In this Vegan French Toast Casserole, cubes of crusty bread are drowned in cinnamon infused custard then baked until crispy & toasty on top, & soft and custardy (but not soggy!) underneath. Then comes the drizzle of frosting which takes it over-the-top. It's perfect for feeding a crowd & can even be prepped the night before if you need to.
And then I made Vegan French Toast Casserole and all of my brunch dreams came true. If I had to eat this every day for the rest of my life, let me just say that I would not be unhappy. #carbsarelife
I feel the same way about my Vegan French Toast recipe. If I had to choose between the two, I have no idea which would win. The Vegan French Toast recipe is pretty instant which is nice if you need a yum-tastic breakfast right this minute, but this?
This Vegan French Toast Casserole is just as easy to make, but to be at its best, it does need 30 minutes minimum to rest. That ensures that that the bread sucks up all of that lovely cinnamon-y custard. And what's even better, is that if you want to, you can make it the night before, leave it in the fridge overnight to do it's stuff, then wake up and bake it the next day.
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Can vegans eat French toast?
French Toast is traditionally made with eggs, and vegans avoid consuming, or wearing/using, animal products. That means that regular "eggy" French toast is not something a vegan would eat. However there are ways around the egg situation and it is perfectly possible to make really great French Toast without eggs.
As you know I have many vegan tofu recipes so I know from experience that if you choose the right kind of tofu, it will bake up just like eggs do so the bread doesn't get really soggy. So silken tofu is what we use instead of eggs in this vegan French toast recipe.
By using tofu, you get exactly the same texture as you would with eggs, and it's pretty flavourless so you don't know it's there. And I tell you what, it is just perfect in this beautifully cinnamon-y French Toast Casserole!
How to make vegan French Toast Casserole
This Vegan French Toast Casserole is incredibly easy to make. Here's how:
- Blend up all of the custard ingredients in a blender.
- Cube the bread and pile into an oven proof dish.
- Pour over the custard.
- Leave to soak for at least 30 minutes, but overnight is fine.
- Sprinkle with some sugar and optional nuts, then bake.
- Make the frosting and drizzle it generously over the crispy, crunchy top of the casserole.
Serving suggestions
This Vegan French Toast Casserole is at its best when served warm from the oven. I still like it at room temperature though too. While it cools, I can never resist picking the crispy, frosting covered cubes from the top and munching them!
The frosting that is included in the recipe is really all you need with it. However, needing and wanting are 2 different things!
Some things that I really recommend serving with it are:
- A scattering of fresh raspberries (my absolute favourite way to eat this!)
- Fresh berries, peaches or nectarines
- Easy frozen berry compote
- Whipped coconut cream
- Vanilla Roasted strawberries
- Skip the frosting and drizzle with copious amounts of chocolate sauce instead
- Maple syrup
- A drizzle of drippy almond butter
- My date caramel or my 5 Minute Vegan Caramel Sauce
- A snow fall of powdered sugar
Variations
And a few ideas ideas for ways to switch it up before baking are:
- Peel and core an apple, chop, then scatter the chunks in amongst the bread before you pour over the custard and bake
- Add a handful or two of frozen or fresh berries in amongst the bread chunks before pouring over the custard
- Replace 2 or 3 tablespoons of coconut milk with Bourbon ... Helloooo boozy Vegan French Toast Casserole!
- Blend a banana up in the custard mixture
This Vegan French Toast Casserole is:
- Totally egg and dairy free
- Crispy and custardy all at the same time
- Sweet and indulgent
- Warming from the cinnamon
- Filling
- High in protein
- Really easy to make
- Ultra-convenient because you can get it all ready the night before if you need to
- A great way to use up stale bread
- Perfect for adorning with whatever toppings you desire
- Made for sharing with all your best people!
Breakfast perfection! I can't wait for you to try it.
If you tried this recipe, let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below! And be sure to join my mailing list for more deliciousness!
