Almond Milk French Toast (dairy free)

Looking for a delicious non-dairy breakfast option that feels a little fancy (but is super easy to make)? Try this Almond Milk French Toast! The prep time and cooking time are both very short so it comes together in no time.

It’s thick and soft on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside—perfect with a drizzle of maple syrup, some berries, and slivered almonds.

Dairy Free French Toast

Anyone else a big french toast fan? I actually prefer pancakes!

Typically, French toast is dredged in a milk and egg mixture before being seared in a pan. But did you know that you can easily make dairy-free french toast with almond milk? It’s just as delicious and easy to make!

This is such a cozy breakfast without being too sweet. You can serve it on its own or with a cup of coffee and/or scrambled or fried eggs for extra protein.

And I love how versatile it is: you can add pretty much any topping under the sun (I shared some of my favorites further down the post!).

Read on to learn how to make this easy Almond Milk French Toast, plus some helpful tips (like the best breads!).

recipe ingredients

You only need 5 basic ingredients to make this Almond Milk French Toast recipe:

bread (Thick-sliced sandwich bread, brioche, or challah bread are my favorites, but any type of bread should work—as long as it’s sturdy enough! Be sure to purchase dairy-free bread or gluten-free bread if needed.)
Almond milk (This recipe is flexible and should work with just about any plant-based or plant-based milk. I used unsweetened almond milk to keep things simple. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk would work well too – just cut out the vanilla extract (or keep it for extra vanilla flavor).Sweetened almond milk works too, but makes the French toast sweeter.)
eggs
vanilla extract
Cinammon

You’ll notice that I don’t add any sugar to the egg mixture here because I find adding maple syrup on top adds enough sweetness. I like a contrast of not-too-sweet french toast with sweet maple syrup.

But if you’d rather have lightly sweetened French toast with no toppings (or both sweetened toast and sweet toppings), you can add a few teaspoons of brown sugar or maple syrup to the egg mixture, or use sweetened almond milk.

You’ll also need something to cook French toast in a pan without it sticking: regular butter (if you’re not vegan or dairy-free) or a vegan butter substitute, coconut oil, or a cooking spray. Plus any toppings you’d want on your french toast!

For more delicious French toast (dairy) recipes, try this Crockpot Overnight French Toast Bake or this Savory Avocado French Toast.

How to make french toast with almond milk

To make this dairy-free french toast recipe, start by making the egg mixture.

Place eggs, almond milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt in a shallow bowl. Use a fork or whisk to stir the mixture until smooth and combined.

Then, heat your pan to medium-high. (You want it to be fully heated before adding the French toast to cook).

Meanwhile, place 2 slices of bread in the egg and almond milk mixture. Let the bread sit in the mixture and soak for 1 minute per side. (But no more than that or it might get too mushy.)

Next, add a knob of butter, vegan butter, or coconut oil to your hot skillet. Swirl it around until it melts and coats the pan.

Remove the bread from the egg mixture and shake off excess egg. Put it in the hot pan.

Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through on both sides. Repeat with the remaining bread and egg mixture, adding more butter/vegan butter/coconut oil each time.

Finally, serve with your desired toppings (like maple syrup, slivered almonds, and berries) and enjoy!

Cooking tips

Here are a few tips to ensure your French Toast comes out perfect every time:

Don’t soak the bread too little or too much in the mixture or the texture won’t be right.
Make sure your pan is nice and hot before adding the soaked bread to cook. (But don’t go higher than medium-high or your French toast may burn before the center is done.)
Be sure to add more butter/vegan butter/coconut oil to the pan between each batch. This is how it gets nice and crispy!

What to serve with french toast

Here are some things that go deliciously with French toast:

Why do you need to add milk to french toast?

Milk (dairy or non-dairy) is used to soften the bread and also serves as a binder for French toast (along with the eggs). It helps create a sort of “custard” when soaked in the bread and cooked while also crisping up the outside.

What type of bread is best for french toast?

My favorite breads for french toast are thick-sliced sandwich bread, brioche, or challah.

Brioche and challah are classics because they’re fluffy but sturdy and don’t have crusts that are too crispy or too thick to soften in the egg mixture. However, they usually have dairy products too!

Luckily, Trader Joe’s has a dairy-free/vegan brioche that’s cut super thick and makes the best French toast. So if you’re looking for a dairy-free bread, give it a try!

Otherwise, thickly sliced white or wheat bread are great, as they’re similarly soft and slightly sweet.

Can you freeze french toast?

Yes! First prepare the french toast. Then freeze individual slices in a sealed freezer-safe bag separated by sheets of parchment or waxed paper. It should stay fresh for up to 2 months.

When you’re ready to enjoy it, heat it up in the microwave or toaster oven. I prefer the toaster because the slices get nice and crispy!

French toast topping ideas with almond milk

French toast and maple syrup is a classic combo, but here’s some inspiration if you want to switch up the toppings:

Berries, banana slices or other fruits
Nuts (slivered or slivered almonds are my favorite option here, as are chopped pecans and walnuts)
Seeds (chia seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds etc.)
Nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.)
Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
chocolate chips
jam or jelly

This French Toast is simple enough for a casual weekend (or weekday!) breakfast, but chic enough for a holiday brunch. It’s so delicious and goes well with whatever toppings you want.

You can find the recipe for French toast with full almond milk at the end of this post. I hope you like it!

More delicious brunch recipes to try: