This easy French toast recipe uses pantry staples and 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!
What’s to Love About This Easy French Toast Recipe
- Perfect custard ratio: While eyeballing ingredients can work for French toast (and sometimes lemonade or easy mac and cheese), for truly impressive results you need just the right ratio of milk/cream to eggs… and that can be hard to eyeball. This recipe takes all the guesswork out of the equation.
- No soggy/eggy results! A good French toast recipe should yield toast that’s lightly moist and custardy on the inside, caramelized golden on the outside. If you’ve ever struggled with soggy results, this recipe dials in the details so you end up with golden-crisp edges and soft 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!), this is a beginner-friendly recipe that everyone should know how to make.
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 fast!) easy French toast recipe out there. You’re definitely going to want to save this one 😉
Ingredients
You need only a handful of basic ingredients to make this easy French toast recipe:
- Bread. Your options are many. You can use regular white bread, a slice from my sourdough bread recipe or a rich brioche (I recommend my brioche French toast recipe for that, though). I like a more enriched, buttery bread, personally, and prefer to opt for brioche or challah.
- Milk & cream. I use a blend of milk and heavy cream for my custard mixture. The cream helps make the results a tad bit more rich and indulgent without being overbearing or cloying. However, if you don’t have heavy cream in your fridge, simply swap the cream called for with milk. The custard around the bread will simply be a bit thinner/less rich.
- Eggs. You’ll need three large eggs for the perfect ratios for the French toast custard.
- Sugar. Just a small amount of sugar in the custard adds a light sweetness and helps encourage the bread to caramelize. Many recipes skip this ingredient, but it makes a huge difference (especially considering it really is such a small amount of sugar).
- 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: Most skillets only hold 2 slices of bread, which means French toast must be prepared in batches. To keep yours 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!
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 small square baking pan, like an 8×8 works well for this). Set this mixture aside while you prepare your pan.
- Prepare your pan – Warm a skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with a bit of nonstick spray or (preferred) melt a small pat of butter in the pan.
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 (just to ensure everything’s well incorporated), then dip your bread in, coating both sides. I like to let my bread soak for just a few seconds per side, but no longer. 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 skillet 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 the texture will suffer, both inside and out (think no caramelization and uncooked centers). Don’t turn the heat up too high though, or you will burn the outside of your French toast and be left with a soggy center. It should take at least a minute or two per side to cook properly, this easy French toast recipe is written with a lot of detail for a reason 😉
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, homemade bread, a slice of 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 this French toast recipe!
A splash of vanilla and cinnamon in the custard adds wonderful flavor, and a blend of cream and milk adds richness for truly *excellent* French toast. Starting with a good, thick bread also helps. If you opt for a brioche, I recommend a few grates of fresh orange zest, as well (see my brioche French toast).
Yes! This easy French toast recipe can be reheated in the oven, on the stove, or in the microwave:
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.
Microwave: Arrange your toast on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave for about 20-30 seconds.
Moe Indulgent Breakfast Recipes to Try
Don’t forget your toppings! My go-to choices are butter and maple syrup, but macerated strawberries, powdered sugar, and whipped cream or even a smear of honey butter 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
Recommended Equipment
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. Recipe remains the same, it’s just as delicious as ever!
jamie
OMG! Guess what?! We made your bread loaf yesterday (about to go leave a comment there, too) and then this morning, we sliced some thick slices and made your french toast! We made FROM SCRATCH french toast! We felt so fancy!!! This recipe is great. We basically split it in thirds, using just one egg, 2 tbsp + 2 tsp of half & half, eyeballed the vanilla (probably added too much, whoops, yum!) and a pinch of salt and went a little heavy on the sugar, using 2 tsp (1/3 would have been only 1.5 tsp). Also I LOVE cinnamon, so I eyeballed it and put probably a half teaspoon. We used just two pieces of bread, REALLY thick, and we drenched them, kept using the egg mixture until ALL of it was soaked into the toast. Then we cooked on low heat in unsalted butter, which we only now stock for your recipes, lol, but it was perfect for this! This was the best french toast we’ve ever had. Until I used your recipe, I was (a) never adding sugar to the egg mixture and (b) using WAY too little half & half (in the past I’d used the amount I would add for scrambled eggs). I am so glad we stumbled across your french toast recipe! I think the sugar helped make it a little crunchy on the outside, and as you know, your bread recipe makes really soft bread, so it was really lovely, the slight crunch on the outside, and the extra soft insides. We barely used any syrup at all, and most bites I ate as-is, with no syrup. YUMMMM.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jamie! Completely from scratch scratch french toast sounds INCREDIBLE! Reading your comment made me hungry. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Amy
Hi, I am Amy and I love your french toast recipe. As I was making the recipe I saw that I did not have Vanilla Extract. Will it taste the same without?
