immediately [note#6] with toppings of choice. I enjoy mine with strawberries, agave or maple syrup and a little bit of powdered sugar over top.
• Enjoy!

Video

Notes

1. Most breads should work fine, but I like the texture of a sourdough or french baguette best. Fresh rather than stale bread will also work better, as it will more easily absorb your wash.
2. The flax seeds will release their starches and make your wash slightly thicker.
3. I prefer my French toast softer and less bready so I tend to soak mine in the wash for longer until it's clearly soaked through. Using a softer sandwich bread will soak up more of the wash, faster, where a harder bread like a baguette with absorb liquid slower but will hold up it's texture better.
4. You'll figure out the pan temperature and bread soaking/cooking times as you go. I would recommend starting on a lower heat (just above the lowest setting) and increasing as needed if the bread isn't browning up to your liking.
5. While the cinnamon is optional, if you're a fan, I would recommend sprinkling your second side with cinnamon while the first side is cooking, so that it cooks into the French toast when you flip it.
6. If you are making a larger batch to serve at all once, set your oven on the lowest temp and store your cooked French toast on a plate or in a pan until ready to serve.

Adapted from Minimalist Baker & Simple Veganista

Keyword agave, blueberries, bread, breakfast, chia seeds, cinnamon, easy, flax seeds, french, french bread, french toast, fruit, maple syrup, plant milk, quick, simple, sourdough, sourdough bread, strawberries, toast