Basic Vegan French Toast

Quick easy & delicious my go-to French toast recipe

Hated it. Hated the whole process of cooking it. Stuck to the pan and was smoky in my whole house. Soggy like nobody’s business.

All I had on hand was gluten free sandwich bread which I keep in the freezer. I know you said sandwich bread might become soggy, so I kept the slices of bread frozen and immediately dipped them into the batter and pan fried them while frozen and it turned out perfect. I also added about 1 tbsp of cornstarch to the batter to help it adhere to the frozen slices a bit better. Turned out great!

Don’t keep looking for any other vegan french toast recipe, you’ve found it. This recipe gives the comforting nostalgia I remember from having french toast as a kid (without the eggs or dairy). I’ve compared it against recipes with bottled vegan egg replacers and this one outshines by far and is a healthier alternative. The only note I have is that I personally prefer the method of using ground chia seeds — blitz whole chia seeds in the blender before adding other ingredients. All of that to say this is definitely a 10/10!

Thanks this is the best vegan French toast recipe I’ve ever found.

I wanted to make this since I am trying to not eating eggs (finding out if they disrupt my tummy) so I used honey instead of maple syrup in the toast and then topped it with raspberries and maple syrup instead. It was divine! It worked well with rice milk and mixed chia seeds too.

Wow, took me back to when I was a child….I made it savoury, so added, garlic, ginger, chillies, a dash of cumin/corriander powder, some turmeric and salt….hmmmmmm I felt I was back in my childhood home…..thank you

Made 2 days in a row with the same homemade walnut sourdough. First time I used whole chia seeds and it was a bit of a mess, result still tasted good but the chia seeds didn’t stick to the bread well in the pan. Second time read the reviews and combined everything (sans maple syrup, I prefer to save the sweetener for on top) in the Vitamix (doing the chia seeds and cinnamon first) then letting it sit for 20 minutes. I opted to let the bread soak a full minute on each side as my bread was really rustic and the result was delightful! Had that custardy taste that restaurant French toast has – French toast was one of my favorites before going plant based and I’m happy to have it back! Also, this would be an excellent hack for anyone that is out of eggs on the weekend and wants French toast (happened to me all the time before!)

I used a baguette and also used flax seed, which I ground first, and I topped with pecans and blueberries then baked on 400 for 20 min. Wonderful!

The kids love it.
I only had sandwich bread too, so I put it in the toaster first. And did a quick dip. Worked perfectly.
Thanks for the yummy recipe!

This was delicious! Like another commenter, all I had on hand was some thick-sliced sandwich bread, so I just quickly dunked each slice and didn’t leave it to soak. Cooked with a lid on a griddle-style frying pan for probably about 4-5 minutes on each side.
I used whole chia seeds and it totally did the job, but might try to grind them up in a food processor next time.

First off, this was forking amazing!!!
Second … I used sandwich bread. Hear me out. I did not let it soak since it’s fast absorbing, instead I dunked it quickly and transferred to the skillet. Medium heat, 4 min each side, omfg delicious!!!
It was so quick to come together too. I added all ingredients in less than 5 min, placed it in the fridge, took my dog for a walk, came back and it was ready! Many thanks
-from my stomach

I was so excited to find a vegan French toast recipe! I need to be gluten free (which can be difficult for French toast), so I toasted the gluten free bread first before soaking. I cooked it in coconut oil. I like it even better than traditional French toast.

I just made this with a rustic bread and used flax instead of chia, and it turned out great! The griddle produced softer (but not soggy) toast. The cast iron skillet put more of a crust on it. Both great! Thanks!

I just made this and had to throw everything away. It did not turn out at all. After the failure, I read the comments & found that I really shouldn’t have used a sandwich bread & should have used a more sturdy bakery bread. I also hadn’t ground the chia seeds & I probably should have.

I’ll probably try this again someday but am pretty disappointed right now since I was expecting to have french toast & have none. Don’t make my mistake & make sure to only attempt this with a sturdier bread because it became a mushy/sticky mess using sandwich bread.

