This easy eggless Vegan French Toast is crispy on the outside, silky on the inside, and absolutely delicious! Ready in just 15 minutes.
Are you ready for the best and last vegan French toast recipe you’ve ever tried or will need? This recipe is so easy and creates a crispy, custardy, eggy, French toast so close to the real thing it’s scary!
What makes this vegan version different than most? Well, for starters it doesn’t use tofu, bananas, eggs, or nuts to create the custard. There’s also no flax eggs or chia seeds…not there’s anything wrong with that.
The goal was to create a recipe EVERYONE could enjoy without sacrificing the essence of classic French toast. But, could it be done?
The idea hit me when I found a vegan omelet recipe made with chickpea flour. I used the spices and seasonings from my tofu scramble, tossed in some cinnamon and nutmeg for warmth, and added vanilla and maple syrup for sweetness and the final result was amazing!
This recipe comes together quickly and pairs perfectly with oil-free oven-roasted home fries, tofu bacon, or spicy vegan breakfast sausage. You can also host one amazing Sunday brunch serving this French toast with my vegan frittata or eggy tofu patties.
Can Vegans Eat French Toast?
I prefer to rephrase the question, “Should anyone eat regular French toast?” No, because it’s made with eggs and dairy. So, the truth is, no one who wants to be healthy should eat French toast.
But, with a few simple modifications, it is very easy to make a healthy vegan and plant-based version that taste just as good, or in my opinion, even better than the traditional version.
To make the magic happen, this vegan French Toast uses chickpea flour and black salt instead of eggs. It recreates the egg version so well.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The best thing about this recipe is that it uses wholesome and affordable pantry staple ingredients.
- Chickpea Flour: raw chickpea flour doesn’t taste great by itself, but when you added a little liquid with some spices and cook it, you great replacement for eggs.
- Nutritional Yeast: adds a savory essence along with the black salt.
- Kala Namak: also known as “black salt,” it adds the eggy flavor characteristic of French toast.
- Spices: cinnamon and nutmeg are warming
- Dairy-free Milk: use any unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice. I like using my homemade oat milk or cashew milk.
- Maple Syrup: this custard is very savory so maple syrup lightens and sweetens it just a bit.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: for depth of flavor.
- Bread: a good hearty loaf of 1-day-old thick-cut bread like French bread or sourdough works best. Sturdy and dense make the best vegan French toast.
Easy Vegan French Toast Recipe
This easy vegan French toast recipe is the perfect breakfast, brunch, or dessert. You can top it with berries for a quick, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some warm maple syrup for a healthy and delicious breakfast.
Here’s how you make it!
- In a large, shallow bowl, like a glass pie dish, whisk together the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, and black salt. Add the non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract, and whisk to combine.
- Preheat a nonstick frying pan or griddle over medium heat.
- Dip each slice of bread in the batter, flip and coat well, then place in the pan and cook until golden brown, usually 3-4 minutes. Flip the bread and cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining bread slices.
- Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and desired toppings.
Leftovers and Storage
Leftover vegan French toast is a great make-ahead recipe you can enjoy through the week for a quick breakfast.
Place any leftover slices in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When you’re ready, reheat in the microwave, toaster oven, or a nonstick pan over low heat.
Recipe Tips and Suggestions
- What kind of bread is best for making French toast? A sturdy and dense 1-day-old thick-cut bread like French or sourdough make the best vegan French toast. But, for best results use stale bread that’s at least a couple of days old. Regular sandwich bread is too thin and doesn’t hold up well.
- How do I make vegan French toast gluten-free? Use gluten-free bread as the mixture is already gluten-free.
- Use a good nonstick pan. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but a good nonstick skillet is essential for good French toast otherwise you’ll get a lot of sticking and risk ruining the recipe. If you have to, lightly spray your pan with cooking spray and wipe. You should be able to make half the recipe.
- Cook over medium-low to medium heat. Too much heat will burn the outside of French toast while leaving the inside soggy.
- Don’t flip too early. Just like with pancakes, patience is a virtue, especially with the first slice or two. Give the French toast time to brown and cook before flipping.
