The Best French Toast Recipe

This is the best recipe for traditional French Toast! Made with thick slices of bread soaked in a sweet egg custard and then pan-fried to perfection. This French Toast Recipe is easy to make, yet delivers restaurant-worthy results.

French Toast is delicious served with maple syrup, fresh fruit, and a side of either homemade breakfast sausage or oven-baked bacon.

The Secret to Perfect French Toast

There is something magical about French Toast. In fact, it has always been my favorite decadent breakfast option ever since I was a child.

The buttery, crisp edges and soft, fluffy interior of sweetened bread, all enveloped in maple syrup is the perfect contrast in textures and is just sweet enough without being cloyingly sweet.

While French toast is easy to make, it is also easy to mess up.

Often times French toast is soggy or over-cooked. Sometimes it is too eggy. Sometimes it is raw in the center.

The TRICK to the BEST French Toast is all in how you COOK it! To achieve a crispy exterior and a fluffy center, start the French Toast on the stove to brown, but then finish cooking in the oven.

With that simple tip and a few humble ingredients, you are well on your way to making the best French Toast EVER!

What you Need

• Bread: You can use any bread you like to make it, but there are some varieties of bread that are better than others for french toast. I recommend using thickly sliced Brioche Bread, Italian Bread, or even a Cinnamon Raisin Bread. You also want your bread to be slightly dried out, as this allows more egg custard can be absorbed, so it is best to use day-old bread if you have it.
• Egg Custard: For French Toast, eggs need to be whisked with cream, a sweetener, and a few spices. I find that the best sweetener for this recipe is maple syrup, as it is a natural pair for French Toast. You can use any type of dairy or nondairy you like, but I do suggest using a full-fat variety for a rich result.
• Butter: For pan-frying, nothing compares to the flavor butter adds to the French Toast. If you happen to be dairy-free, use your favorite non-dairy butter substitute.

How To Make French Toast

Prepare the Bread

As I stated above, slightly dried out the bread is BEST. If you have the time slice your bread into 1/2 inch to 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-degree F oven for 10-20 minutes, flipping the bread half-way.

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.

Prepare Work Station

To make French Toast EASY to prepare, have a work station ready to go. That way you can get french toast assembled easily.

For an efficient work station have butter, sliced bread, and egg custard close to the stove. Also be sure to preheat oven to 300 degrees Farenheit and have a sheet pan for placing the pan-fried french toast on when it comes out of the skillet.

Pan-Fry French Toast

• Add 1-2 teaspoon butter to the skillet and let melt to coat the bottom of the skillet evenly.
• Dip the bread into the egg custard on each side, about 5-10 seconds per side.
• Remove bread from custard and shake off excess.
• Place French Toast in a skillet and pan fry until browned, about 3 minutes.
• Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the opposite side.
• Remove from skillet and place browned French Toast on the baking sheet.
• Repeat the process, adding butter in between each batch of french toast.

Finish in Oven

This is the SECRET for the BEST French Toast. By finishing cooking the French Toast in the oven, the results are perfection. Not too browned, not undercooked–simply perfect!

Simply, place prepared French Toast in oven for 10 minutes in the preheated oven to finish cooking and then serve with fruit, maple, syrup, and/or powdered sugar.

Recipes Tips and FAQs

• Use pure vanilla extract for the richest, purest vanilla flavor in this French Toast. Be sure to not allow the bread to soak too long in the custard. This will result in soggy bread that will fall apart and not be able to be pan-fried.
• Granulated sugar can be substituted for the maple syrup in the egg custard, but the maple flavor adds a terrific flavor to this French Toast recipe.
• It is NOT necessary to finish the French Toast in the oven, but I find this step ensures that the egg custard is fully cooked and the french toast is fluffy, not at all soggy. If not finishing in the oven, cook for 1-2 minutes longer per side, being careful to not burn french toast.
• Leftover French Toast can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days and is best reheated in a dry skillet.

More Classic Breakfast Recipes

• Pancakes: The BEST pancakes. Tender, light, fluffy, and 100% whole-grain.
• Homemade Waffles: Crispy edges, tender inside, and freezer-friendly.
• Sausage Gravy: A classic southern comfort food, this classic recipe comes together super fast.
• Easy Blender Crepes: You may think crepes are complicated, but this recipe proves otherwise.
• Sausage Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole: The BEST breakfast casserole. PERIOD.

Try this French Toast? Be sure to leave a star review!

French Toast

This is the best recipe for traditional French Toast! Thick bread is soaked in a perfectly sweet egg custard and pan fried to perfection.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, French

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 8 slices

Calories: 170kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 thick slices of bread
• ▢ 5 eggs
• ▢ 2/3 cup half and half
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/4 cup maple syrup plus more for serving
• ▢ dash salt

Instructions

• If you have the time slice your bread into 1/2 inch to 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-degree F oven for 10-20 minutes, flipping the bread half-way. 
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Whisk together eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and a dash of salt together until well combined.
• Dip the bread into the egg custard on each side, about 5-10 seconds per side.
• Remove bread from custard and shake off excess.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat.
• Add 1-2 teaspoons of butter to the skillet and let melt to coat the bottom of the skillet evenly.
• Place French Toast in a skillet and pan-fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the opposite side.
• Remove from skillet and place browned French Toast on baking sheet.
• Repeat the process, adding butter in between each batch of french toast.
• Place prepared French Toast in oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking.
• French toast is delicious with fresh fruit, maple syrup, or powdered sugar.

Notes

• Feel free to use any milk or cream that you desire. Half and half gives the egg custard a more rich luxurious taste, while skim milk does not provide as much flavor to the custard.
• Use pure vanilla extract for the richest, purest vanilla flavor in this French Toast. Be sure to not allow the bread to soak too long in the custard. This will result in soggy bread that will fall apart and not be able to be pan-fried.
• Use Gluten-Free Bread for Gluten-Free French Toast.
• Granulated sugar can be substituted for the maple syrup in the egg custard, but the maple flavor adds a terrific flavor to this French Toast recipe.
• It is NOT necessary to finish the French Toast in the oven, but I find this step ensures that the egg custard is fully cooked and the french toast is fluffy, not at all soggy. If not finishing in the oven, cook for 1-2 minutes longer per side, being careful to not burn french toast. 
• Leftover French Toast can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days and is best reheated in a dry skillet. 

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 193mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 220IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 1.5mg

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This post was originally published in 2019 but was updated in 2020 with new pictures and a video.