Made these for everyone and it was a hit! Start making it early though because the chia seeds need to soak in the mixture for 20mins. It was really good, we had a side of strawberries with ours.

Girlfriend loved it

This has been a staple in my breakfast rotation for quite some time now. The flavors are so on point and the end result is a comforting, delicious French toast better than any egg version I’ve ever had.

With that being said I opt for the ground chia seed method — I pulse whole chia seeds in my blender until a fine meal forms then add sweetener, almond milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract (and add a pinch of nutmeg + salt) and blend to combine. Put that mixture into a shallow dish, pop into the fridge and 20 minutes later you’re all set to dip your bread.

Oh, the kind of bread is an important factor in the success of this recipe. I tried sandwich bread the first time and well, don’t. Now I use a study bakery bread that can really hold the mixture and withstand cooking to perfection on a griddle.

Literally about to make right now, and you should too — thank you Dana for this sweet, nostalgic goodness!

Delicious. It exceeded our anticipation for goodness. We topped it with berries and a dusting of powdered sugar.

This is absolutely delicious French toast. I grind the chia seeds in my spice blender and they work beautifully. We love to top this with berry coulis that I make with frozen mixed berries and cranberries, with a touch of maple syrup. Today, after I put the berry coulis on the French toast, I topped the French toast off with some hemp seeds and chopped toasted pecan. Mmmm. Thanks for the wonderful recipe – vegan or not, it is delicious. There is nothing “basic” about it – it should be titled “Extreme French Toast!”

Hey! Just tried this and was absolutely delish… so crispy and soft on the inside perfectly paired with maple syrup and berries. sooooo glad it’s vegan. also i had no problem with adding the chia seeds before i put the mixture in the fridge.

Thanks,
Nina

A decent French toast! I think next time I would just op for cornstarch instead of chia seeds. They just soaked into the bread and then peeled off everytime I flipped the bread.

USE THIS BREAD!!!! https://www.sweetashoney.co/keto-bread-loaf-no-eggs-low-carb/

I added some grated lemon rind and used milled chia seed “flour” and pan fried in my Ninja Foodi in vegan butter! Then added some sugar free hazelnut syrup (I know….don’t judge)! It is the BEST…..

I think I’m going to make two more pieces!

I used a larger tupperware container and only got through 2 pieces of sourdough sandwich bread before I had no more milk. Granted, I probably soaked my bread for way too long, so that’s my fault, but both pieces of bread were completely covered in chia seeds. I did let the mixture chill in the fridge for 15 minutes, so I don’t know what I did wrong. The chia seeds completely coated both pieces of bread and made the end result weird.

There’s no way those photos are correct! How can this recipe use chia seeds and have her french toast not picture any? The chia seeds gel up and then the bread is uncookable. I ended up eating grilled chia seeds for breakfast.

I’m so happy I found this recipe. I was so sad when I went vegan thinking I’d never have French toast again, but I was wrong, I have this recipe like every week now lol.
I added a bit of flax seed to the mixture too in addition to the chia and it thickens it up a bit more.

Loved this recipe! Solved the soggy batard bread issue with the oven at 350 for 5 minutes and a few extra minutes back on the skillet. An extra step but worth the time!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It was a nice treat for Father’s Day.

I’ve made this twice now, and it is delicious! We use Ezekiel Bread. Per another commenter’s suggestion, I toasted the bread first. I then placed the bread in the batter 10 seconds on one side and about 6 seconds on the other side. I probably don’t have to be that specific, but I was worried about it getting soggy. No need to worry, though, it turned out perfectly! The first time we served it with fresh cut peaches, maple syrup, and fresh mint. Today we served it with Bananas Foster. It is definitely a favorite!

This turned out beautifully. It was my first time making vegan French toast and I was a little dubious, but no need as it resulted in a breakfast which was even tastier than its eggy counterpart. Perfect amount of cinnamon and sweetness. I used Promise Gluten Free Brioche loaf for extra indulgence. Highly recommended!