Sam
Hi Amy! The french toast will still turn out, but it definitely won’t have as much flavor. 🙂
SCV
This is the way my family has always made it but we like to add a pinch of nutmeg.
On special occasions, Mom and Grandma would add a 1/4 of cup flour and a pinch of baking powder. that made them a little bit airy or fluffy but it sure is worth a try.
If you try it please let me know how you like it Sam I really like to know. Some of my family friends do and some don’t. 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for sharing, SCV! I will have to try it the next time I make it. 🙂
Paige Vavra
I’ve made French toast for many years with a recipe of my grandmother’s. I loved it, but this recipe including the heavy cream does something great to the recipe and my family and I absolutely love it! Thanks for posting!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the french toast, Paige! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Dallas Bathtub Services
At 47 years old I made French toast for the first time ever in my life today, thanks to you! I honestly never thought about how to make it. I only had French toast when I went out for breakfast. Followed your recipe and used the Texas cut bread (for a thicker slice) ….. GREAT!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you enjoyed the french toast! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Debbie
Hi Sam,
I am going to have a French toast breakfast for my family this sat morning. I have been reading over some of the different ideas to cook the French toast.
My recipe is exactly like yours except for the heavy cream and I use brown sugar. This sat I have dicided to to omit the milk and use heavy cream,I think I will stick to the light brown sugar. And I have always cut bananas up laying beautifully on the side in syrup. I always make sausage patties to go with the toast.
Thanks for the heavy cream tip.
Sam
You are very welcome, I hope the French toast is a success! Thank you for commenting, Debbie!
Glenn
I have always dissolved the cinnamon in the vanilla extract first, then added in the egg and milk. This step allows for the cinnamon to fully incorporate into the custard, and not “clump” up.
This was shown to me many years ago while working for Hyatt hotels.
Hope this helps.
Rodg
This has been the best recipe i have ever found. I used brioche bread to make this French toast and it tasted amazing. I’m going to bookmark this page for future reference. I can’t wait to make more.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy the french toast so much! 🙂
CJ Shumate
Good recipe but medium-high temp seems way too high. The butter starts to darken and toast gets black. I blackened a couple pieces then cooled the pan to medium-low and it came out nice and golden.
Sam
Sounds like your stove may run a little hotter than mine. I’m glad you were able to figure it out and enjoy the french toast. 🙂
Dorendia Russell
Delicious
Sam
Thank you so much! 🙂
Dana
This recipe for French toast was delicious! We added our own favorite ingredient by spreading apple butter between two slices of bread, then dipping it into the egg mixture. Pairing this with real NY maple syrup sent to us recently by a cousin was the mouthwatering result!!
It’s a keeper!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the french toast, Dana! 🙂
Kimberly Weddle
This is some of the best french toast that I have had in ages!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Kimberly! 🙂
Rochelle Artuz
I tried your recipe and this is the best french toast i ever made… thanks for sending me your recipe… also i tried ur pancake.. its great too…
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Rochelle! 🙂
Angela W.H.
This recipe turned out great! Didn’t have cream handy so I used Hazelnut flavored liquid coffee creamer, and they tasted great with the fresh glazed banana slices on top!! Thanks for sharing the recipe. LOVE your website!!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the french toast Angela! 🙂
Milly
What does sub milk mean ?
Sam
Hi Milly! You can substitute milk for the heavy cream if you do not have heavy cream. 🙂
Marvan61
I also use flavored coffee creamer, it adds that special taste.
Larry Akins
Boy!! I really enjoy these French Toast my said they are a keeper
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoys it, Larry! 🙂
Mandy
Great ,love the recipe my daughter loves French toast.
Sam
I’m so glad to hear it, Mandy! 🙂