by Holly
This easy French Toast recipe will definitely up your breakfast game and bring everyone to the table! There’s nothing quite like a weekend morning breakfast of fluffy French Toast smothered in real maple syrup!
Serve with strawberries, blueberries, honey butter or a side of oven cooked bacon and be the hit of the day!
What is French Toast?
Besides being delicious, any good French Toast recipe is going to have milk, eggs and some warm spices like cinnamon or even nutmeg. The best recipes are made with good bread, a thick mixture of eggs, milk or cream and spices. The pieces are dipped in the egg mixture and then either fried or baked to fluffy perfection.
Who Invented French Toast? While no one quite knows exactly how French Toast got its name, it wasn’t a French recipe. Culinary historians claim that French Toast was originally a Roman recipe of bread that was soaked in milk and then fried. (In France it’s actually called “pain perdu” (lost bread) and made with stale bread). Regardless, we’re thankful to whoever invented this goodness.
Best Bread for French Toast
A good French Toast recipe always starts with good quality bread. While I prefer thicker denser bread slices, thinner slices like sandwich bread will work in a pinch too.
- Brioche – Brioche French Toast is the classic recipe and often the bread most used when you order at a restaurant. Brioche is buttery, dense and perfect for soaking up the spiced egg mixture. It will produce a light, fluffy piece of breakfast perfection! (It’s the type of bread I use in my fave French Toast Casserole).
- Challah – Challah is typically a non-dairy Jewish bread that is sold braided and unsliced. It’s a perfect foundation for this recipe!
- Pullman Loaf – A Pullman loaf is basically white bread that is baked in a long, rectangular loaf pan, similar to the pullman car of a train. This kind of bread is uniform in shape and size and makes perfect French Toast sticks! (Cut into sticks and proceed as directed).
- Texas Toast or Baguettes – These kinds of bread are good for French Toast, since you can cut them as thickly as you like. They are not as dense and don’t need a lot of soaking up, just a quick dip in the egg mixture and right into the pan or casserole dish!
- Sandwich Bread – Don’t be fooled by the standard “whatever you have on hand” sandwich bread. Even if it is thinner the breads listed above, you can still dip in the same batter and pan fry. This makes for a delicious and easy last minute breakfast option!
How to Make French Toast
You guys, this is so crazy easy. Once you learn how to make French Toast, this staple will become a breakfast/lunch/dinner go-to when you’re in a rush! It’s great with fried eggs too!
- Whisk together all the wet ingredients. Make sure your eggs are fully mixed into the milk mixture.
- Heat butter in a skillet until melted. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture and place in skillet. Once the bottom is browned, turn with a spatula and cook until the other side is browned and cooked through.
Serve immediately with warm maple syrup, an easy caramel sauce, or whipped cream with fruit and berries.
Get Creative
While mixing your ingredients, you could add other flavors like orange extract or orange zest, maybe some pumpkin pie spice. You could even omit the vanilla and use banana extract and top your breakfast with fresh bananas! Substitute the milk for juice or add a splash of Bailey’s Irish Cream or Grand Marnier.
Get creative and change it up to match the season, the occasion or even your mood! Prefer a Savory Breakfast? Top it with a fried egg and serve with some bacon or ham.
Make Ahead French Toast: To Make French toast an easy breakfast option, make a big batch on the weekend and they can be either heated in the microwave or popped into the toaster on busy weekday mornings.
More Breakfast Yum
- Overnight Sausage Breakfast Casserole – perfect for making ahead.
- French Toast Casserole – French toast in a casserole dish!
- CrockPot Breakfast Casserole – great for when you’d rather just set and forget!
- Banana Breakfast Cookies – delicious option for when you are on the run.
- Easy Crepes Recipe (Blender) – fun and delicious option for brunch.
- Ham & Spinach Frittata – quick and easy to assemble and bake.
French Toast
Ingredients
- 8 slices brioche bread or other dense bread, thickly sliced
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
Follow Spend with Pennies on Pinterest
Instructions
Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl or dish.
Preheat a skillet over medium low heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter to melt.
Dip both sides of the bread into egg mixture allowing a few seconds for the egg to soak into the bread.
Place the bread in the pan and cook over medium low heat until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. (Add more butter as needed for remaining bread).
Recipe Notes
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