I’d probably be giving this recipe 5 stars if I was using the recommended bread, however I was just trying this for my kids and all I have is sandwich bread on hand. As other commenters noted, it didn’t work out but all is not lost. The mixture is so delicious and I just added granola and banana to it and ate it as my breakfast. Will definitely try again with a heartier bread

The flavor of the batter was good but overall this was a complete fail. The bread pieces were super soggy. I was unable to flip them without them falling to pieces and they we’re burned.

Made this for Sunday brunch. Really very good. Served it with some homemade blueberry sauce as we have a plethora of blueberries in the garden right now. Also made coconut whipped cream. Mmmm. I may add a little more vanilla and a pinch of salt to bring out the flavor a bit next time. This was my first time making vegan french toast and I was pleasantly surprised. Thank you for this simple and very yummy recipe.

Made this today for the first time since I have been craving French Toast since the shut down and we can’t(and wouldn’t anyway) go out to brunch. The batter was delicious! The perfect amount of sweetness and cinnamon. I used Dave’s Killer sandwich bread, because that is what we have, and so only dipped each side for 2-3 seconds…that was PERFECT. Also used ground flax instead of chia. Heated griddle to just under 350, buttered with EB, and followed directions. the first piece started to burn at 350, so that’s why I turned it down a tiny bit. They were crispy on the outside and soft but not mushy inside. Thanks!

Great recipe! Made this recipe TWICE in a row after my staunchly (and suspicious of all foods vegan) non-vegan family LOVED it and asked me to make them again for breakfast the next day \(^o^)/ Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe that “doesn’t taste vegan” that can be shared with everyone at the table.

I thought the batter was delicious (made as written). We served it with a homemade strawberry sauce. Delish! The one issue I had was with the chia seeds sticking and peeling off the some of the slices of French toast when I flipped them. I used a well-seasoned cast iron griddle and coconut oil, so perhaps it was the temperature of the griddle. Will definitely be making this again, tinkering with the griddle temp. My picky children did not mind or question the chia seeds, either. A win!

Made it this morning with my gluten free bread. Was worried it may crumble since GF stale bread doesn’t hold very well. but the moisture held it together! Nice crispy outer layer. Beautiful layers of spices. Family very happy with breakfast! Thanks for the recipe. Definitely will make it again,

Thanks for the great recipe! I used franz gf bread and toasted it first, then did a quick dip and cooked on a nonstick griddle. It was delicious!

I made no substitutions. I left all spices out. Don’t like them. The bread was not particularly thick. Between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. Rustic. A bit stale as I used to use for French toast. I dipped quickly, but the bread was still so soggy in the pan. It took fooooever to cook. Then it was tough. Very tough.

Oh, my. This did not work out. Used good rustic bread. Dipped quick. Took at least 40 minutes to get over soggy. Pretty tough. Steak knife tough.

My favourite and only french toast recipe! Thank you for creating an amazing recipe that our family uses all the time! I normally just have normal bread in the house, its a bit firmer than regular wholewheat (Silver Hills bakery bread) but not much, I usually keep my bread in the freezer and either dip the frozen bread in the mixture or just toast it slightly if it hasn’t been in the freezer and leave it dry out while I wait for the chia to gel and it never seems soggy. So delicious!

This is the 2nd recipe I’ve made of yours. I’ve been following your blog for a couple years now, but until recently haven’t actually tried any of the recipes. I Made this French toast this morning for my family and one of my sons friends. They all loved it! So much better than the traditional egg French toast I’ve always made. And much more satisfying. A couple weeks ago my son made your kale, chicken, & white bean soup. OMG. BEST. SOUP. I’VE. EVER. HAD. My whole family loved that one too and my kids aren’t huge soup fans. I had no idea chicken soup could taste that good. Absolutely drool worthy. Tonight I’m trying out your Barbacoa lentil tacos.
I’ve tried recipes from other blogs before and they are ok. But usually more effort and the results are meh. I really appreciate how most of your recipes don’t call for a ridiculous amount of ingredient staples that I need to go buy. Most of it I already have on hand. So far the items that I have had to purchase (like lentils) aren’t expensive. Also, time is a concern. I am not a patient cook so I appreciate meals that don’t require me to spend a lot of time on them. So for the 2 meals of yours I’ve made so far I am so so so impressed. They have been pretty quick, nourishing, and delicious. I’ll have to post a review for the lentil tacos, but I’m sure we’ll like those too. Big Mexican food fans in this house.

