Vegan French Toast with Berry Compote
Are you are a French Toast or a pancake breakfast person? I go through phases. I love a big good ol’ brunch on Sunday and usually end up whipping a batch of one of my go-to pancakes recipes. But sometimes I seriously crave thick, soft, golden brown, slightly sweet, eggy (which is ironic since this recipe is egg-free, ha!) vanilla and cinnamon infused French Toast. This Vegan French Toast with Berry Compote is ALL of the above guys and more. It’s my “always-handy” Vegan French toast which seriously makes the perfect addition to any Sunday brunch!
Okay so Vegan French Toast?!? You are probably wondering “what’s the deal Ceara?!” since eggs are a pretty crucial (ahem main ahem) ingredient in French toast. Turns out, just like when you use chia and flax eggs in baking, you can combine ground chia and flax with sweetened vanilla almond milk to make the best Vegan French Toast ever!
Leaving the milk mixture to sit in the fridge for thirty minutes is essential to this recipe. The result is a goopy, slightly thickened and milky-egg-like mixture that is perfect for thick bread soaking and French Toast making!
This Vegan French Toast reminds me of the French Toast my great granndma “Mémère” used to make for us when we were growing up. Her secret to good french toast was lots of cinamon followed by lots of maple syrup on top. And boyyy was grandma right on both fronts. This Vegan French Toast with Berry Compote would not be the same without the additions of cinnamon and maple syrup on top. Like all my recipes, you can adjust the cinnamon to your desired taste.
The Refined Sugar Free Berry Compote is technically optional since you can make the Vegan French Toast without it (and just add tons of maple syrup instead, ha!) but I would definitively recommend it. The naturally sweet berry compote soaks right into the cinnamon and vanilla infused French Toast….
And you can still top everything off my lots of maple syrup. YUM! 😀
If you do make this Vegan French Toast with Berry Compote, share your feedback with me by writing your thoughts in the comments below, tagging me (#cearaskitchen) in your beautiful shots on Instagram or sharing your photo on my Ceara’s Kitchen Facebook page. #EatHappyLiveHappy
Vegan French Toast with Berry Compote
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 13 slices 1x
Description
Vegan French Toast with Berry Compote is so incredibly soft, eggy and perfectly infused with vanilla and cinnamon. This recipe makes enough to serve a large family. Divide the recipe in half if you are serving less people.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed
- 3 tbsp ground chia seeds
- 3 cups vanilla almond milk*
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract*
- 1–2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
- 1 loaf white bread, cut in 1 inch/2.5cm sllices
- Coconut oil
Berry Compote
- 2 heaping cups strawberries
- 2 heaping cups raspberries
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Topping
- Berry Compote
- Coconut Oil
- Maple Syrup
Instructions
- If your flax and chia seeds are not already ground, grind them in a spice grinder until fine. Add ground flax seed, ground chia seed, vanilla almond milk, vanilla extract, cinammon and sea salt to a large bowl. Whisk together and leave to chill in the fridge for 30 – 40 minutes until thickened up to a milk and egg consistency. Give an extra stir before dipping the bread.
- To make the berry compote (if using), remove the stems from the strawberries and chop in half. In a medium pot, simmer strawberries, raspberries, maple syrup and lemon juice on a medium low heat for 30 minutes while preparing the french toast.
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Grease a sheet pan with coconut oil or line with parchment paper.
- Dip the bread in the milk mixture and leave it to soak for up 10-30 seconds (depending on how dry your bread is).
- Place milky bread on the pan in a single layer. Continue until all sauce is used up. Drizzle any additional sauce on top of bread (up to 1/3 cup – any more will make the bread soggy).
- Bake in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until the bread is golden brown on top and the liquid is soaked up.
- Serve warm and brush with coconut oil. Garnish with berry compote and maple syrup! Enjoy!
Notes
1) This recipe works best with vanilla almond milk or regular almond milk. I’ve tried it also with soy milk but the results are not as “eggy” and creamy. If you are using plain almond milk, adjust with extra sweetener and vanilla to taste.
2) Reduce the vanilla extract by 1/2 tsp if you are sensitive to vanilla extract in recipes.
3) I like to use organic white bread in this recipe but you can experiment with other breads as well (whole wheat, etc.). The amount of slices you use will differ based on the brand of bread you use, how thick it is slices, etc…
4) I like using one or two day old bread in this recipe.
5) Line pan with parchment paper and do not top french toast with coconut oil for an oil-free version of this recipe.
6) Frozen or fresh berries work great in the berry compote.
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
