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!
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FEATURED COMMENT
"Without a doubt the best vegan French toast recipe I have tried. My boyfriend adores French toast and since becoming vegan, I have been on the hunt for a recipe that would taste like the real deal and this is it!"
- Julie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
Raise your hands if you love French Toast. *me! me! me!* It's got to be one of the best vegan breakfast recipes and today I am 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!>
Mel x
How To Make French Toast Without Eggs
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 even better than the traditional egg version.
To do that we make our vegan French Toast with a custard made from extra firm tofu instead of eggs. It sounds strange but it really works and it's way better than all the vegan versions out there that use ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, or cornstarch. And it gets bonus points for being packed with protein!
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 center and it's something that is missing in most vegan eggless French toast recipes.
And that my friends is where my recipe is different. Because it uses extra firm tofu instead of eggs, as the French Toast cooks in the pan the custard starts to set and you end up with the same texture as you would if using eggs. It really makes a world of difference and that is why this really is the best vegan French toast recipe. Interestingly I use tofu in much the same way in my vegan quiche recipe and it works just as well.
Ingredients
Here's a quick rundown on what you need to make to make this recipe:
- Extra-firm tofu - It must be extra-firm tofu or you won't get the intended texture.
- Dairy-free milk - Any type you like such as almond milk, soy milk, almond milk, or cashew milk. Preferably unsweetened. If it happens to be sweetened omit the sugar from the recipe.
- Vanilla, cinnamon, salt - All for rich delicious flavor!
- 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 flavor.
- Bread - Crusty, sturdy, good quality bread. More on that below.
Let's Make Vegan French Toast!
Can't wait to make this delicious Vegan French Toast? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your own kitchen. I also recommend watching my recipe video.
1 - Blend up the custard.
2 - Cut bread into thick slices and drench them in the custard mixture.
3 - Fry in a hot pan. Don't turn until a nice golden crust has formed.
4 - You can serve them up as you cook each slice or pile them up on a plate and keep them warm in a very low oven until you've finished cooking the entire batch.
Making In Advance
You can make the custard 2 or 3 days in advance and keep it in the fridge ready to dunk bread into at a moment's notice, and you can also reheat the cooked French Toast slices in a hot pan or a toaster.
However, if you want a really great prep in advance option I highly recommend you check out my Vegan French Toast Casserole. That can be prepped 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 a lazy weekend or holiday brunch and is always my most popular breakfast recipe during the holidays!
Serving Suggestions
Of all of my vegan tofu recipes, this Vegan French Toast is my favorite. 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 or vegan brown butter to melt over it too.
It is also amazing served with anything you'd eat with pancakes, like a dollop of vegan yogurt or whipped vegan ricotta, and fresh berries of choice, and a glug of maple syrup too if you are feeling generous!
Or try it with my vegan caramelized bananas, frozen berry compote, Vanilla Roasted Strawberries, Date Caramel, Vegan Lemon Curd, or Blueberry Lavender Sauce.
Recipe FAQs
French Toast is a simple recipe. It's important to use quality ingredients for it to be at its best. Slightly stale, rustic, crusty, white bread like French bread or sourdough, cut into thick slices makes the best French Toast.
That's because it's sturdy with good texture and won't fall apart easily and it has goof flavor. Because it's stale and not fresh it is able to absorb the tofu custard better. 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 flavor.
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.
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.
No. A recipe will always say if you need to press the tofu. In this recipe it is being blended up into a wet custard so it doesn't need to be pressed.
If 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.
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.
Use gluten-free bread. The custard is naturally gluten-free.
Recipe
Vegan French Toast
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 mls) dairy-free milk
- 4½ oz (130 grams) extra firm tofu (about ½ a cup that is very packed in)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sugar , cane, turbinado or white (not brown or coconut sugar)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea 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 not to move it or peek until a nice crust has formed on each side.
- Remove from the pan and serve immediately or keep warm on a plate in a low oven until the entire batch is ready.
