Vegan Vanilla and Strawberry French Toast

If you’re looking for something a little fun to jazz up your bank holiday weekend brunch, then this Vegan Vanilla and Lemon French Toast is for you. With only 9 simple ingredients and only 25 minutes of your time, you can whip up a perfect stack of French toast to impress guests, friends, family members or even for yourself – breakfast date for one anyone?

I love brunch, it’s my favourite my meal of the day and if I could eat it all day long then I would. I think it’s because anything goes, you can have sweet or savoury, healthy or more indulgent, cooked or raw…. And throw any cuisine type in the mix, too. Now, I’m not actually sure if French Toast is actually French but this recipe does feel a little special even if it is secretly really easy.

I don’t often make French toast and after playing around with this recipe, I’ve been asking myself why?! If I’m making brunch for family, I tend to focus my efforts around my Fluffy Spelt Pancakes as they are a real winner or my Peanut Butter Oat Flour Pancakes but now this Vegan Vanilla and Lemon French Toast is definitely on the brunch rotation. Another reason I had shied away from making French toast sooner is that I don’t have an overly sweet tooth – despite the number of sweets recipes on here, not many of them are super-sweet as that’s just how I like things. In the same way, I opt for savoury brunch dishes like avocado on toast, scrambled tofu or vegan shakshuka when I’m out.

So, you won’t be on a sugar high after enjoying this stack of Vegan Vanilla and Lemon French Toast and you’ll feel nourished, well-fed and very satisfied. French toast recipes usually call for eggs, milk and butter – lots of dairy – but it is even easier to make a vegan version. To replicate the thick, stickiness of the eggs I use plant-based milk like almond or oat and chickpea flour. This whisks together to form a thick batter to soak into the bread slices. I also sweetened mine with a little maple syrup and added some nutritional yeast for an added tang and richness of flavour, although you can leave this out. The lemon flavor comes from the zest of the fruit while I add vanilla essence for a lovely warm flavour. Fry off the soaked bread in a little coconut oil or vegan butter and then stack to your hearts content – I like to top mine with some yoghurt, strawberries and syrup. I’ve chosen to use a rich rye and wheat sourdough from Baker Street who kindly sponsored this post but any bread would be great – soft and fluffy slices tend to work best!

This Vegan Vanilla and Lemon French Toast is quick to prepare and cook, making it a delicious, impressive and speedy weekend brunch dish to impress friends and family. It is naturally vegan and dairy free and can easily be made gluten-free using your preferred GF bread. It is hearty, wholesome, slightly sweet and richly flavoured with a thick and chewy texture. 

Vegan Vanilla and Lemon French Toast

• Servings: 2
• Time: 25 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Light and fluffy vegan French toast flavoured with fresh lemon zest and vanilla essence topped with creamy yoghurt and juicy berries. A quick and easy but impressive weekend brunch dish.

Ingredients

• 4 slices Rye and Wheat Bread
• 120ml plant-based milk
• 2 tbsp chickpea flour
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, optional
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• Pinch salt
• Coconut oil or vegan butter, for frying
• Topping suggestions:
• 2 tbsp yoghurt
• Strawberries
• Syrup

Directions

1. Whisk or blend together the milk, chickpea flour, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, cinnamon, lemon zest and vanilla essence with a pinch of salt until smooth.
2. In a shallow dish, pour the mixture over the bread slices and allow to soak up the liquid for 15 minutes.
3. Heat a little oil or butter in a non-stick pan and when hot, add the slices of bread (do not overlap, you may need to work in batches) and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Repeat until all the bread has been cooked.
4. Serve the French toast stacked with your favourite toppings.

I hope you’ll enjoy this Vegan Vanilla and Lemon French Toast and I can’t wait to see your brunch creations – do tag me in them! I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With French toast love x