Healthy French Toast For The Family

Is it even possible to make healthy, gooey French toast? French toast is a dish that we usually associate with dripping batter, pounds of sugar, and spoonfuls of melted butter. But it is possible to prepare an easy French toast recipe that’s low in calories and is actually healthy!

Our healthy French toast takes as little as 10 minutes to prepare at home. Enjoy this healthy delight with wholewheat bread and a delectable batter spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and orange. Instead of added sugar, our recipe uses natural maple syrup. 

This is an excellent recipe for a healthy breakfast, brunch, or light lunch. Add on whatever healthy toppings you like!

If you’ve got the motivation to eat healthier, then our healthy French toast recipe is the perfect breakfast, brunch, or lunch for you!

It’s a simple recipe, but it’s also one that can be highly customizable. To help you prepare the best (and healthiest) French toast, we’ve collated our top recipe tips and answered the most commonly asked questions in the section below. 

Healthy French toast toppings 

French toast is delicious on its own, but it’s even better with a few of your favorite toppings. This is one area of the recipe where you can go all out or where you need to demonstrate a little bit of self-control if you want to keep your French toast healthy!

For healthy options, we suggest adding some fresh or frozen fruit before serving. Strawberries, mixed berries, and sliced bananas are all great options, while healthy blueberry French toast is one of our all-time favorite combos. 

Add a few drizzles of pure maple syrup to finish it off, or go for a few spoonfuls of sugar-free Greek yogurt. 

If it’s a heartier brunch or lunch you’re looking for, then you can even look at adding a few healthy, savory options to the menu. Why not pan fry some tofu, or try out that new vegan bacon from the store?  

How to make healthy French toast vegan?

You’ll notice that a lot of French toast ingredients aren’t vegan. Eggs and milk are clearly not vegan! However, it’s easy to swap these out to prepare French toast without milk and French toast without eggs. 

Simply use dairy-free milk, such as oat milk, to prepare the batter. French toast recipes without milk and eggs do need a binding agent, though. If you’re just learning how to make French toast without eggs, add cornstarch to the batter. The cornstarch works to hold the batter together well!

What is the best bread to use for French toast? 

It’s important to pick the best bread you can for best tasting French toast. Our recipe uses slices of wholewheat bread, as this is one of the healthiest options you can bring to the table. 

As an added tip, we suggest leaving your wholewheat bread in the cupboard for at least 2 days after purchase. You might think the best bread for French toast is fresh bread, but this isn’t actually the case. 

Fresh bread is often too soft, and after soaking up all that batter, it becomes incredibly soggy and doesn’t cook as well. If the bread is a few days old, it’s much firmer and much easier to cover in batter before pan-frying. 

But wholewheat bread isn’t the only option. The reality is that you can use any bread you have in the kitchen. Sourdough is particularly delicious, but plain old sliced white bread works, too. And whatever bread you prefer, make sure it’s always a few days old for the best results!

Is French toast gluten-free? 

Our recipe isn’t gluten-free, but it is super easy to convert our simple recipe to make gluten-free French toast at home. In fact, the only ingredient for French toast that you need to change is the bread (wholewheat bread contains gluten.) The remaining ingredients are already gluten-free.

Instead of wholewheat bread, you’ll need to pick up a loaf of gluten-free bread from the store. Then, simply prepare the French toast as per our instructions in the recipe above, and enjoy!

Can French toast be frozen? 

Healthy French toast is best when served fresh, but what happens if you make too much? Luckily, French toast can be frozen and saved for later!

French toast is best frozen without any toppings (especially cream or yogurt), although fruit will freeze if you’ve already prepared the toast in full. Allow the French toast to cool before storing it in a resealable container or a ziplock, freezer-friendly bag. 

When you’re hungry for more French toast, allow it to defrost on the countertop or leave it overnight in the refrigerator. You can defrost the French toast in the microwave on low power, but it can end up either soggy or overcooked. 

Reheat defrosted French toast in a skillet with a small amount of melted butter or oil. 

Is French toast healthy? 

Ultimately, French toast is as healthy as you make it. While French toast is traditionally associated with high fat and high-calorie ingredients, our ingredients for French toast shows that it’s easy to make a low calorie, low-fat alternative. 

Of course, there are several ways to make our recipe even healthier. The first and easiest option is to skip the toppings (unless it’s the fresh fruit), as this will keep your calorie count down.

Next, you can remove the maple syrup. Although maple syrup is much healthier than unnatural sugars, it is sugary. Why not try a savory, instead of a sweet, French toast? 

Instead of using the entire egg, you could also lower the calories by removing the egg yolk and solely including the egg whites in the recipe. Of course, why not try removing the eggs and dairy altogether, as a plant-based French toast is even healthier!

On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re feeling hungry, then our recipe could be a base for an unhealthy French toast! Add more sugar, add some ice cream, or pour over thick cream for a decadent finish!

Will you be cooking healthy French toast at home? 

There’s so much to love about our healthy French toast recipe! It’s quick, and it’s easy to cook up at home. It’s a filling breakfast or brunch, or with plenty of added fruit, it’s the perfect light lunch on the weekend.

With our low calorie, healthy French toast, there’s no reason to feel guilty about enjoying this delectable dish ever again. 

Why not bookmark our recipe for delicious and healthy French toast?

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