NOTES
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HeidiSue says
I made it, and it tastes amazing! The texture is great too. This was my first attempt at vegan French toast. I haven’t thought about it much, but this is a winner! My mistake was using regular square sandwich bread so it fell apart and looked very wonky. But I saved the remainder of my batter and will do it again with heartier bread. Well done
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. Heartier, crusty bread makes all the difference. Even better when it's a few days old. You'll love it even more when you try it again!
Dr. Jerry says
This was amazing! My cardiologist put me on a vegan diet and I've been looking for recipes for our weekend "fun" breakfast. This French toast was just like traditional French toast but without the guilt. Cooking notes: We used an immersion blender and it worked great; had tofu frappé in seconds. For the bread, we had whole-grain rye bread on hand so that's what we used ~ it gave the toast a wonderful, nutty flavor.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. I really appreciate it!
Hanna says
This recipe was great and sooo easy. I used a magic bullet instead of a blender and it was great! I was very impressed with how simple and tasty it turned out.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great Hanna. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated !
Brittany Brown says
Delicious!
Darnetta Izean says
These French toast was so good evening my kids kept asking for more even though they were already full. Since I been vegan breakfast been the only area I struggle with when it come to breakfast we use to eat. Thank you again this recipe will definitely be one of my family request for Sunday breakfast.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's so good to hear Darnetta. It's a family favourite here too. Thank you so much for stopping by to let me know. It's much appreciated!
Kerstin Decker says
what do you mean when you say " use neutral milk" what do you call neutral?
A Virtual Vegan says
There was a word missing there. It should have said "neutral tasting" milk. i.e one that isn't strongly flavoured. I like to use cashew milk or soy for this recipe.
Jennifer Klein says
Is this calling for 1/2 c of tofu or 1 cup? I cannot tell with the way it’s worded. Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
It's ½ cup or 130g/4½oz
Tonya says
So. Darn. Good. I used a lovely brioche loaf. It was very fresh and I didn't want to wait for it to go stale so I sliced and lightly toasted the bread before soaking in the custard. Absolute perfection!
A Virtual Vegan says
Sounds lovely! So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for stopping by to leave feedback!
Cindi says
I think you've hit on something here. We all loved it. I made it with the day old homemade whole wheat bread which worked perfectly. The only change I made was using black salt instead of regular salt top give it a little more eggy taste.
A Virtual Vegan says
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Cindi!
Kimberly says
I've had this recipe twice lately and it's amazing! I'm allergic to eggs, so I haven't been able to have "real" french toast in about three years. This was just as good, if not even better than I remember! I added a little nutritional yeast as well. I will definitely be making this again!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome Kimberley. I'm so glad you are enjoying it and thank you so much for coming back to leave feedback. I really appreciate it!
Lori Shafaye says
Thank you! This is the Best vegan recipe for french toast!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Lori, I'm glad you think so!
Sharon says
Do you drain and press the tofu well before using? And what milk is good to use ? Would Good Karma flax milk work? I usually use that or almond milk.
A Virtual Vegan says
No you don't need to drain and press the tofu. As for milk, I have no experience of Good Karma milk as it isn't available here. I have personally never tried flax milk either so have no idea whether it has a distinctive flavour. Any milk that's neutral and that you like the flavour of will work. Soy and cashew are the ones I tend to use most in recipes. Hope that helps!
Albert Bevia says
This is such an incredible recipe! my wife is vegan so I have tried many vegan french toast recipes, but like you said, they just don´t cut it, making this tomorrow morning for breakfast!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Albert. I hope you and your wife enjoy it!
Vanessa Cassani says
Wow! I'm amazed and proud this recipe was a success. Sometimes it can be difficult to find that egg substitute we use in our foods sometimes.
Dale says
Fabulous recipe!
Ashley says
The best French toast I've ever made vegan or not.
Zory says
Hello, do you use regular (refrigerator) block tofu or (Morinu brand)silken tofu?
A Virtual Vegan says
You need extra firm tofu from a regular block.