How to make the BEST Vegan French Toast! So easy to make in just 10 minutes, using everyday ingredients. You won’t miss the eggs at all in this delicious weekend morning breakfast. A secret ingredient makes these french toast incredibly crisp, thick and perfect!
French toast was one of the first meals I started making for myself as a kid. There wasn’t a lot of cooking or baking going on in my home growing up, in fact I lived on mostly convenience foods like canned spaghettios, ravioli and pop tarts. But we did make french toast a lot, especially on the weekends! It was easy, fast and simply delicious.
I had never made a vegan version of french toast before testing this recipe. Honestly, I was quite doubtful it would work, or be delicious enough to even post here. I have seen recipes for vegan french toast before, but I really couldn’t see how they could possibly taste as good as the nostalgic breakfast of my childhood.
Well, I was SO wrong! My family and I were SHOCKED at how good this vegan french toast tasted, and we ate the first batch up in about 5 minutes flat. Creamy on the inside (but NOT soggy at all), crispy on the outside, with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. The perfect french toast, period, and SO darn easy to make!!
How can I make Vegan French Toast without eggs?
The secret ingredient in my french toast recipe is so common I’m sure you have it in your pantry right now: Cornstarch. It’s perfect for getting that crisp exterior, and works like a charm as the bread cooks in the pan.
Without eggs, your batter for vegan french toast includes these ingredients: Soy milk (or any other non-dairy milk), cornstarch, ground flaxseeds (just a teaspoon, to help thicken the batter), 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (trust me), maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla.
How do you make vegan french toast?
It’s as easy or easier than the original! Whisk all the batter ingredients in a shallow bowl, large enough to hold a piece of bread.
Heat a little vegan butter or oil in a frying pan. Right before dipping the bread in the batter, whisk the mixture again (cornstarch will settle to the bottom.) Dip a piece of bread in the batter, on both sides, and soak for about 10 seconds.
Add the bread to the pan, and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy. Repeat with all remaining bread and batter, then serve immediately with maple syrup, powdered sugar and fresh fruit, if desired.
What kind of bread is best for french toast?
I used a quality loaf of ciabatta that was 1 day old. It was perfect. I wouldn’t recommend using soft sandwich bread, or your french toast runs the risk of being soggy. Thicker sliced bread works best, that is quite dry, such as french bread, sourdough or even a day old baguette. Smaller bread is fine, you will just have more french toast!
I hope you enjoy this Vegan French Toast!!
Want more vegan breakfast recipes? Check any of these out:
- Simple Vegan Pancakes
- Best Ever Vegan Waffles
- Tofu Scramble
- Easy Vegan Quiche
- Cinnamon Sugar Vegan Donuts
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Vegan French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6-8 slices thick sliced quality bread, such as ciabatta or french
- 2-3 tablespoons vegan butter or coconut oil for frying
- For serving: maple syrup, powdered sugar, or fresh fruit
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, wide enough to hold a piece of bread, whisk together the soy milk, cornstarch, ground flaxseeds, baking powder, cinnamon, maple syrup and vanilla.
- Add a little bit of vegan butter/coconut oil to a pan over medium-high heat and melt. Whisk the batter again right before dipping bread, as the cornstarch will settle to the bottom of the bowl.
- Dip each side of the bread in the batter and let soak for about 10 seconds, then add the bread to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Add more vegan butter/oil to the pan as needed in between pieces of bread.
- Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar and fresh fruit, if desired.
Video
Notes
- May use any kind of non-dairy milk, such as soy, coconut, almond, cashew or oat milk.
- For gluten free vegan french toast, use gluten free bread.
- This recipe does not freeze well, and is best served fresh.
Very delicious and so easy. Thank you!
Hi Kath. You are welcome! I’m so glad you love the French toast!
Delicious & fast recipe- My husband came back for seconds! Thank you, I love your recipes.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
6-8 pieces of bread used and recipe serves 3 people so is one serving 2 slices? It’s not clear enough. Or is it really 404 calories for 1 piece of this French toast?
Hi Elizabeth, the nutrition information is an estimate only. It will depend on what kind of bread you use, how big it is, etc. Usually it works out to around 2 slices, but it could be 3-4 if you are using small bread.
The best french toast recipe I’ve tried!!! Definitely need to use thick, rustic bread! We will be making this all the time!!
I’m happy to hear that you loved the French toast! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and review!
Excellent! I sprinkled sugar on the bread while pan frying yo give a little extra crisp and flavor.
The sugar sprinkle sounds delicious, Kamran! Thank you for sharing your great feedback and idea!
