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Side view of someone pouring maple syrup on two slices of vegan french toast.
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Vegan French Toast

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Servings: 10 big slices
Calories: 256kcal
Author: Nisha Vora

Ingredients

Bread (pick ONE)

  • 1 (10-inch/18 to 20 oz ) loaf freshly baked soft white bread (not crusty or hard, see Note 2)
  • 10 to 12 slices THICK-CUT white sandwich bread (¾” thick) (see Note 3)

Batter

  • 12 ounces (340g) silken tofu, drained
  • 1 ½ cups (360 mL) unsweetened soy milk
  • 2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
  • 5 tablespoons (50 to 55g) organic brown sugar
  • 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (see Note 4)
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 ½ teaspoons orange zest (about 1 medium orange)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, more as needed
  • ⅛ teaspoon kala namak (optional, for a subtle eggy flavor)
  • 2 ½ tablespoons arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

For cooking and serving

  • 3 to 4 tablespoons vegan butter, plus more for serving
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons Neutral-flavored high-heat oil of choice, for cooking
  • Pure maple syrup

Instructions

  • If using FRESH BAKERY BREAD: Slice the loaf into 1” (2.5 cm) thick slices. With a standard 10-inch loaf weighing 18 to 20 ounces (510-570g), you should get 10 slices.
  • Place sliced bakery bread or sandwich bread slices on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven.
    Bake the bread using the times below, or until the bread feels lightly toasted: the center should be slightly moist but not soft or squishy, not super hard or crusty.
  • If using FRESH BAKERY BREAD: Preheat the oven to 250ºF/120ºC. Bake the bread for 6 minutes, then flip and bake for 4 minutes.
  • If using THICK SANDWICH BREAD: Preheat the oven to 300ºF/150ºC. Bake for 8 minutes, then flip and bake for 6 minutes.
  • Transfer toasted bread to a plate or cutting board; cool 5 minutes. Turn the oven off, or reduce the temp to 200ºF/95ºC and keep the rack-fitted sheet pan handy.
  • While the bread toasts, make the batter: In a blender or food processor, combine the tofu, soy milk, melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, vanilla, and sea salt. Do not add the kala namak or arrowroot powder yet (so you can taste and adjust). Blend until completely smooth and no lumps remain.
    Taste, adding more nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, or orange zest as desired. Now add the kala namak, if using, and arrowroot powder. Blend again to incorporate. Note: it will smell eggy from the kala namak!
  • Pour the batter into a 9x9”, 8x8”, 7x11”, or similar baking pan (~2 liter baking pan).
  • Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat with 2 teaspoons of vegan butter and 2 to 3 teaspoons of high-heat oil. Heat for about 3 minutes, swirling the skillet occasionally, until the foaming subsides.
  • When the pan is almost done heating up, add two slices of bread to the batter. Use your hands to swirl the bread around in the batter but don’t completely dunk them.
    a. Fresh bakery bread AND ¾” (2 cm) sandwich bread slices: Soak for 30 seconds on one side, then turn and soak the second side for 30 seconds, or until saturated but not falling apart. 60 seconds total.
    b. Sandwich bread slices thinner than ¾”: Soak for 20 seconds on one side, then turn and soak the second side for 20 seconds, or until saturated but not falling apart. 40 seconds total.
  • Use a slotted spatula to transfer battered slices to the hot pan, leaving behind excess batter. Don’t push the bread around in the pan.
    Cook until golden brown on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally so the butter/oil soaks into the bottom of the bread.
    When golden brown on the bottom, flip. Cook until the second side is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. If you can push down on the center of the toast and see liquid squeezing out, it's not done yet.
    NOTE: If the toast is cooking too quickly, reduce the heat to medium-low. After the second batch, I typically reduce the heat to somewhere between medium and medium-low.
  • Transfer cooked French toast to the wire rack-fitted pan in the oven to stay warm. Wipe the pan between batches to ensure the butter doesn’t burn. Repeat with the remaining slices, adding more butter/oil to have a light coating in the pan.
  • Serve French toast warm with a pat of vegan butter, if desired, and drizzle with maple syrup.

Notes

  1. There’s a range in cook time because it will vary based on how many slices you cook!
  2. Don’t use breads that are very crusty (e.g., sourdough) or breads with big holes or bubbles (e.g., focaccia). If your bakery or bakery section has a nice sturdy but soft white loaf (e.g., country loaf, Italian bread, “pain paesano”), that works best. In our tests, a loaf of French bread worked pretty well, but the crust gets a bit chewy.
  3. This recipe also works great with pre-sliced white sandwich bread but only if it’s thick cut, minimum thickness of ⅝” and ideally ¾” thick (1.5 cm, ideally 2 cm). See the Tips section for the brands we tested. Freshly baked bread makes for a more grown up, sophisticated French toast, but if you prefer diner-style French toast, use the pre-sliced sandwich bread.
  4. I love this with a full 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, but if you don't love cinnamon as much, use the smaller amount.