Omg! So yummy! I went vegan in November and I miss french toast so much! This recipe quenched my craving :) I can’t soak my bread though or it would come out very soggy. Just a quick dip :) thanks so much!!

I’m so happy I chose this recipe!! I did use flaxseed meal instead of chia because I didn’t have chia. I used scharff gluten-free white sandwich bread. I followed everything except the 20 second rule… I dip French Toast. Super french toast now I can go all the way plant based!!!

Amazing! I didn’t have chai seeds so I used flax seed and it worked perfectly! So so good! Perfect for Sunday Brunch

Love it. My experience is VERY different. I don’t soak … just dip. If I soak any bread (I have tried several, including whole grain) for any length of time it comes out soggy. I find that as it’s cooking the ‘batter’ on top soaks well into the bread so its alway moist in the middle and crispy on the outside. And my batter stores well in the fridge. I have used it up to a week later and it cooks up exactly the same. I have used ground and unground chia. I like the whole chia better as it gives it a nice “crisp.” I find a crusty bread holds the surface away from the griddle and it won’t stick to the surface. The trade off is a little tougher chew around the edges. PS: if soggy … 400 degrees in an oven for 8 minutes is an easy fix

Utterly disappointing. Followed recipe to a T, but ended up with a mess of soggy bread and a very crusty and sludgy coating on my beautiful ceramic pan. Never again.

The taste of these was nice, but was definitely surprised at how soggy they were. the bread soaked up the milk like a sponge and stayed that way– definitely didn’t crisp up, the outside was slightly crispy but the inside rather soggy unlike traditional french toast; and they were on the pan medium high heat for a little while! I don’t think I’ll make these again because the texture really put me off.

This was my first ever vegan French toast experiment and I have to say these are simply delicious! I will never go back to eggy FT again!! Thank you!

I just made this french toast last minute for my two toddlers, and my youngest just asked me if I could go to the store and buy some more! I followed the directions as written, only using sliced sandwich bread since thats all I had on hand. The middle definitely stayed soggy, but the chia coating and edges crisped up nicely, with a little butter and maple syrup it tasted heavenly. Would even choose to eat this version over my old egg recipe!! I agree with other posters that buttering the pan in between slices is a good idea, and dip the slice of bread just for 2 seconds each side! This recipe was only enough for four large sandwich slices.

Made this this morning! It was a hit! Put them in the oven to dry them up a bit more.. delicious though!

So yummy! I added 1/2 teaspoon kala namak to get that “eggyness” and it reminded me of French toast from my childhood! Quick, easy, delicious, and all pantry staples. Thank you!

I made this yesterday so we could have “eggs” on our vegan sausage, egg and cheese English muffins sandwich. 1/4 cup makes the perfect size “egg”. Great addition to the sandwich!
This morning I used 1 cup of batter and added 1T coconut milk, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and made some amazing French Toast!! What a great versatile recipe. Thank you Dana!!

We made this without grinding the chia seeds. We found that they burned on the stove before the toast was done. Consider grinding the seeds a necessary step.

This is ultra easy and super yummy! Made it rather quickly since I had the chai seeds on hand. The coconut whipped cream however will have to wait until next time since I didn’t have any cold coconut milk..
still sooo good. I didn’t grind the chia seeds and it added a tiny crunch which we all expect with crisp edged French toast anyways. It was perfect. My husband loved it. I put some blueberry compote and fresh strawberries with it and of course a sprinkle of powdered sugar!
So happy to find vegan French toast is possible and so good, thank you for that.

