5 from 23 votes

Easy French Toast Recipe

Name: French Toast Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 6 slices bread¹; ¼ cup milk; ¼ cup 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)

By Sam MerrittUpdated Feb 06, 2026

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Servings: 6 slices

10 mins

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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!

Three slices of my easy french toast recipe with a pat of butter and maple syrup on top.

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

Whisk mixing a cinnamon custard mixture together.

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!

Slice of bread soaking up a cinnamon custard mixture.

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 😉

Syrup being drizzled over a stack of french toast with butter on top and berries scattered around.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best bread to use for French Toast?

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!

What Makes French Toast Taste Better?

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).

Can French toast be reheated?

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.

Pat of butter melting into a stack of french toast.

Moe Indulgent Breakfast Recipes to Try

The BEST Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

My Favorite Waffle Recipe

Crepes

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

Stack of french toast with butter on top and berries scattered around.

5 from 23 votes

French Toast Recipe

This easy French toast recipe uses pantry staples and is ready in under 15 minutes. Perfect for beginners, this yields golden-caramelized exteriors with perfectly custardy (and never soggy) interiors. Includes a how-to video tutorial.

Prep: 5

Cook: 5

Total: 10

Servings: slices

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Equipment

Ingredients

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!