Chai Orange Spiced French Toast
Vegan French toast with cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla and fresh orange zest. Once you learn how to make it completely vegan Chai Orange Spiced French Toast, you’ll want to do it every weekend!
Is such a cozy combination for breakfast or snack. I hope you have a good time!
This vegan French toast recipe is a twist on the classic French toast recipe you can find here. But this version is a little cozier thanks to some common pantry spices, fresh orange and a little vanilla. As simple as these basic ingredients are, they come together to make one of my favorite brunch recipes!
Whether it’s a lazy weekend morning or a special occasion, this is my go-to brunch recipe because the glorious smell of butter and golden French toast cooking in the kitchen will bring everyone together in the kitchen in no time!
This plant-based French toast is easy to make and perfect whenever you have some stale bread in the house that you want to use up. Instead of eggs, I make a dairy-free French toast batter with plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, and baking powder. It sounds crazy, I know, but it’s a custard base for day-old bread.
Add some cozy warmth to the dough with cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and vanilla but the orange zest is the real star of the show! I love that grating with fresh zest is a quick and easy thing to do, but it instantly elevates the dish and makes it taste so much fancier!
I like to drizzle some warm maple syrup on top and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee. It’s breakfast heaven. Can’t wait for you to try it!
Ingredients for Chai Spiced French Toast
Vegan French Toast is great because it requires mostly basic pantry ingredients!
- I’m Milk – I start making the dairy-free dough with a thick vegetable milk such as soy, pea or oat.
- Cornstarch, nutritional yeast and baking powder – sounds strange, but these ingredients will replace the eggs that traditional French toast recipes use to create a custard dough.
- Spices – a little cinnamon, cardamom and allspice brings warmth and comfort.
- Vanilla and orange zest– two ingredients that add so much flavor and really complement the warming spices and sweet maple syrup.
- Bread of the day – Slightly stale bread works well for this recipe because it absorbs more batter without falling apart, creating the perfect French toast! I recommend using good bread, because the better the reading, the better the French toast!
- Maple syrup – I like to warm it up a bit and drizzle it over the slices of golden brown toast. Perfect combo!
How to make vegan French toast
Start by making the Chai spice mix
Combine all the cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and salt in a bowl and stir to combine.
Next, make the dairy-free French toast batter
In a large, shallow bowl, add the cornstarch, baking powder, nutritional yeast, and Chai spice mix.
Mix well and add 2 tablespoons of soy milk. Whisk to dissolve the cornstarch, then slowly whisk in the remaining soy milk. Doing it this way will prevent lumps in the dough!
Then add the orange juice, orange zest and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
Cook the French toast
Place a large skillet on the stove and set over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of vegan butter and while it’s melting, soak one or two slices of bread in the batter for 20 seconds on each side.
When the pan is hot, place the soaked bread in the pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until it releases easily from the pan. Turn over and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes.
you will want lower the heat slightly to medium-low as needed to give the French toast slices enough time to develop a golden crust. When the crust is well developed, it will release easily from the pan before turning.
How to get the perfect, golden crust without sticking: Turning too soon, having the heat too high and not having enough butter in the pan are the ones three reasons why french toast can stick to the pan or not crisp enough, so medium-low and slow is the way to go!
Serve with a drizzle of warm maple syrup and enjoy!
More vegan brunch recipes you might like:
Chai Orange Spiced French Toast
Vegan French toast recipe made with orange zest, cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla. Egg-free and dairy-free French toast!
- 1¼ cup I’m milk without sugar
- 3 spoon Orange juice
- 2 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 spoon cornstarch
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 spoon nutritional yeast
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 thick slices daily bread
Chai spice blend
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt I use Morton’s
Additional items
- vegan cooking butter
- maple syrup for the topping
Make the Chai spice mix
Make the French Toast Dough
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In a large, shallow bowl, add the cornstarch, baking powder, nutritional yeast, and Chai spice mix. Beat and add 2 tablespoons of soy milk.
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Mix well to dissolve the cornstarch, then slowly add the remaining soy milk. Doing it this way will prevent lumps in the dough!
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Then add the orange juice, orange zest and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
to cook
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Place a large pan on the heat and put it medium fire. Add 2 tablespoons of vegan butter and while it’s melting, soak one or two slices of bread in the batter for 20 seconds on each side.
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Then place the bread in the warm pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until it releases easily from the pan. Turn and cook on the other side until golden brown. About 2 minutes.
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How to get the perfect, golden crust without sticking: Flipping too early, having the heat too high, and not having enough butter in the pan are the three reasons French toast can stick to the pan or not get crispy enough, so it’s medium low and slow !
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How to keep French toast warm: Place the finished French toast in a 300 degree oven to keep warm while you repeat this process with the remaining bread and dough.