Vegan French Toast Recipe: The Best Easy Breakfast (No Eggs, No Dairy)

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If you thought French toast ( or pain perdu ) couldn’t be French toast without eggs, this recipe is here to change your mind. This vegan French toast recipe delivers everything you love about the classic version,  a crisp, cinnamon-spiced crust wrapped around a soft, custardy center, using a simple plant-based batter that’s easier to make than you’d think. It’s naturally dairy-free, and easy to make gluten-free too by swapping in your favorite GF bread ( as i did ). 

Whether you’re vegan, dairy-free, or just out of eggs, this is the easy vegan French toast recipe you’ll come back to every Sunday ( or any other day), and since the batter skips butter and eggs, it’s naturally lighter too. In this recipe, you’ll find the exact batter ratio, step-by-step instructions, tips for the crispiest crust and easy variations to try. 

Why This Recipe Works (And Why You’ll Make It Every Week)

• No Eggs. Replacing eggs in plant-based cooking is possible, and it’s really not difficult. I’ve written a complete guide to vegan egg substitutes that you can always refer back to. For this vegan French toast, a blend of plant milk and chickpea flour is enough to mimic the same richness and binding power as eggs.
• Ready in 15 minutes. This recipe is genuinely easy: there’s no need to let the batter rest, so you can whip it up and cook it all in one go, even at the very last minute.
• Born to fight food waste. This recipe actually dates back to ancient times as a way to use up stale bread, the same idea behind gazpacho: since bread hardens quickly, people found creative ways not to throw it away. That means you can use either day-old or fresh bread here.
• A base, not a fixed recipe. Think of this french toast as a starting point you can build on endlessly, make it protein-packed, indulgent, healthy, or keep it simple. You can even take it in a savory direction. It can be a breakfast, or a lunch dish! It can also become a fancy dessert.

Ingredients You’ll Need (And Substitutions)

Below, we’ll walk through each ingredient and why it’s there, along with the best substitutions if you’re missing something in your pantry ( and if that’s the case, check my vegan pantry ). If you’d rather skip straight to cooking, you’ll find the full recipe card further down the page.

Bread

For this recipe, I used slices of homemade pan bauletto (a soft sandwich loaf) made with buckwheat flour. As I mentioned earlier, this recipe was born out of the need to use up old bread so it wouldn’t go to waste. Even though it’s now seen as the symbol of charming Parisian cafés in the city center, it’s actually a humble, everyday recipe at heart. So use whatever bread you have or like: homemade, store-bought, old or fresh. The only thing that matters is that it isn’t too thin (I’d say at least 2cm / 0.8 inches thick), so it can hold up to the liquid batter without falling apart.

Batter

For this batter, I used soy milk, but you can use any plant milk you like. For the dry ingredients, I used chickpea flour because it’s naturally protein-rich and has a mild binding power that mimics eggs well, plus cornstarch because it thickens the batter and helps it cling to the bread, giving that classic golden crust.

You can swap the chickpea flour for rice flour, or — if gluten is part of your diet — plain (00) flour. Instead of cornstarch (which binds much like egg does), you can use potato starch or tapioca starch.

For flavor, I used cinnamon, and for sweetness, maple syrup. You can enrich the taste further with other spices, like vanilla powder or cocoa. As for the sweetener, you can skip it entirely, or use dates syrup, rice syrup, or, if you want to stay refined-sugar-free, coconut sugar.

Butter

To cook it in the pan, I used vegan butter, following the original recipe, which calls for dairy butter. There are several ways to replace butter with plant-based alternatives, you can read my complete guide on how to substitute butter for plenty of options.

Toppings

For the version you see in these photos, I went with a chocolate sauce (you can make it ahead too, following my vegan chocolate sauce recipe), unsweetened plant-based yogurt, blueberries, and maple syrup. But when it comes to toppings, feel free to get creative and mix whatever combination you like best, maybe even using up leftovers, just like the original point of this recipe.

How to Make Vegan French Toast

This really doesn’t take long, probably less than 15 minutes from start to finish. The steps below walk you through everything so you have full control over each stage, but if you’d rather skip ahead, you’ll find the full recipe card further down the page.

Step 1: Make The Batter

In a bowl, whisk together the plant milk, chickpea flour, cornstarch, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt until completely smooth with no lumps. You’ll notice the batter is quite liquid, let’s say thinner than a classic batter. That’s exactly what you want here, since it’s what gives this recipe its soft, custardy center.

Step 2: Soak The Bread

Dip each slice into the batter, letting it sit for about 15–20 seconds per side. I personally go up to 50 seconds per side, so it really soaks up the liquid. It depends on your bread: the staler it is, the longer it can sit in the batter without falling apart.

Step 3: Cook Until Golden

Warm a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat and add a small pat of vegan butter or a drizzle of oil. Cook each slice for 2–3 minutes per side, until deeply golden and slightly crisp at the edges. Lower the heat if it’s browning too fast before the center cooks through.

Step 4: Serve and Enjoy

Stack and serve immediately, topped however you like, see the toppings section above for ideas, and feel free to mix and match.

Topping Ideas for Vegan French Toast

This vegan french toast can be served simple, just as it is, with a drizzle of maple syrup or a small pat of plant-based butter. Or, especially if you’re having it for breakfast, you can top it with ingredients that turn it into a full, balanced meal. Here are a few topping ideas, but feel free to get creative: French toast is a base!

• For a complete breakfast. As I like to do, serve it with plain vegan yogurt for protein, blueberries for fruit, a chocolate sauce, and some crushed walnuts. Nutritious and super indulgent at the same time.
• Hot-cold. The contrast between the warm toast and a cold scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream is one of the best combinations out there. Add some fresh fruit or chocolate shavings on top for crunch.
• Savory. Vegan French toast also pairs beautifully with savory toppings, turning it into a proper main dish for lunch. In this case, leave the sweetness out of the batter and skip the cinnamon, using spices like turmeric instead. Top it with hummus for a creamy base (my pink hummus recipe works great and looks gorgeous too), some leafy greens, mixed seeds, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Popular Vegan French Toast Variations

Cooking is never static: it’s always evolving, always a blank canvas you can keep reshaping. Here are a few variations worth trying on this base recipe.

Banana Vegan French Toast: Mash half a ripe banana into the batter for extra natural sweetness and a soft, cake-like texture, then top with fresh banana slices ( you can skip the sweetener as the banana will be sweet enough). Or, if you already have a loaf of banana bread on hand, use slices of that as your “bread” and follow the same process.

Vegan French Toast with Just Egg: If you have a bottle of Just Egg on hand, you can swap it in for the milk-and-flour batter. Use about 1/4 cup per slice, seasoned with the same cinnamon, vanilla, and a splash of plant milk to thin it slightly. Not sure what Just Egg is? Check out my guide to the most popular egg substitute products on the market.

Stuffed Vegan French Toast: If this isn’t indulgent enough for you, you can double down. Cut two slices of bread and fill them with anything you like: vegan butter, nut butter, or jam are all great options. Close the sandwich, then continue with the recipe as usual.

Tips for the Best Vegan French Toast

• Stale bread works best, but fresh is fine too. You can absolutely use fresh bread,it just tends to turn out softer. Day-old or lightly toasted bread holds its shape better and is easier to handle while cooking.
• Prep the batter the night before. If you want to save time in the morning, you can make the batter ahead and keep it in the fridge. If it thickens up too much overnight, just thin it out with a splash more plant milk before dipping the bread.
• Keep the heat at medium. The Vegan French toast can brown quickly because of the maple syrup in the batter so medium heat gives you a golden crust without burning.
• Want an extra-soft center? Let the bread soak in the batter a bit longer even up to a full minute per side, as long as the bread isn’t already too soft to begin with.