Ok, your brunch dreams are about to come true with THE best Vegan French Toast ever! It’s soft, sweet, vanilla scented, golden perfection & all you need to make it are a few simple ingredients & 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.
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.
Some Vegan French Toast truths
Do you want to know why I haven’t tried to work on a Vegan French Toast recipe before?
I have tried many recipes, from some excellent vegan bloggers but at the end of the day their recipes are always bread dipped in sweet plant-based milk, or a mixture of plant-based milk and chia seeds. Sometime even chickpea flour makes an appearance. All of these are ok, but the results are nowhere near as good as proper eggy French Toast. Sweet milk or sweet milk with some chia seeds stirred in is not custard and just doesn’t do it for me. If I can’t make it as good as the original then I’m not making it at all.
Years of French Toast disappointment and longing have passed. Seriously, it was my favourite brunch prior to becoming vegan. Then, a couple of weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea.
Yes, I’m weird. I keep a notebook beside my bed because I often wake up with ideas and if I don’t write them down, by the morning they have disappeared into recipe oblivion.
So anyway, my idea worked and here we are.
How to make Vegan French Toast?
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 Vegan French Toast 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.
To make the “custard” all you have to do is:
Add the tofu, plant-based milk, vanilla, sugar, salt and cinnamon to a blender and blend until smooth.
It does need to become silky smooth so make sure your blender is up to the job. The last thing you want are lumps of tofu in your custard. I use a Blendtec blender similar to this one: (<<affiliate link)
Then you are going to cut some big thick slices of 
slightly stale, crusty white bread. Using a good quality loaf makes all the difference to the finished result and using bread that is a little dry or even really stale gives the best results. Fresh bread ends up too soggy.
Get those slices and drench them in the custard.
Then pan-fry or griddle until absolutely golden brown and crispy around the edges.
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.
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.
Can I make it in advance?
You could make the custard in advance and keep it in the fridge ready to dunk bread in at a moments 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
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 vanilla vegan yogurt 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 or Blueberry Lavender Sauce .
This is why I am loving this recipe:
- The texture is perfection. It’s like proper eggy French toast only without the eggs!…<Thank you tofu>
- It’s so tender and rich
- That colour! It’s so golden brown. I did not touch up the goldenness in my photos at all (note that I did brush a little vegan butter on the griddle plates and if you don’t use butter then yours might not turn out quite as golden).
- It is not soggy like many other Vegan French Toast recipes I have tried
- It tastes amazing! (promise you can’t taste the tofu!)
- It’s really high in protein at 10g per slice!
- It’s really filling and keeps you feeling that way for hours!
Ok, time to make all of your brunching dreams come true….Let’s do this!
And if you really like vegan brunch type situations, check out my Giant Blueberry Vegan Pancake, The Best Vegan Banana Pancakes, Vegan Scrambled Eggs and my Banana Waffles.
Vegan French Toast
Ingredients
- 240mls / 1 cup plant-based milk *
- 130g / 4½ oz / ½ heaping, very packed cup extra firm tofu **
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cane 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 (around 1 inch) slices of crusty white bread (a couple of days old) *****
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. I set my griddle to 350°F.
- Brush the griddle/pan with a little vegan butter (even if it's non stick I recommend doing this as it makes it much easier to keep the golden crust that develops on the bread intact when turning it).
- 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 hot griddle or pan. Cook for around 4-5 minutes then flip carefully and cook for another 4-5 minutes on the other side. 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. Keep an eye on it while cooking and if there is any sign of it getting too dark turn it earlier or turn the heat down a little.
- Once it is very golden on each side, remove from the pan and serve immediately.
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!
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.
Tracy Tayan says
Thank you! Absolutely delicious and fits in my macros!
Melanie McDonald says
I’m really pleased you enjoyed it Tracy!
Alice says
Best vegan french toast I’ve ever had! Even the kids inhale this one. And they are especially picky! Thanks Mel!
Melanie McDonald says
That’s awesome. I’m so pleased you all enjoyed it!
Steph says
What do you think about making the dipping mixture the night before and keeping it in the fridge? I want to make a surprise breakfast, and not wake anyone with the blender in the morning. Any input? :D
Melanie McDonald says
You could make the “custard” in the blender and keep it in the fridge. Or just make this. It can be prepared the night before and all you would have to do is get up and put it in the oven! https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-french-toast-casserole/
Kimberly says
I’m vegan, my husband and kids are not. I’m always trying to find new recipes because it’s rare to find something everyone likes. Made these a few days ago and EVERYONE loved them and was asking for more! Great recipe and will definitely make again! Thanks for sharing
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m so pleased you tried it and that everybody loved it. Thanks for stopping by to leave a comment Kimberly. It’s much appreciated!
Diana says
Wow, just made these today! Holy French toast!!! I could not believe how custardy the toasts were. My husband and I thank you sooo much for coming up with this simple, delicious recipe!
All the way from Viet Nam!
A Virtual Vegan says
Aaaww thank you! I’m so pleased you both enjoyed it!
Kevin Wells says
Great recipe! If you use cast iron though (as I did), liberally oil your pan! My first slices stuck to the pan and lost most of their golden brown (just like the good old days…lol). I used more oil (coconut) for the second batch, and they came out much better. Since this recipe has a lot of carbs, I tried lowering that some with 1 tablepoon of sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon of stevia. It was good, but still had a small aftertaste from the stevia. Question: I could not find any organic bread that I could slice myself or that was thick enough. Any suggestions? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
I’ve never cooked it in cast iron so that’s good to know. It’s hard for me to suggest bread, as unless you are local to me, my recommendations wouldn’t be of any use. I tend to make my own bread but when I don’t have time, I buy it from one of my local bakeries. I have a few near me that grow and mill their own flour and their bread is excellent. I don’t really care for the bread that is sold at most grocery stores. I guess I’ve been spoiled by eating homemade for so long! My advice would be to find a really great old fashioned bakery that makes their own bread daily. You can’t go wrong then and most good, artisan breads are naturally vegan. Anywhere decent will be happy to share the ingredients with you so you can make sure.