This French Toast is incredibly easy to make with just a few ingredients and turns out perfect every single time. Serve it with some pure maple syrup or fresh fruit for a simple breakfast or brunch! 

A baking pan filled with finished French toast surrounded by strawberries and spices.

Are you more of a savory or sweet person when it comes to breakfast? To be honest, I tend to fall somewhere in the middle. While I love a good buttermilk biscuit, I also love banana muffins and scones. But today’s French toast recipe is by far one of my favorite sweeter options.

One of the things that I love about this French toast is that it’s incredibly easy to throw together. This recipe also uses simple ingredients that you likely have in your pantry and refrigerator. You can even scale it down to make enough for two people or scale it up to make a larger batch for a crowd.

This French toast works well with just about any kind of bread, so you can use whatever you have on hand. If you’re looking for a way to use up some old bread, this easy recipe is perfect for that too! 

The ingredients needed to make French toast sitting on a rustic gray surface.

Ingredients For This Recipe

To make this French toast, you’ll start with some stale bread, eggs, heavy whipping cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon. Let’s break down each ingredient and why they’re important to this recipe:

  • Bread: You can really use any kind of bread that you prefer, but it needs to be stale. I’ve found that leaving my bread out overnight so that it’s dry ensures that the French toast turns out perfect and not mushy. I really love to use Texas toast because it’s thick and soaks up the egg mixture well.
  • Heavy Whipping Cream & Whole Milk: I’ve tested this French toast with just milk and it was just okay. I’ve found that using a combination of heavy whipping cream and whole milk ensures a rich and delicious texture.
  • Granulated Sugar: There are only 2 tablespoons of sugar in this recipe to add a little sweetness.
  • Vanilla Extract & Ground Cinnamon: These two ingredients add a little extra flavor to the French toast and really take it to the next level. 

A baking pan filled with the egg mixture ready to dip the pieces of bread into before cooking.

How To Make French Toast

To make this French toast, you’ll want to start out by heating a griddle or skillet to medium heat. As I mentioned earlier, I suggest leaving your bread out overnight so that it’s stale. This will help ensure that your bread soaks up the mixture and prevent it from turning out soggy.

Next, you’ll whisk together the eggs, heavy whipping cream, whole milk, and vanilla extract in a large shallow dish until they’re well combined. In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together your sugar and ground cinnamon then mix it into the egg mixture. I find that whisking the sugar and ground cinnamon separately helps the cinnamon disperse better and you don’t end up with huge clumps.

A piece of bread being dipped into the egg mixture showing how it should be covered completely and soaked into the bread.

Once the mixture is ready, you’ll dip your bread into it and let it soak on each side for about 30 seconds. This will help the bread absorb more of the custard so that it’s nice and creamy in the center and not dry.

Then, just place the soaked bread on your heated skillet or griddle and cook until it’s golden brown on each side. Once all of the slices of bread are cooked, you can serve the French toast with some fresh fruit, pure maple syrup, or dust it with a little powdered sugar and enjoy!

A close up image of French toast in a baking pan topped with halved strawberries.

FAQ’s

What’s the best kind of bread to use?

For this recipe, I really love to use Texas toast because it’s thick but still soaks up the egg custard mixture really well. I’ve tested this recipe with French bread and sandwich bread, both worked great! Some other great options are challah or brioche bread.

How can I prevent it from becoming soggy?

Here’s my number one tip – always use stale bread. I suggest placing the bread out the day before and let it sit out overnight to dry. This will help the bread easily soak up more of the egg mixture without it becoming soggy.

What can I use in place of the heavy whipping cream and whole milk? 

You may replace the heavy whipping cream and whole milk in this recipe for 1 cup of half and half. You can also use just whole milk for this recipe, but keep in mind that it won’t be quite as rich.

A plate holding French toast stacked up and topped with syrup and halved strawberries.

Baking Tips

  • Make sure to use stale bread for this recipe, I prefer to set my bread out the night before so that it’s dry the next morning.
  • I suggest mixing the egg mixture together in a shallow baking dish. This will make it much easier to dip the bread and you can soak several slices at once!
  • Let the bread soak for about 30 seconds on each side so that it can soak up the egg mixture. If you’re using a thicker or denser bread, I suggest letting it soak a bit longer on each side. If you’re using a bread that’s not as thick, like regular sandwich bread, you’ll only need to soak each side for about 20 seconds. 

More Homemade Breakfast Recipes

Video Tutorial

A baking pan filled with finished French toast surrounded by strawberries and spices.

The BEST French Toast

5 from 3 ratings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
This French Toast is incredibly easy to make with just a few ingredients and turns out perfect every single time. Serve it with some pure maple syrup or fresh fruit for a simple breakfast or brunch! 
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Ingredients

Servings: 4 servings
  • 4 large eggs lightly beaten
  • ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk
  • ½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 8-10 slices day-old Texas toast

Instructions
 

  • Preheat a griddle to medium heat, or place a skillet over medium heat, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a shallow baking dish, whisk together the eggs, whole milk, heavy whipping cream, and pure vanilla extract until fully combined.
  • In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. Add the cinnamon sugar mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until fully combined.
  • Soak each slice of bread in the egg mixture for 30 seconds on each side and allow any excess to drip off in the dish. Place the soaked bread on the griddle or skillet and cook until golden brown on each side.
  • Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or your toppings of choice.

Notes

This is best served right after it's prepared. You may wrap leftover French toast tightly and store it in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, then reheat before serving. 
Heavy Whipping Cream & Whole Milk: You my replace both of these with 1 cup (240 ml) of half and half.
Bread: I really love to use Texas toast in this recipe, but regular bread works fine too. Some other great options are French, challah, or brioche bread. If you're using a bread that's not as thick, like regular sandwich bread, you'll only need to soak each side for about 20 seconds. 
Cuisine: American
Course: Breakfast
Author: Danielle Rye
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