French toast is our go-to Sunday brunch food.
It’s also our late-night superstar.
Nothing hits the spot better when you roll in after midnight and you’re ravenous…
(Can I get an Amen?)
We love it because, no matter when you’re cooking, you can get it from fridge to pan to table in just about 20 minutes.
It’s fast, easy, and so, so, so delicious.
French toast is a super simple meal, so use the best ingredients you can get your paws on.
What kind of bread is best for French toast?
Honestly, we love brioche, a rich French bread made with eggs.
You can make your own, or find it at any good bakery.
We love the brioche at Whole Foods, find it in the bread aisle (#NotAnAd).
It’s this stuff here, and it’s ridiculously delicious.
I love to bake bread, but fully recognize that it’s not always practical. Highly recommend this one:
Here’s what you get inside the wrapper:
It’s thick and rich and eggy and really makes totally luxurious French toast.
I trim the very tippy ends off so I can have more uniform slices that absorb egg on both sides equally.
You can also use challah bread (another fabulous eggy bread).
Get my step-by-step recipe for glorious homemade challah here.
Don’t have fancy, eggy bread on hand?
Pretty much any regular old sandwich bread will do.
French bread would also be great.
If you can slice it yourself in order to cut thick pieces, all the better.
What is the best way to make French toast?
We mostly make it on the stove, in a non-stick frying pan, like in this recipe.
You can bake it in the oven, too.
Overnight chocolate French toast is another old house favorite.
Some folks also use an electric griddle.
What should I serve with French toast?
The question is really: What shouldn’t you serve it with?
You can go traditional, and stick with thick pats of Irish butter and generous pours of dark maple syrup.
We love the syrup we get from Tendercrop, our fav local farm up in Newbury, MA. Get the good stuff labeled “Grade A” or “Grade B”.
Veer away from anything labeled “pancake syrup”, or at least read the ingredients before you buy.
Most “pancake syrups” are flavored corn syrup with a bunch of other artificial crap thrown in…not real maple syrup.
You could drizzle your French toast with honey and sprinkle it with wild blueberries.
Or dust it with powdered sugar, blop on some whipped cream, and heap the whole situation high with fresh, sliced strawberries.
You can do chocolate syrup and mini chocolate chips or shaved chocolate if you’re feeling fancy.
Or use French toast slices to make crazy breakfast sandwiches (think peanut butter and banana, marshmallow fluff and Nutella, even an extra-special ham and cheese, etc.).
You can also change up the flavors of your French toast by adding different spices to the egg mixture.
Try a chai blend (cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom) or Mexican hot chocolate (unsweetened cocoa powder with a pinch of cinnamon and cayenne).
You could also spike your egg batter with a little Amaretto, Kahlua, or whiskey for a boozified breakfast treat.
Our personal fav?
We generally go old school with a big side of crispy, thick-cut bacon, some nicely browned pork breakfast sausages or ham steaks, and tall cups of strong coffee laced with local cream.
You get the idea.
The sky’s the limit. Use your imagination!
French toast is a great blank canvas for a good meal.
Alrighty. Enough yapping. To the stove!
Perfect French Toast
4 jumbo eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
8 thick slices of brioche bread
3 Tablespoons butter, for the pan
Maple syrup, for serving
More butter, for serving
Serves 4 people, 2 slices each
Do a little prep
Grab your brioche and slice it up.
You want thick slices.
Aim for about 1.5 inches thick, but don’t make yourself nuts. This is breakfast, not math class.
Make the French toast batter
Put the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, salt and cinnamon (if you’re using it) in a mixing bowl.
If you’re adding in any other flavorings (spices, extracts, etc.), do it now.
Beat together until uniform and frothy.
Heat your pan up
Set a large, non-stick frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat.
Toss the butter in to get it melting.
While the butter is melting, give your bread slices a dunk in the egg batter.
Flip them over a few times, so they’re coated well on both sides.
Let each slice drip a little excess egg mixture off, then put it quickly into your hot pan.
How to cook your French toast
Our large frying pan can fit about four slices of French toast at once, so I fry this recipe in two batches.
Cook for a few minutes on that side, until your French toast is golden brown underneath.
When each slice is nice and brown underneath, gently flip it over with a large spatula.
It is 100% OK to use the edge of your spatula to peek underneath to check how brown it is.
I use medium-high heat, but everyone’s stove is a little different, so adjust the heat up or down as you see fit.
French toast cooks fast.
Keep an eye on your pan, don’t walk away from it.
You want nice, crisp edges…and there’s a fine line between browned and burned.
How do I know when my French toast is cooked?
When your French toast is done to perfection, it will be nicely browned on both sides.
Like I said, it is totally fine to use the edge of your spatula to check how each slice of French toast is doing underneath.
When it’s done to your liking, remove your slices of French toast from your pan and transfer to a serving platter.
If you’re frying your slices of French toast in batches, set the cooked ones on a rack on a sheet pan in the oven, set at 150-degrees F to keep them warm while you cook the rest.
Serve your French toast
When you’re all set, plate your French toast up and go to town!
This time, we served ours simply, with maple syrup and butter.
How do you like your French toast?
How about you?
How do you like to serve your French toast? Leave a comment below, let us know!
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
The Hungry Mouse
Yields Serves 4
French toast is our go-to Sunday brunch food. It's also our late-night superstar. We love it because, no matter when you're cooking, you can get it from fridge to pan to table in just about 20 minutes. Here's how to make perfect French toast with thick slices of delicious brioche bread.
Save RecipeIngredients
Instructions
- Put the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, salt and cinnamon (if you're using it) in a mixing bowl.  Beat together until uniform and frothy.
- Set a large, non-stick frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Toss the butter in to get it melting.
- While the butter is melting, give your bread slices a dunk in the egg batter. Flip them over a few times, so they're coated well on both sides. Let each slice drip a little excess egg mixture off, then put it quickly into your hot pan.Â
- Cook for a few minutes on the first side, until your French toast is golden brown underneath. Gently flip it over with a large spatula.Â
- Cook for a few minutes on the second side, until nicely browned.
- Remove your slices of French toast from your pan and transfer to a serving platter.Â
- Serve immediately, with butter and maple syrup.
