French Toast is a Classic
Jump to RecipeFrench toast is part of the fabric of American classic foods. And it’s on every home menu. It can be embellished in many different ways. Stuff it or use fancy bread. It works. Plus, it’s delicious.
But, vegan french toast…
But for all the ways there are to veganize recipes, for some frustrating reason, french toast was a struggle. Just when I thought, ‘this is it, this is the one that is a keeper’ the next time I’d attempt to recreate it, it would fail.
Then there would be long stretches where I just threw in the towel and gave up for a while.
But, it was always sitting in the back of my thoughts like the missing last piece of a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. And I knew I would never completely give up looking for it. I just needed to stick with it and keep trying for the ever-elusive combination that would, once and for all, give me the french toast I desired.
The creation I longed for
First, it would be a nice golden color. It would be buttery and eggy, with a slightly crispy outer crust and a softer melt-in-your-mouth inside. It had to be quality bread to get it to really stand out from the rest. And it wouldn’t be so fragile and mushy that it would fall apart before it hit the pan. And, speaking of the pan, it had to be special, so the french toast didn’t get stuck when flipping because that was a recurring nightmare.
The process begins
I tried simple recipes, then elaborate recipes. But after all the recipe sampling, when it came down to the best one, I followed my instincts.
My healthy frozen sprouted bread was swapped with something more appropriate for a classic french toast consistency. Then more vegan butter was added. The spices and flavor ingredients were boosted. I was all-in for the best possible outcome. It’s not an everyday kind of choice after all.
look at that egg-like texture!
Bringing it all together
So with that in mind, I got out my nonstick Scan Pan. Then I plopped a good size chunk of vegan butter in that pan. I gave it extra time to brown that butter onto my chunky piece of bread without trying to flip (with my favorite flexible turner) too soon. Plus I added a little something extra that brought it all home…. kala namak– aka, black salt. This provided the eggy flavor I’d been missing. Viola! I fried up my most delicious version of french toast yet!
Healthy-ish
But although this yummy breakfast treat is not #1 on the list of healthiest breakfast choices, it does include organic tofu, cinnamon, and nutritional yeast in the ingredients. So- some healthy stuff in there too! 😉
Try it with our Saucy Apples!
Goes wonderful with our vegan bacon alternative too!
Berries are good!
or just simply a bit of maple syrup…..
Favorite French Toast
Ingredients
- 12 ounces firm tofu
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I use the Westsoy or Trader Joe's soy milk with just 2 ingredients: soybeans and water) If using sweetened non dairy milk, you can omit maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons chickpea flour (or use all purpose flour or corn starch)
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon kala namak (black salt) can omit but it helps to add an egg flavor
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter (can sub with coconut oil)
- 8-10 slices 1/2- 3/4 inch cut slices of bread (vegan brioche, vegan challah or sourdough are good choices). Day old is best or leave out on counter while mixing ingredients to dry out a bit so bread doesn't get too soggy.
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except bread and butter (tofu, milk, flour, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, vanilla, black salt, cinnamon and nutmeg) into blender. Blend on high to break down tofu and incorporate all ingredients. (You don't want little bits of tofu so blend well). Then pour batter into pie plate or similar container to be able to coat bread slices.
- Place first bread slice into batter and coat on both sides. If more than one slice of bread fits without overlapping, add those now too.
- Heat non-stick skillet on medium to med/high heat. Add butter (or coconut oil).
- When butter is melted and pan is hot, add soaked bread slices to pan to fit, without overlapping. Don't crowd pan. (I like to sprinkle just a pinch more black salt and cinnamon on top of bread, after adding to pan.) Now add more bread to batter in pie plate to soak on both sides while first slices are cooking.
- Dont be in a rush to flip bread slices in frying pan. Let them cook for approximately 5-7 minutes to form a golden crust. Then carefully slide spatula (very thin type spatula works best), under slices, check for golden/ light brown color and then when the spatula easily glides under bread, flip to cook on other side.
- Continue until all batter is used. You may need/like to add more butter/coconut oil to pan with each new addition of bread slices to achieve the best rich, golden fried outcome. Depending on thickness and size of bread and length of time soaking, you should get about 8-10 slices, more or less. Leftovers freeze well, too!
- I like to top with frozen berries that have been cooked down in the microwave or on the stovetop mixed with a bit of maple syrup.
