Author: This vegan French toast is golden and lightly crisp on the outside with a soft, custardy center, just like classic French toast, but completely egg-free. The simple batter comes together in minutes with pantry staples and works beautifully with thick slices of bread. Perfect for weekend brunch or an easy breakfast-for-dinner.
This is the vegan French toast I've always wanted! Golden and lightly crisp on the outside, soft and custardy in the middle, with that classic vanilla French toast flavor. And the best part? You don't need eggs or any fancy egg replacers to make it. Just whisk together a simple batter, dip your bread, and fry until golden. Easy!
The secret is a combination of flour and cornstarch. The flour gives the batter body and creates that soft, custardy coating, while cornstarch helps the outside crisp and brown beautifully. Add thick slices of slightly stale bread and you have seriously dreamy French toast that's ready in just 20 minutes. Pass the maple syrup!
Why You'll Love This Vegan French Toast
- Classic French toast flavor: Vanilla, a touch of maple syrup, and optional cinnamon give you that familiar French toast flavor, no eggs needed.
- Custardy inside, golden outside: Thick-cut bread soaks up just enough batter to become soft in the middle while the outside cooks up lightly crisp.
- So easy: No blender or fancy egg replacer. Just whisk, dip, and fry. It's ready in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients for Vegan French Toast
- Plant-based milk: Keeps this French toast completely dairy-free. Soy or oat milk are my favorites because they're rich and creamy.
- Cornstarch + flour: These work together to replace some of what eggs normally do in French toast. Flour gives the batter body and helps create that soft, custardy coating, while cornstarch helps the outside brown and crisp.
- Maple syrup: You don't need much since you'll want to drizzle more on top when you're serving it!
- Vanilla extract: For that classic French toast flavor.
- Cinnamon: This is optional, but I love a little cinnamon in my French toast!
- Salt: Just a pinch helps balance the sweetness.
- Vegan butter or neutral oil: For frying. I love using my homemade vegan butter.
- Bread: Thick-cut bread (about ¾ inch thick) gives the best texture, creating a soft, custardy center without becoming soggy. Slightly stale bread works especially well.
How to Make Vegan French Toast
- Make the Batter: Whisk the batter ingredients together in a shallow bowl until smooth.
- Dip the Bread: Quickly dip each slice of bread into the batter to coat both sides. Don't soak it!
- Cook: Fry in a hot skillet with a little vegan butter or oil until golden and lightly crisp on both sides.
- Serve: Top with maple syrup and all your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Tips and Variations
- Preheat your skillet: If the pan isn't hot enough, the batter is more likely to stick. You want that immediate sizzle and sear when the French toast hits the pan.
- Don't soak the bread: A quick dip coats the bread without leaving your French toast sad and soggy.
- Use slightly stale bread: Fresh, soft bread is more delicate. Slightly stale bread has more structure and won't fall apart when dipped in the batter.
- Make it oil-free: Use a good-quality non-stick skillet and omit the vegan butter or oil.
- Make it gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten-free bread and a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Gluten-free breads vary quite a bit, so you may need to adjust the dipping or cooking time.
Banana Coconut French Toast
Want something a little sweeter? Try my original Banana Coconut French Toast! Before I developed this more classic version, my French toast recipe used banana and full-fat coconut milk to create a rich, naturally sweet batter. It has subtle banana flavor, gets slightly caramelized as it cooks, and honestly feels a little more like dessert. Yum!
This was the original version of this recipe for years, so I know some longtime readers still love it. I've kept the full recipe in the recipe card below so you can choose whichever version you're craving: classic and custardy or sweet and banana-coconut.
What to Serve with Vegan French Toast
For a simple breakfast, I'm very happy with a big stack of French toast, plenty of maple syrup, vegan butter, and some fresh berries. If you're making a full weekend brunch, add something savory on the side to balance all that sweetness.
- Tofu bacon or tempeh bacon
- Vegan breakfast sausage patties
- Tofu scramble
- Fresh fruit or fruit salad
- Coconut whipped cream
- Chia jam
- Vegan Nutella
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Store leftover vegan French toast in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Arrange the cooked slices in a single layer and freeze until solid, then transfer the slices to a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Reheat French toast in a skillet, toaster oven, or toaster until hot and lightly crisp again. Frozen slices can be reheated straight from frozen!
If you try this vegan French toast recipe, let me know by leaving a comment and rating it. I'd love to see what you made. Share your creation in the It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken Community (this is where we're all hanging out now!) or tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
The Best Vegan French Toast (Easy and Custardy)
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Ingredients
- 1 cup plant-based milk, (soy or oat work especially well)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, (optional)
- Pinch of salt
- vegan butter or neutral oil, for frying
- 4 - 6 slices sturdy bread, (thick slices of slightly stale bread are best)
Instructions
- Make the batter: In a shallow bowl, whisk together the plant-based milk, cornstarch, flour, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon (if using), and salt until completely smooth and no lumps remain.