What a great recipe! Was really in the mood for some French toast but I didn’t want any eggs. The Chia seed works like a charm. I did break up the bread and make it like a casserole. I used this really great dense whole wheat sesame bread and added a touch of Himalayan pink salt, a cup of fresh blueberries and went with the maple syrup alternative. Thanks sooo much for this wonderful recipe!!! Such a treat!

I have tried several vegan french toast recipes, and I believe this is the best one. I loving making this for my family for a tasty weekend breakfast. The only change I make is to use 1 tbsp ground flax rather than chia because it’s what I have on hand and it’s undetectable. So tasty! I will say to always grease your pan between each piece. It does tend to stick (even to nonstick) if it’s not greased enough. 10/10!

This is my go to recipe! It says it’s not freezer friendly but I find it works great in the freezer.

This morning I made this & really enjoyed it ! I prefer this over recipes that use cashews for a thickener. Great taste ! Definitely this is a keeper! I haven’t tried the coconut whipped topping yet . Thanks for sharing !

I’ve been in there mood for French toast and wanted easy recipe. So called up Siri to search and this page was the first thing. I looked and read the ingredients and how to do it.
Went shopping for more unsweetened almond milk and bread. Cooked it up and added vegan powdered confetti sugar.

This was amazing! It tastes exactly what I remembered! ? Definitely make it again! ❤️

I made this recipe for my brother and his girlfriend who are vegan. I am not vegan but still enjoy vegan recipes. The French toast turned out great – was very easy and delish. The bread that I purchased was soft white Italian sandwich bread. My husband and I used a food paint brush (is that the name of the utensil I’m talking about?) to apply the mixture because dipping made the bread way too soggy.

Oh my, I finally made this!!!! So easy and oh so good! ?? Very economical too. Remember to size up your container to match the bread you are using. Definately a new favorite!!!

This didn’t turn out well at all. Soggy despite using dry bread.

I can’t tell you HOW GOOD these are! After reading other comments, I can only say, try again. I used 1 flax egg (ground flax 1 T, 3T water let sit 10 min), mix with only a splash of almond/oat milk, a little salt, vanilla and cinnamon. QUICKLY coat bread (I used Publix GW sprouted wheat sandwich bread from their bakery so it’s kind of soft.) It might be smarter to spread the coating on with a knife, rather than dipping. Throw it onto pan with sizzling EB “butter”. Then be prepared to cook it for a long time on medium until the outside is hard. I jacked the heat up to med-high near the end because I was really hungry and I like a crispy outside. With real maple syrup, they were fabulous! I’ll never want eggy French Toast again.

This turned out horribly. The chia seeds burned and stuck to the griddle long before the bread cooked. It also had no flavor. It just tasted like bread. Perhaps with the seeds blended it would have worked but then why mention that they could be left whole????
I will not be making this again.

Used my Vitamix to mix the ingredients and breakdown the whole chia seeds (all I had). Batter came out of Vitamix smooth and creamy. Also, added 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg to my recipe. Turned out great!

I think next time I make this, I will blend the chia seeds first. That way I’ll have a more consistent batter throughout. That said, this was very tasty and totally scratched my itch for French toast. Thank you!

I just made this and I must say it was delightful p, delicious and quite a treat. I also carmalizec a half of a banana in the non stick pan,,,delish! Highly recommend it.

Used “White Mountain Bread” from Publix…not the most hearty but it worked well. I followed the recipe exactly, but instead of letting the bread soak for 30 seconds I just quickly flipped it in the custard so that it was coated. Came out really delicious!

This batter is really tasty. I didn’t have chia seeds so I used a different egg replacement. I used sandwich bread which stayed really soggy. So next time I will follow the directions exactly. The batter was delicious. My recommendation…used chia seed and thick stale-ish bread then it will be perfect. All in all super yummy!

