This easy French toast recipe takes less than 15 minutes to make! My version uses the perfect custard ratio for crisp and tender (not soggy!) results. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Why You Need This French Toast Recipe
- Perfect custard ratio: While eyeballing ingredients can work for French toast (and sometimes lemonade or mac and cheese), truly great French toast needs just the right ratio of milk/cream to eggs.
- No soggy/eggy results! If you’ve ever struggled with soggy or eggy results in the past, this foolproof recipe is for you! It comes out with crisp edges and tender centers, every time.
- Quick and easy: Less than 15 minutes to make! We love fast breakfasts around here.
- Breakfast staple (and the inspiration for my French toast casserole!) that everyone should know how to make.
I know, I know. You probably think you don’t need a French toast recipe, and hey, you might be right! However, if you’ve ever made a batch that was too eggy, too soggy, or even too bland, consider giving my recipe a try.
I went through lots of testing to come up with the best (but still easy and fast!) French toast recipe out there–no eggy, soggy, dry, or flavorless results here! You’re definitely going to want to save this one 😉
What You Need
In addition to a few slices of quality bread, you need only a handful of basic ingredients to make this recipe:
- Milk & cream. I prefer to use a blend of milk and heavy cream for my custard mixture; however, if you don’t have heavy cream in your fridge, simply use all milk instead. The custard around the bread will simply be a bit thinner/less rich.
- Eggs. A critical component! You’ll need three large eggs here. Preferably, you should be using room temperature eggs for the easiest mixing, but this recipe will still work with straight-from-the-fridge ingredients.
- Sugar. We’ll use just a small amount of sugar in our custard mixture to add sweetness and encourage the bread to caramelize. Many recipes skip this ingredient, but I’m a firm believer in adding it!
- Vanilla and cinnamon. Strictly technically speaking, these are optional, but French toast without vanilla and cinnamon just isn’t nearly as good! A splash of almond extract or a pinch of nutmeg would also work here, if you have a more adventurous palate.
SAM’S TIP: Want to keep your French toast warm while you prepare the rest? Arrange the pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet, then place in an oven set to its lowest setting. Or, if your oven has a “keep warm” setting, just use that!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make French Toast
- Make the custard – Whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a shallow dish (a 9×9 pan works well for this). Set this mixture aside while you prepare your pan.
- Prepare your pan – Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray, or add ½ tablespoon of butter. Place over medium high heat.
SAM’S TIP: Whisk your custard thoroughly to make sure the eggs are well incorporated into the rest of the mixture. If your mixture is not well combined, you could end up with toasted bread surrounded by bits of fried egg…not what we’re looking for here!
- Soak the bread – Whisk the egg mixture one more time, then dip your bread in, coating both sides. I like to let my bread soak for just a few seconds per side, if you submerge it completely the bread could become too soggy and fall apart.
- Cook – Place the bread in your preheated pan and cook until golden brown, then flip and cook on the other side until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining bread slices, making sure to whisk the custard before dipping (you want to make sure the ingredients are well-distributed, sometimes they settle while they sit) and adding cooking spray or butter to the pan between each slice.
SAM’S TIP: Let your pan warm over medium-high heat for at least several minutes before adding your soaked bread. If the heat is too low or the pan too cool when you add the bread, your toast will take too long to cook and can dry out. Don’t turn the heat up too high though, or you will burn the outside of your toast and be left with a soggy center. It should take at least a minute or two per side to cook properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
While any sandwich bread will work, I really recommend using a quality bread that’s thicker than your standard sandwich bread slices. Sliced brioche, challah, sourdough bread, or Sara Lee Artesano (what I used in my video) are all great choices. Even better, use stale bread–that’s perfect for French toast!
Using thin, poor quality bread or bread that is too fresh (day old bread really works best!), soaking for too long, or using too high of heat can all lead to soggy toast. Also, letting the cooked toast sit in a stack while you prepare the rest can lead to soggy results as well, so follow my tip above for keeping your toast warm in the oven.
Yes! It can be reheated in the oven, on the stove, or in the microwave (see below for details on each):
To reheat the in the oven, arrange your toast on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake in a 375F oven for 8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
To reheat on the stove, place your toast in a hot, lightly greased pan over medium heat. Cooking for about 1 minute per side, then enjoy.
Or, simply arrange your toast on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave for about 20-30 seconds.
Don’t forget your toppings! My go-to choices are butter and maple syrup, but macerated strawberries, powdered sugar, and whipped cream are other great options!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
French Toast Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 slices bread¹
- ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream²
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoons vanilla
- ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Cooking spray or butter for greasing pan
Instructions
- In a shallow dish, whisk together milk, heavy cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.¼ cup (60 ml) milk, ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream², 3 large eggs, 1 ½ Tablespoons sugar, ¾ teaspoons vanilla, ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Place a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray or melt ½ Tablespoon of butter.Cooking spray or butter
- Once pan is heated, whisk your egg mixture once more then soak one slice of bread on both sides. Immediately transfer bread to preheated skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides.6 slices bread¹
- Repeat with remaining bread/egg mixture, spraying pan or melting additional butter before adding each new slice.
- Serve warm, topped with butter and maple syrup!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Recipe originally published February 2019, updated with new notes and photos September 2023. Recipe remains the same, it’s just as delicious as ever!
Pat P.
Sam, when I see recipes calling for equal parts heavy cream and milk, is it ok to use 1/2&1/2, equivalent to the combined volume of milk and cream? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Pat! Generally yes that is fine, and that is fine here with this recipe, too! Enjoy! 🙂
Christina White
Decided to make this for breakfast this morning and it’s a winner! My kids are my critics and this one is a keeper. Thank you so much. Haven’t had negative feedback from my kids with the recipes I make.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy the French toast was a hit with your crew, Christina! Thanks for coming back to leave feedback–we appreciate it ❤️
Robert Parker Jr
Very delicious. Just what I feel French toast is supposed to be. My wife loved it. Thank you.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Robert! 🙂
Janeane
I made this for my family this morning. They loved it! It’s gotten to where all I have to say is “It’s one of Sam’s” and the start saying yum. Fantastic recipe as always!!!
Sam
That is so awesome Janeane! I am so glad everyone has enjoyed everything so much. 🙂