More Healthy Vegan Brunch Recipes
I hope you enjoy Easy Vegan French Toast. Please leave a comment below with a star rating. And, be sure and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #shaneandsimple. I want to see your work. Enjoy!
Easy Vegan French Toast (No Eggs, No Tofu)
- Total Time15 minutes
- Yield3 servings 1x
- DietVegan
This easy eggless Vegan French Toast is crispy on the outside, silky on the inside, and absolutely delicious! Ready in just 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Optional: ⅛ teaspoon black salt (kala namak)
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or soy milk
- 2 Tablespoons of pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6–7 slices of thick-cut crusty whole grain bread of choice
For Serving (optional)
- pure maple syrup
- fresh or frozen berries, sliced bananas
- cashew sour cream
- chopped nuts or seeds
Instructions
- In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, and black salt. Add the non-dairy milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, and whisk to combine. (NOTE: A glass pie dish is perfect.)
- Preheat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat.
- Dip the bread in the batter, flip and coat well, then place in the pan and cook until golden brown, usually 3-4 minutes. Flip the bread and cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining bread.
- Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and desired toppings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pieces
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 295.4 mg
- Fat: 3.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.2 g
- Fiber: 5.9 g
- Protein: 10.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Vegan Breakfast Dishes
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
These have great flavor and firm up just like egg-based, but I’ve got to find a way to cook them without sticking! The chickpea slurry stuck to my nonstick griddle like glue :(. I have no sticking issues making pancakes on it so there must be something really different about the chickpea protein?
Want to make this tomorrow butt for dietary reasons would like to swap the chickpea flour for whole wheat pastry flour. Will that work. Thanks
Made this on Saturday (normally my pancake day, now I will alternate with this French Toast) using Sourdough bread and it was terrific! Can’t wait to try it on my egg and dairy relatives. I followed the recipe exactly except for the nutmeg of which I am not a fan. Used extra cinnamon.
Thanks for your hard work developing “keep it simple” healthy recipes!
Russ
I was delighted with this French toast recipe. I followed exact directions. If it hadn’t been Shane’s, I wouldn’t have tried it. They were delicious!
Wow, thank you!
Hi Shane,
Tried these this morning and they were delicious! I happened to have whole nutmeg (which I think I’ll begin to use more of), didn’t have the opt black salt (began to read the health benefits). I thought ?nut. yeast?? But it all worked! It’s just me at home so lucky me I have leftovers for bkft the next couple of days!
Awesome! I know, some of it sounds strange but it just works.
This easy eggless Vegan French Toast is crispy on the outside, silky on the inside, and absolutely delicious! Ready in just 15 minutes.
Hi Shane – I mistakenly bought Chickpea/Fava Bean Flour. Do you think that would work?
Also, do you think this could be made in the oven (perhaps lightly spraying or brushing each side with a little oil? If so, any recommendation for temperature and for how long?
Thanks so much!
Joyce
I see no reason why it wouldn’t work. You should be fine.
Hi Shane, will this recipe work if I leave out the nutritional yeast? I can not consume.
It sounds good. We use alot of chickpea flour.😇
Yes, it should be fine. It will lose a little of the savory/eggy flavor but it’s not necessary for cooking.
Delicious! Was a bit sceptical but loved it! Great way to use up my stale bread! 😍
Do you think oat flour could be used instead of chick pea? Thank you.
Chickpea flour has a special texture and reacts very differently when liquid is added than cooked. Flours, like oat and what, won’t respond the same way.
Sounds interesting using some nutritional yeast in the recipe. I’ll let you know if I try this one!
Hi Shane : Love your name our son is Shane ! On the French toast recipe I never did like thick bread versions and today being WFPB no oil no nuts I choose Eziekel breads would they work ? Also sodium seems pretty high any way to lower it ? I Try to keep sodium under calorie number or at the same for stroke prevention . Thanks
Robin
Hi, Robin! You could eliminate the black salt, which isn’t that much. Also, keep in mind Ezekiel bread (as does all bread) and non-dairy milk also contain sodium so some of the sodium content in the nutrition info is taking that into consideration. Yes, you can use the Ezekiel bread but I wouldn’t soak it very long.