📖 Recipe
Vegan French Toast Casserole
Author:Ingredients
- 2 cups (480 mls) canned light coconut milk , see recipe notes if you only have full fat coconut milk
- ½ cup (100 grams) light or medium brown sugar or coconut sugar , plus more for sprinkling on top
- ¾ cup (160 g / 6 oz oz) silken tofu , or soft tofu (don't use firm or extra firm)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch , cornflour in the UK
- 2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric , optional (only for colour)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter , optional - omit to make the recipe oil-free
- 1lb (454 grams) crusty white bread , 2 or 3 day old bread is best. Cheap soft sliced grocery store white bread will not work in this recipe. It has to be sturdy, crusty bread, sourdough or baguette (use gluten-free bread if necessary)
- 1 handful chopped pecans or walnuts , for sprinkling on the top (optional)
Frosting
- ½ cup (65 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons plant milk or water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the coconut milk, sugar, silken tofu, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and optional turmeric and vegan butter to a blender and blend until smooth. It might look a little speckly but that's fine. It won't be noticeable when it's baked.
- Cut the loaf of bread into 1 inch cubes and put them into an ovenproof dish that holds about 2 quarts, or measures about 8 x 12 inches or 9 x 13 inches. You can even squeeze it into a 10 x 10 inch one if you need to.
- Pour the blended "custard' over the bread cubes, making sure to cover each one as you pour. Leave to soak up the custard for at least 30 minutes, or cover with cling-wrap and put in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °). Scatter the French Toast Casserole with a generous amount of brown sugar then some nuts for extra crunch and flavour too. Omit if you need it to be nut-free.
- Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top layer of bread cubes are golden and toasty. Keep an eye on it in the last 10 minutes and if the top layer of bread cubes gets too golden, cover with a square of foil to protect them. It should be ok without foil though. I've never had to use it.
- Once you remove the casserole from the oven, make the frosting by putting the powdered sugar in small bowl then adding a tablespoon of milk. Stir and add up to a tablespoon more, until you have a thick pourable consistency. You shouldn't need any more than 2 tablespoons.
- Drizzle the frosting all over the casserole before you serve.
NOTES
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.
Kim says
Delicious, but the bottom was soggy. Should I have poured off the liquid that did not get absorbed overnight?
Melanie McDonald says
You shouldn't pour off the custard. A French Toast Casserole should be custardy and soft and melty on the bottom. If it was really liquidy and didn't absorb into the bread, is there a chance your tofu to canned coconut milk measurements were slightly off or the bread wasn't a good quality crusty bread that was stale? If it isn't crusty stale bread then the custard can't absorb properly and the casserole won't set up as it should. It's possible it just needed a few more minutes in the oven too. All ovens cook differently. Using a smaller deeper dish than specified would affect the cooking time too. Hope that helps!
Lindsey says
This was great! Followed as written except used firm tofu because I had it on hand. I also made some blueberry sauce to go with it and that worked well. Definitely will make again. Thank you!
Patricia Giannelia says
Hi;
Made it as a test run for Christmas morning - worked great. A few modifications - did not use coconut milk, but what I had in the fridge (I think it was oat). I also added some raisins and chopped dried apricots - I suspect dried cranberries, and chopped dried ginger would be great additions.
For the silken tofu - we often buy dessert tofu that comes in 2 x 125 ml packs - banana, mango, almond, and plain - works great in baking as a fat or egg replacement. Used two packs for the recipe as easier than 3.4 cups - worked fine.
One challenge - it made a ton - two 8x8 casseroles, kind of a lot for a household of three - so I will halve it next time.
Finding bread was a challenge, as we try to eat whole grain - compromised on Cobs Cinnamon Bread (they were out of Apricot Delight, our favourite) - worked well. Another possibility is to try it with Silver Hills Cinnamon Raisin - sprouted whole grain, completely oil free and great taste.
Thanks!
Lyn says
Hello! Thanks for the recipe. I'm really looking forward to making this for family at Christmas. I'm doing a trial run first. My liquid mixture is brown from all the cinnamon and vanilla, is this normal? There is no way turmeric will make this egg color. How set should the custard be when fully cooked? Firm like scrambled eggs or more like pudding? I don't want to feed people an undercooked breakfast! Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
There's no way to avoid the custard being coloured by cinnamon and vanilla. That happens in any recipe you use them in whether it's vegan or not. As long as you cook the recipe at the temperature it states and for the length of time it states it won't be undercooked. The texture will be like French toast texture. Not like pudding or scrambled eggs. Hope that helps!