Is there a substitute for the ground flaxseed? Or can I just leave it out? What is the ground flaxseed bringing to the recipe? I can not use do to food allergy.
You can leave it out, no problem. Thanks!
Is there a substitute for maple or agave syrup that I can use? Maybe coconut sugar? Having a difficult time looking for the syrups in my area.
Sure! Any sugar will work really, like coconut sugar, brown sugar or even just plain old sugar. Hope that helps!
This was sooo delicious, thank you for this recipe!! Here’s some things to try.
– Frying in olive oil works, coconut oil is even better!
– If frying in oil instead of vegan butter, consider adding some salt to the batter
– For soft sandwich bread, reduce dipping time to 3 seconds
– For crispier French toast, increase frying time to 3-4 minutes per side
Hi Chuck, thanks so much for your wonderful feedback!
My mom doesn’t eat eggs but I wanted to make her French toast, your recipe seems perfect! But she will get mad if I told her about the cornstarch ? what would you recommend as a substitute?
Hi Selena, both arrowroot starch and tapioca starch will work in place of the cornstarch. Happy cooking!
Also… potato starch worked great for me!
Can you use sourdough bread for this recipe?
Yes, sourdough is perfect for french toast.
Is it possible to use rice flour instead of the cornstarch?
I don’t think it will quite have the same effect, but I bet it would be okay.
This is my first try at an egg and dairy free French toast it was delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing your review and feedback!
Delicious! My non-vegan family members loved it. It was even good on my gluten free bread.
Thank you for sharing your great review and comments! I’m glad the friend toast was a hit!
This has got to be the BEST french toast recipe that I have ever tried. I made it this morning for my breakfast and I was blown away. I think this tastes so much better than the traditional version as you don’t have that eggy taste left in your mouth after you eat it. I only changed one thing about it. I added a teaspoon+ of rum to the mixture. Next up Spanish rice tonight for dinner.
Thank you for sharing your review and feedback! Your addition sounds like a winner! I am so glad you enjoyed the French toast! I hope you enjoy the rice! Wishing you happy cooking!
That was AMAZING. thank you?❤️
I have made this probably four times already. It is my favorite French toast recipe – so tasty! 🙂
Hello, what does the baking soda do?
This was an amazing recipe! It was dairy free and egg free, but most importantly it tasted delicious. The French toast was crunchy, sweet, salty and unexpectedly light.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments! I’m thrilled you loved the French toast! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Could I use tapioca starch in place of corn starch!?
Yes, tapioca starch or even arrowroot work for this recipe!
This recipe is AMAZING! Thank you so much! My son has multiple allergies and finding good egg and dairy free options can be a challenge. He recently wanted to try French toast because his older brother loves it. I tried using a vegan egg substitute, but it left a weird aftertaste and had a strange texture. This was my second attempt and it is truly perfect! I used gluten free sandwich bread and it came out great. You would never know there is no egg! It had the perfect taste and texture. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
I’m so glad your son is able to enjoy my French toast recipe! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and feedback!
This recipe was delicious. Honestly, vegan or not this is the best tasting french toast I’ve ever had. Thanks for taking the time to perfect this. I will definitely be making this again.
Thank you for sharing your terrific review and comments! I’m so glad you loved the French toast!
Can I do this with out flax seeds
Sure, just leave them out. It still works!
Ever since I made this recipe my kids keep asking for it! It’s delicious!
Hi Norah! I haven’t had French toast since I went vegan a year and a half ago. This recipe was a wonderful surprise! Thank you so much it was amazing! I used a baguette that I had and my husband and son easily had 8 pieces each!! This will be in our weekend or breakfast-for-supper rotation from now on!
Hi Nicole. I’m so thrilled you guys loved the French toast, and that it has been added to your meal rotation! Thank you for taking time to share your terrific review!
WOW! My kids begged for more and told me how sorry they were that I couldn’t have any (I am allergic to eggs)…they have a “thing” about vegan recipes and were shocked when I told them mom could eat some too! (And weren’t all that thrilled to have to share…) 😉
I’m really glad you were able to eat some French toast too! LOL! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments!
Wow. This recipe is a keeper! I used a different vegan French toast recipe before that used flour and it always chunked up. The corn starch is smooth as silk. The French toast was crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside with great cinnamon and some sweet Maple syrup flavor. We love your recipes, Nora! Thanks for another winner.
Hi Katie. Thank you for using my recipes, I’m so glad you love them! That means a lot to me! I appreciate you taking your time to share you terrific review and comments on the French toast! I’m glad you love it! Happy cooking!