- Preheat the pan: Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegan butter or oil and let it get hot before adding the bread. A properly preheated pan prevents sticking.
- Dip the bread: Quickly dip each slice into the batter, coating both sides. Do not soak! Just a quick dip is key to avoid soggy French toast.
- Cook: Place the coated bread in the hot skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and lightly crisp. Work in batches if needed, adding more vegan butter or oil to the pan as needed.
- Serve: Enjoy warm with maple syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar, vegan butter, or your favorite toppings.
Notes
Banana Coconut French Toast
This vegan French toast recipe has been on my website for a long time, but after lots of tweaking, I created the version above to taste even closer to classic French toast: golden, custardy, and wonderfully simple. That said, I know many readers have loved the original banana version, so I didn't want it to disappear completely. If you're wondering where the banana went, don't worry, it's still here! For the banana version, blend together:- 1 large banana
- ¾ cup full-fat coconut milk or vegan cream
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Mimi says
I made a double batch of French toast batter by mixing the two recipes. The result was SOOOO DELICIOUS and easy to make. I may eventually make each recipe separate but if I'm making this for a crowd I will definitely mix the two recipes again.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Ooh, how fun, Mimi!! I love that you combined the two recipes and had such delicious results! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Lyn Bart says
I haven’t made this yet but know it will be delicious as all your recipes are. I just wanted to quickly say thank you for the no banana version because I’m allergic to them
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Aww thank you, Lyn! I'm so glad this banana-free recipe is an option for you! Hope you absolutely love it when you give it a try! 💚
Heather Smith Thomassen says
I love French toast but I’m wheat intolerant and have yet to find a GF or wheat free bread in the UK that is even close to being edible. I can eat spelt but it seems impossible to find a spelt loaf that doesn’t have added wheat (why?). I’ll keep searching as I’m desperate to try this recipe.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Aww Heather, I hope you can find a bread that works for you! I know finding a good wheat-free loaf can be frustrating. The good news is that this recipe should work with a variety of breads, so once you find one you enjoy, you can give it a try! 💚
Dana says
This french toast is AMAZING! And so easy. I had some left over "batter" and drizzled it on the strawberries that I served with it. So good!
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Yay!! That sounds amazing, Dana 😄 Love that strawberry idea!
Maria Gervasio says
I am eating this right now. so good!!
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Yay! So happy you're enjoying it! 🙂
Barbara says
This is so easy and really really good. I have made this
aeveral times. Thanks Sam!!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Wonderful, Barbara!
Marci says
This is one of my favorite breakfasts to splurge on. I love it even more than traditional French toast. I was never a fan of the eggy parts of French toast, so this is perfect.
Sandy Wolff says
I use only coffee creamer and bananas, and dip cinnamon raisin swirl bread. Wow!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Wow is right! Sounds tasty!
Pam says
Can I freeze these?
Deb Z says
Hi Sam!
What can I sub for the coconut milk. Avoid the stuff whenever possible.
Sam Turnbull says
Any plant-based creamer should work. Enjoy!
David Greer says
When frying, the trick to avoid that delicious, crunchy skin from peeling off the toast like a summer sunburn is to caramelize the sugar—burn it into the toast—and use chopsticks to flip. Also, eat leftover batter using your fingers. If you slurp it up using a spoon, you'll get unwanted calories
Doug says
Best French Toast ever! They were so good. Just a hint of banana. We served them with fresh raspberries and of course some more real maple syrup. Your recipes never disappoint us. Thanks for sharing.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!!! Thrilled you loved them, Doug!
Olivia says
It was so good topped with blueberries, maple sugar and sprinkle of cinnamon powder.. servef with the vegan scrambled egg and vegan bacon which I all cooked for the first time as I was craving a big vegan brunch. I used to make vegan french toast but with almond milk and chia as binder. Yours was chewy crusty and yummy! Will make it again this week. I rally enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing this continental vegan breakfast!
David Greer says
Thanks for making our Sunday mornings so much more pleasant! Unless it's for a good cause, I usually swap coconut milk for something less fatty, but in this case, the fat was for a very good cause!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Amazing 🙂
Crystal says
I had to use almond milk because that’s all I had due to shortages related to the pandemic. I will probably try using only 1/2 cup next time. The bread I had was fresh so I did a light toast to crisp them up a bit without changing the color. I also chose to bake them instead. 350° for 30 minutes flipping halfway through. They came out quite good. Like a cross between banana bread and French toast.
Jessica says
My family loves this recipe! It’s the best!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy to hear that 🙂