Debby says
This has become a staple with my family. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Cindy says
Hi, I can’t wait to try this, it looks wonderful! I have both soft and firm shelf stable silken tofu. Which would you recommend I use for this? Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
It doesn't really matter in this recipe as long as it's silken. Choose based on how firm you want the "eggy bits" in your casserole to be!
Danette jean rose says
Hi again, Thank you for answering so quickly. I forgot the other question I had for you! It calls for 4 cups of coconut milk, but in the notes it says to add the water to the full fall coconut milk and use 2 cups. Please let us know if there should be 2 or 4 cups of milk in the casserole.
Thank you so much!!
Danette
A Virtual Vegan says
I think you must have misread it. The recipe calls for 2 cups of light coconut milk not 4. The bit in the notes is for people who don't have light coconut milk and need to use full fat coconut milk. Diluting the full fat milk with water makes it the equivalent of light coconut milk but because you've added water to it you end up with double the amount so only need to use 2 cups of it in the recipe and save the rest for something else.
Danette Barner says
Hi there, This looks so good. I am serving it to a group of families at a winter camp. Some of the folks are soy sensitive. Do you think using mashed bananas in place of the tofu would work?
Thank you, Danette
A Virtual Vegan says
No, sorry! The tofu is what makes it set like an egg French toast casserole would. If you omit it or use bananas it would end up really soggy and unpleasant. You would be better off looking for an already soy free recipe with good ratings. Maybe one that uses chickpea flour?
Miranda says
Hey Mel, First off, this is an amazing recipe! Thank you so much for posting it. I’m in a vegan instant pot group on Facebook. I posted this recipe asking for ideas of how long to cook it under high-pressure. One of the other members suggested I reach out to you here, because you do stuff in the instant pot also. I know it won’t get toasty crispy on top but I’m limited as I’m going camping. I was thinking 5 to 10 minutes with the keep warm after.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Miranda. Glad you're enjoying the recipe! And yes I love my Instant Pot but I wouldn't personally cook this in an Instant Pot. I think it's way too damp an environment and it would end up really soggy and unpleasant. The beauty of it is the combination of textures. Soft and custardy and crispy toasty.
But if you really want to, I will say that I've actually never cooked anything like this in my Instant Pot, but I just had a look at some non vegan Instant Pot French toast casseroles and they seem to cook at 25 mins high pressure with quick release. That feels too long for me. I think I'd go for 10 like you said then check it. It might need a bit longer but at least it won't end up overcooked. I hope that helps!
Miranda says
Thank you so much for the quick reply. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Miranda says
I ended up putting it in a crockpot and cooking it On high for about 2 1/2 hours. It was a little moist in the middle but it did get crunchy on the sides. Everybody loved it and wished that I had made more. The non-vegans had no idea until I told them LOL.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased it worked out ok!
Anne Atkinson says
Hi
Could you substitute a plant based milk for the coconut milk as I cannot eat any coconut product.
Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
You can but the custard won't be as rich and creamy.
Lindsay says
Really delicious and easy. Tip: if you buy a fresh loaf of bread, just cube it and bake in the oven on 350(F) until dry. Boom :)
I make this for friend brunches and it always disappears. Yum!
Kelly says
This is really good , great for a family brunch. Bonus it makes your house smell great while it’s cooking ?
A Virtual Vegan says
It does make your house smell lovely eh? Glad you're enjoying it!
Hillary says
This is such a great brunch recipe - a bit more of a bread pudding than french toast type result but absolutely delicious either way. I made it per the recipe the first time (for Christmas morning) and it was great. The second time (for New Years morning), I swapped 1 tsp of maple extract for 1 tsp of vanilla and added 2 chopped apples and that was fantastic as well. My only comment is that it really does benefit from being stirred a few times if you are planning on doing just a 30 minute wait, otherwise the custard doesn't have the opportunity to get soaked into the bread adequately. A quick stir 2-3 times during the 30 minute wait solves that issue though. A definite keeper. Will be making again! Thank you!
Monika says
Very good! I made this for New Years Day brunch. I was pleasantly surprised at the “eggy” consistency of the custard when baked. I left off the frosting drizzle, it was already sweet enough. Highly recommend!
Ann says
This recipe was a hit with everyone, not just the vegans in our family. We should have doubled it! It was even better heated up the second day!