Vegan French Toast

The ultimate vegan French toast for an easy and healthy weekend breakfast or brunch! Refined sugar free and chia seed free, this French toast tastes just like the classic!

One of my favorite parts about food freedom eating French toast again without any qualms. I’m about 3 years (maybe a little more?) into full freedom from a decade long battle with an eating disorder, and I have to say: French toast tastes so much better without any guilt. To think I spent so many years fearing this beautifully cinnamon-y and comforting dish!

This vegan French toast might actually be my favorite. Of course, I used my vegan Challah bread recipe, which made me think of the Challah French toast Jared and I always used to make when we lived in New York.

If you have the time to make Challah bread to go with this eggless French toast, I highly recommend it.

But back to this dish. So I’m quite in love with it. It makes for the easiest yet dairy free and egg free breakfast or brunch. The cinnamon bursts out of the bread, and it’s filled with a slightly vanilla aroma and taste. Just how French toast should be in my opinion!

Plus, us it’s significantly different than other vegan French toast recipes on the interwebs 😉

Why this vegan French toast is the best

So vegan French toast is certainly not new to hit the inter webs. But I did a bit of digging and found out people really don’t like the taste of chia seed and it never yields a fantastic texture.

Some say to use chickpea flour or cornstarch, but the results are again *iffy* at best.

Well, it seemed silly to me, but why not just use flaxseed?! Some people think flaxseed and chia seed are essentially the same, but chia most definitely has a stronger taste. Plus, if I had to choose between the two, I’d say flaxseed acts more like an egg over chia.

So this eggless French toast is actually chia free, corn free, chickpea free, and refined sugar free!

And no, it’s not just non-dairy milk sweetened up a bit.

This French toast is actually tastes and has the texture of classic French toast.

The trick? It’s all in how you prepare the ingredients. Think about it. Have you ever watched the Great British Bakeoff? Well, if you haven’t, there’s always a second challenge in which the contestants are given all of the ingredients, but not told how to make the dish. So the results are actually quite funny- they’re all so different!

Same goes with this vegan French toast. If you don’t add the ingredients together properly, your French toast will definitely be more soggy than custard-like!

Which is why this is the best vegan French toast: we’re going to walk through how exactly to get that custard like texture that everyone loves!

How to make French toast without eggs and milk

Making vegan French toast isn’t as complicated as it seems. And it will still taste absolutely delicious! With hints of cinnamon and vanilla, this easy French toast recipe will even have connoisseurs of the dish be begging you for your recipe 😉

But first, let’s go over the ingredients, because making French toast without eggs or milk may sound a little funny to some people!

For this recipe, you’ll need the following:

• Vegan bread (gluten free if needed! I recommend using my easy vegan Challah bread recipe!)
• Dairy free milk (the thicker the better: I recommend my homemade 5 minutes oat milk or a thick coconut milk from the can)
• Ground flaxseed
• Arrowroot powder (this replaces cornstarch: I honestly feel it yields a better texture)
• Vanilla extract (a MUST)
• Maple syrup
• Cinnamon (but of course)

Now you’ll notice we’re using maple syrup in the actual batter of the vegan French toast. This is not a mistake! It honestly gives the best flavor and consistency.

If you’re in the New York/tri-state area, I recommend Crown Maple. However, if you’re not, your local maple syrup will do!

Now onto the fun part: making the French toast!

It’s really simple, but definitely requires some vigorous whisking. Basically, you’ll need to:

1. Pour all ingredients (except for the bread ha!) into a large bowl with sides so that when you whisk everything together it doesn’t spill.
2. Next, use a whisk or a fork to vigorously beat everything together until it’s basically a thick whipped batter, almost like the consistency of traditional French toast batter.
3. Then, place one slice of bread into the batter and let it soak for 2-3 minutes. You want to really allow the bread to absorb the mixture. Flip the bread and let it soak again for another 2 minutes.
4. Then, preheat a skillet with coconut oil on medium high heat. Place the soaked bread onto the skillet and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. If it doesn’t look cooked like French toast, allow it to cook for longer. Flip to the other side and repeat.

Then just repeat this process until all of your bread slices become French toast!

Tips for making the ultimate vegan French toast

• I recommend using a thick bread for this toast. My Challah bread is used in the photos of this recipe, but I’ve also tried it with a few other breads: the thicker the bread, the better the French toast!
• I don’t recommend swapping out flaxseed with the chia seed. I just think that chia seed French toast doesn’t come out as good!
• Feel free to play with the spices! If you want more cinnamon, go for it! If you want to add in spices like ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, etc., this vegan French toast is your canvas!
• You can swap in cornstarch for arrowroot powder if you’re hesitant to try arrowroot powder…but my honest opinion is that I prefer the arrowroot powder to the cornstarch.
• Go for the toppings you want! I love adding coconut whipped cream and berries, but it’s also delicious with chocolate chips and peanut butter (or seed butter if you’re allergic!).

I hope you love this vegan French toast as much as I do 🙂 If you give it a go, let me know how it goes down below in the comments section!

As always, I love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!

Happy French toasting!

More Healthy Vegan Breakfast Recipes:

Whole30 Breakfast Sweet Potato Bowls

Paleo Vegan Sweet Potato Waffles

Banana Bread Granola

Whole30 Vegan Grain Free Oatmeal

Vegan Overnight Oats

Vegan Breakfast Burritos

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If you make something from The Banana Diaries, I would love to see your creations! Don’t forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment below! Also, follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook for more vegan recipe inspiration!

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