Easy French Toast Recipe

Name: French Toast
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 6 large eggs; ½ cup half and half (or cream or whole milk); ¼ cup pure maple syrup (plus more for serving); 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; dash salt; 8 slices dried-out bread (1-inch thick); 1 tablespoons unsalted butter (plus more as needed)

Breakfast

By Kristen Chidsey

4.94 from 16 votes

Updated Jul 09, 2025

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Calling all French Toast Lovers! With a few simple trade secrets and this simple recipe, you can make restaurant-worthy French Toast with ease in the comfort of your own home.

Between the buttery, crispy edges and soft, fluffy interior of the sweetened bread, French Toast delivers the perfect contrast in textures and is just sweet enough without being cloyingly sweet. It is like the best combination of both waffles and pancakes in one easy breakfast.

Two slices of French toast on plate topped with butter, maple syrup, and berries.

The Secret to Crispy, Yet Fluffy French Toast

French Toast is extremely easy to make. But it is also easy to mess up. It can be soggy, over-cooked, too eggy, or raw in the center.

The trick to the perfect French Toast all comes to how you cook it!

To achieve a caramelized exterior with a fluffy, fully cooked center, pan-fry the French Toast until golden. Expected right?! But here is where this recipe takes a turn. Do not finish cooking the French toast on the stove. Instead, pop it into the oven. This will finish cooking the French toast perfectly, without overbrowning the exterior.

Happy Cooking! xo Kristen

Notes on Ingredients

French toast is made with extremely humble ingredients, proving that sometimes simple is best. But I do have a few tips to help you make the selection on ingredients.

Ingredients for classic French toast on counter labeled.

Bread: It is best to use dried-out or day old bread for French toast, as this will allow more egg custard to be absorbed, resulting in more flavorful French toast. And while any variety of bread works, I personally recommend thickly sliced Brioche bread, French bread, Italian bread, or cinnamon raisin bread.
Milk/Cream: Whole milk, heavy cream, or half and half all work to create a rich, creamy custard.
To Flavor: Adding cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of salt will enhance the flavor in this recipe.
To Sweeten: Just like my French Toast Casserole recipe, with maple syrup. It lends a rich and warming flavor to the French toast and of course marries well with a topping of maple syrup.

How to Dry Out Bread

If your bread is not stale or slightly dry to the touch, you will want to dry it out, so that it can better absorb the egg custard. To do this, arrange the slices of bread in a single layer on a baking sheet and let it sit out overnight OR bake at 200℉ for 10-20 minutes, flipping it halfway.

How To Make French Toast

The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Prepare the Egg Custard. Whisk together eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and a dash of salt together until well combined. I highly suggest pouring your custard into a shallow dish, like a pie pan, which makes it much easier to dip your bread in the batter.

Dip Bread into Custard. Dip the sliced bread into the egg mixture, flipping to coat the bread evenly on both sides. Be sure to not allow the bread to soak too long in the custard, as that can result in the bread becoming soggy.

Slice of French bread being dipped into egg custard to make French toast.

Pan-Fry French Toast. Working in batches if needed, pan-fry the French toast in melted butter until just golden on each side.

Golden slices of bread in skillet with melted butter.

Bake. Remove the pan-fried French Toast from the skillet and place it on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes to finish cooking through.

Serve. After baking, serve the French Toast with butter, maple syrup, and/or fresh berries. Add a homemade latte and side of baked bacon, or breakfast sausage for a breakfast everyone will rave about!

French Toast sliced open to reveal crispy exterior and fluffy interior served with maple and blueberries.

Recipe Modifications

Dairy-Free French Toast: Use your favorite non-dairy milk (canned coconut milk is a GREAT choice for a rich and creamy custard) and non-dairy butter to pan-fry the French toast.
Gluten-Free: Use your favorite brand of gluten-free bread.
Swap out Maple Syrup: Granulated sugar, brown sugar or honey can be substituted for the maple syrup in the egg custard, but the maple flavor adds a terrific flavor to this French Toast recipe.
Dress It Up: Looking for a fancy version of French Toast? Try my recipe for Bananas Foster French Toast.

More Favorite Breakfast Recipes

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4.94 from 16 votes

French Toast

By: Kristen Chidsey

Servings: slices

Prep: 10

Cook: 20

Total: 30

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two slices of perfect french toast with maple syrup on white plate

Made with thick slices of bread soaked in a sweet egg custard, pan-fried in butter, and then finished in the oven, this French Toast recipe delivers restaurant-worthy result with ease!

Video

Ingredients

▢ 6 large eggs
▢ ½ cup half and half, or cream or whole milk
▢ ¼ cup pure maple syrup , plus more for serving
▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢ dash salt
▢ 8 slices dried-out bread, 1-inch thick
▢ 1 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more as needed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300℉ (150℃).
In a shallow dish, whisk 6 large eggs, ½ cup half and half, ¼ cup pure maple syrup , 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and a dash salt together until well combined.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add in 1 tablespoons unsalted butter and let melt.
Working one slice at a time, dip the bread into the egg custard, flipping to coat each side evenly. Remove the bread from the egg mixture, shaking off the excess egg mixture, and place in the pan.
Pan-fry over medium heat until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the opposite side. Remove the French toast from the skillet and place it on a baking sheet in a single layer. Repeat the process until all the sliced bread has been pan-fried, adding additional butter as needed to skillet.
Bake for 10 minutes to finish cooking through.
Serve with additional maple syrup, butter, and berries as desired.

Notes

Bread: Use your favorite bread, such as Brioche, French, Italian, Cinnamon Raisin, or Gluten-Free.

Use Stale Bread or Dry-Out the Bread. If you are using fresh/soft bread, slice your bread into 1 inch thick slices the NIGHT before you plan to make French Toast. Arrange fresh bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet overnight to allow the bread to dry out. Alternatively, you can also dry the sliced bread out quickly by placing the sliced bread on a baking sheet and place into a 200℉ oven for 10-20 minutes, flipping the bread half-way.

Storage: Once cooled, store French toast in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Alternatively, flash freeze on a baking sheet then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in a 350℉ oven or dry skillet until warmed through.

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 6gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 193mgPotassium: 137mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 220IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 89mgIron: 1.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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This post was originally published in 2019 but was updated in 2025.

4.94 from 16 votes (7 ratings without comment)