This is the best recipe for traditional French Toast! Thick bread is soaked in a perfectly sweet egg custard and pan fried to perfection.
While I love classic french toast, if you are looking for a spin on French Toast, check out French Toast Casserole, Bananas Foster French Toast, or Banana Bread French Toast. Or if you are not in the mood for french toast, check out all these Easy Breakfast Recipes.
There is something magical about French Toast.
I am not sure if I love the buttery, crisp edges and eggy custard or the memories of french toast from my childhood.
French Toast was my FAVORITE breakfast as a child. My sisters loved traditional pancakes, my brother loved oven pancakes, my mom loved frittatas, my dad loved Sausage breakfast casserole and I LOVED french toast.
The Best French Toast
French toast is easy to make, but it is also easy to mess up. My recipe for French Toast is THE BEST French Toast–and it is still incredibly easy to make.
It is every thing you want in a good French Toast Recipe. The french toast is creamy and eggy, a bit crispy on the edges, and buttery and sweet.
How To Make French Toast
Step One: Prepare the Egg Custard
- Whisk together eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and a dash of salt together until well combined.
- Be sure to fully incorporate eggs for a smooth custard and uniform taste.
- Use a blender if desired to whisk custard.
- Pour egg custard into a shallow dish like a pie pan.
Step Two: Prepare your French Toast Stations
- To make French Toast EASY to prepare, have a work station ready to go.
- Slice bread into 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick slices.
- Place sliced bread and egg custard close to stove.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Place baking next to stove.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat.
- Have butter next to skillet.
Step Three: Dip the Bread into Egg Custard
- Add 1-2 teaspoon butter to the skillet and let melt to coat bottom of 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.
Step Four: Pan Fry the French Toast
- Place French Toast in 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.
Step Five: Finish French Toast in Oven
- Place prepared French Toast in oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking.
- You can choose to pan fry french toast 1 minute longer per side and skip the step of finishing in the oven.
- However, I find that for thick French Toast that is creamy, not soggy on the inside and crisp on the outside, this extra step is worth the effort and truly helps to give you the BEST french toast recipe.
Step Six: Serve French Toast
- French toast is delicious with fresh fruit, maple syrup, or powdered sugar.
What is the Best Bread for French Toast?
The great thing about French Toast is that you can use any bread you like to make it, but there are some breads that are better than others for french toast. It is best to purchase or make a bread that can be sliced into thick slices.
Bread Options for French Toast
- Brioche Bread
- This eggy, sweet bread is an obvious choice for french toast and makes a decadent breakfast.
- Italian Bread
- I often opt for using store-bought or homemade Italian Bread for French Toast.
- Italian bread absorbs the egg custard perfectly and has a larger surface area than French bread.
- French Bread
- The plain flavor of French Bread is perfect for French Toast, but because of the narrow loaf size, is is not my favorite choice for French Toast.
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- It is a great idea to switch up the flavors of French Toast and use Cinnamon Raisin Bread.
- Sliced Sandwich Bread
- When using a loaf of sandwich bread, the slices are often fairly thin.
- Prepare as recipe states, but the baking time of the French Toast will not be necessary, because the egg custard will have time to fully cook in the skillet.
Preparing Bread for French Toast
To ensure the BEST French Toast recipe, here are a few tips for preparing whatever bread you choose.
- Choose day old bread or bread that is slightly dried out.
- You can place fresh bread out on a baking sheet overnight to slightly dry out if desired.
- By using drier bread, more egg custard can be absorbed, flavoring the French Toast better.
- Slice the bread into 1/2 to 1 inch thick slices.
Tips for Perfect French Toast
- 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 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.
French Toast Recipes
- Easy Overnight French Toast Casserole
- Eggnog French Toast Casserole with Bourbon Glaze
- Bananas Foster French Toast
- Baklava French Toast with Cinnamon Honey Syrup
- Chia and Granola Crusted Banana Bread French Toast
- Easy Monte Cristo Sandwich
French Toast Recipe
I would love to know how you enjoy this recipe! Be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Or snap a picture and tag @amindfullmom on Instagram and hashtag it #amindfullmom
French Toast
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 2/3 cup half and half or other dairy
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup maple syrup plus more for serving
- dash salt
- 8 thick slices bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Prepare the Egg Custard
- Whisk together eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and a dash of salt together until well combined.
Dip the Bread into Egg Custard
- Slice bread into 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick slices.
- Dip the bread into the egg custard on each side, about 5-10 seconds per side.
- Remove bread from custard and shake off excess.
Pan Fry the French Toast
- Heat a skillet over medium heat.
- Add 1-2 teaspoon butter to the skillet and let melt to coat bottom of skillet evenly.
- Place French Toast in 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.
Finish French Toast in Oven
- Place prepared French Toast in oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking.
Serve French Toast
- 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 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.
To Make Classic French Toast, You May Need
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Kristen Chidsey
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The whole family loved it! Finishing it in the oven is a great tip!!
It really helps make the french toast turn out perfectly!! I am so glad you enjoy!!
Made this french toast for Valentine’s Day breakfast. So delish 🙂
Lucky family!!! So glad you enjoyed.