The first time I posted this recipe it was titled Vegan French Toast with Pumpkin Syrup and Maple Pecans. But last night my husband was going to get home late, and I decided we would have breakfast for dinner! Aren’t those the best! I pulled up the recipe on my site, and realized that the french toast recipe is tucked at the bottom of 2 other recipes for pumpkin syrup and glazed pecans…which are of course super yummy with the french toast… but I think that French Toast deserves its very own page!

Its always been my first choice in sweet breakfasts. Before pancakes, before waffles, even doughnuts! And I even had a particular way of eating it.  Natalie-style. I would start by slathering it with butter. Enough so that it created a pool of melted butter on the top. I needed that extra moisture to mix with the thick blanket of powdered sugar that I coated it with. No syrup. But I put  so much butter and powdered sugar that they made their own little sugary, buttery sauce.

Now that 30 years or so have passed,  I’m a bit more flexible about how I eat my french toast. Starting with the fact that I don’t use eggs or milk. It took a minute to find an alternative I was happy with, but I can honestly say I still love french toast! This one uses soy milk and chic pea flour. The chic pea flour is the key here and combined with the soy milk, adds a nice addition of plant protein to the recipe. It creates an eggy texture when its cooked, so you will often find it used in vegan crepe, omelet or quiche recipes.

The one problem I have found with chic pea flour is that sometimes it has a raw flavor that I find distracting. The quick fix I find works well is to toast the flour a bit in a dry pan over medium heat for about 4-6 minutes first. You have to be really careful, stirring and watching constantly so that it doesn’t brown. If it does, you’ve got to throw it out and start again. So keep an eye on it!

The basic recipe is adapted from one by Isa Chandra Moskowitz from the Post Punk Kitchen. Even with the spices (which are very mild in the resulting product), this recipe is my family’s regular french-toast recipe. It’s a great basic recipe that you can alter to make dozens of versions!

*BTW I used a pretty loaf of bread in the pic, but I usually use whole wheat sandwich bread, because I always have it on hand, and everyone loves it just as much!

Vegan French Toast

Yield: 2 cups dipping liquid

*Depending on the bread size- Serves about 4

Ingredients:

1 loaf whole wheat French or Italian bread

*(or whatever kind of bread you like. just nothing too dense)

2 cups soymilk (or plant milk of your choice)

1 vanilla bean *optional

*(If you don’t have one just leave it out. It will be fine)

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup chicpea/garbanzo bean flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

vegetable oil for oiling pan

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

If you are using a vanilla bean, add soy milk and to a small pot. Split the vanilla bean, scraping the seeds out with the back of a knife. Put the seeds and the pod into the soy milk in the pan. Bring just to a boil then cover and turn off heat. Allow to steep while proceeding to the next steps. If you are not using the vanilla bean-ignore this step.

Slice bread to desired thickness.

Lay the slices in a single layer on baking sheets (or even straight on the racks) and put them into the oven for 3-4 minutes, turning over once. You don’t want to toast the bread, just dry it out a bit.

*Note: If you make the slices thick, make sure to let them fully soak up the batter, or the center of your french toast will be dry. As you go along you may need to thin the batter with an extra Tablespoon or two of soy milk.

In a wide dish, whisk the cornstarch, chic pea flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Remove the vanilla bean from the soy milk and scrape any remaining seeds from the pod before discarding. Add vanilla extract.

Slowly whisk the soy milk into the dry ingredients, and blend until most of the lumps are gone.

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add oil and using a paper towel, rub the pan to coat the bottom evenly.

Soak the bread slices into the french toast mixture and place in pan.

Allow to cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until golden. Re-coat the pan with oil in between batches.

*Note: Impatience can result in the french toast sticking! If it feels like it is sticking, let the slices cook a bit longer. Lower the heat a little if you are concerned it may burn. Its also helpful to use a metal or very thin spatula.

Serve immediately!

*Note: If you need to cook in batches, remove the finished slices to a plate, and keep them in a warm oven (lowest setting then turned off) until you finish cooking them all.

Finish them with fresh fruit like bananas, strawberries or blueberries. With syrup, jam, or powdered sugar. And whenever you want…breakfast, lunch or dinner!