I used thick-cut wholewheat bread, oat milk and ground flax seed instead of chia and it was sooo good!
It made 2 and a half slices and I tried some different toppings. Fig jam and coconut yogurt, marmalade and cinnamon – but my favourite was just maple syrup.
I only used half a cup of oat milk because it was just for me but used the suggested amount of the other ingredients.
I never review recipes but had to with this one. I used to love pancakes but haven’t been able to make decent vegan ones and have kinda given up on it… but I reckon I might like this vegan french toast even more than I liked non-vegan pancakes!
Next time I want to try it with sourdough.

I just tried this recipe, following it almost exactly as written. Unfortunately the only bread I had was a sandwich bread, though more of a thick/sturdy variety. I pre-toasted the slices and let them sit for a minute to get a bit tougher, before dipping them in the batter. I did 10 second soaks on each side before dropping them in the pan. I noticed the bread stayed feeling very soggy… I couldn’t get a good browning crispiness going. They tasted great (peanut butter and maple syrup made it taste a bit like a healthier, less-sweet, vegan Nutter Butter), but the texture was not quite what I was going for. When I tried cooking for longer, or upping the heat, all that happened was the bread stayed too moist while the chia-seed custard burned. Definitely fulfilled the craving, but I want to try tweaking it to get a good crispy exterior while maintaining that custardy, fluffy interior.

This was so yummy! I LOVE french toast, and I like my bread saturated in batter so it turns out more custard-like. We had to give up dairy and egg due to my son’s food allergies, so I was excited when I found this recipe! The bread I used was my very first try at homemade whole wheat yeast-free sourdough that I had baked the night before, so it was pretty dense. The french toast batter accidentally sat a little too long and was probably a little thicker than my dense bread could absorb, so I had to leave it to soak for a long time and then scrape some of the excess batter off the outside. The taste was excellent! It was a hit with the whole family! Aside from making some adjustments to my bread, this will be my go-to french toast recipe. I’m also excited to try to make this into a french toast casserole too!

I’m so happy to have found this. We are trying really hard to be plant based and our toddler is picky about breakfast. I would have had a photo but they didn’t wait for me to finish before digging in.

Thanks for all your recipes!!!!

I made this and it turned out perfect! I used 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed because I was out of chia seeds. I also used the maple syrup option. I used day-old sourdough bread and didn’t pre-toast the bread like others mentioned having to do. Just soaked each side about 5 seconds, cooked for the recommended time and it came out absolutely perfect. I also used a nonstick skillet and didn’t use any oil or butter to coat, but I did leave it a full 5-6 minutes on each side without messing around with it – it basically caramelizes itself in the batter and slightly hardens, making it easy to flip. I topped with maple syrup and caramelized bananas. Key is a good nonstick skillet! 10/10 would make again!

Flavor wise, this recipe is amazing. The chia nicely stimulates the French toast texture. The dipping times are way too long though; even after pretoasting the bread, anything longer than a quick dip turned it to mush.

Okay, so first off… I’m not vegan, but I love the creative foods that come out of the vegan community and this is one of them.
I’m already partially dairy free (butter and cheese don’t bother my stomach, but milk can.) and I willingly went mostly egg free (again, inside of other things I am fine, I don’t have an adverse reaction..but to have french toast or scrambled eggs is a major (literal) pain.).
With that being said, I tried this recipe today! I used what I had at home, so honey and sandwich bread was used. I don’t recommend sandwich bread unless you are quick on the dunk and flip method for French Toast…and I am not.
I ended up burning a side.
I had way too many chia seeds in mine and kind of wish I tried them ground up first.
Even with my human error…this is amazing. It’s not the traditional batter that you would normally think of and it doesn’t puff up like egg batters can. This is that vegan creativity though, and it is delicious!!!!!

Just made this today and it turned out great! I haven’t had luck in the past with french toast recipes, but this one was fantastic! I think the key was using a thicker bread. If you use a thinner bread I could see how it might get mushy and stick to the pan but with a thick bread it turned out delish! ?

Didn’t work at all. A huge mass of mush. Do not attempt unless you want to spend half an hour scrubbing your spatulas and griddle.