Healthy French Toast

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This easy healthy french toast is incredibly indulgent and packed with flavor! You will love how versatile this delicious breakfast recipe is – it’s easily made vegan or gluten free, and includes so many different ideas for toppings! Made with healthier swaps, it’s naturally low in sugar and is rich in dietary fiber thanks to lots of whole grains. Feel free to also use this tasty recipe for multigrain french toast sticks or an overnight casserole – the possibilities are endless!

I guarantee you, this is the best healthy french toast recipe you’ll ever make. Why? Because it tastes JUST like classic french toast but is so much better for you! That means you literally get to have your “cake” and eat it too, thanks to this low-sugar, low calorie french toast recipe.

Traditional french toast recipes call for thick white bread, lots of butter, whole milk or heavy cream and sugar. That’s a refined carb & full fat treat that tastes delicious but isn’t exactly good for you.

Our light french toast is soft, fluffy, and slightly sweet thanks to cinnamon, bright citrus, thick slices of bread, a little maple syrup, and creamy milk — but is still super healthy for you! The best part: this simple recipe is ready in just 15 minutes!

Great for special occasions or for feeding a crowd, you can batch cook this healthier french toast, or even turn it into a vegan french toast casserole and bake it in the oven for a delicious breakfast or brunch option!

It’s a total quick and easy breakfast and great for meal prep – but it tends to disappear quickly – you probably won’t be able to stop eating it once you start! 🙂

Whether you are making this sweet breakfast recipe for birthdays, holidays such as Mother’s Day or Christmas, busy mornings, or just an easy Sunday morning, this is one of the best breakfast foods and an absolute favorite in our house!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why This Recipe Works

• Quick & easy to make
• Simple to customize – tons of toppings and variations!
• Hearty, satisfying, great flavor
• Low fat and low calorie french toast
• Great for busy mornings
• Kid friendly healthy breakfast
• No refined sugar, high in fiber
• Can be made both vegan & gluten free
• Best healthy french toast recipe ever!

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🥘 Ingredients

The best part about this dish is that it is made with a few simple ingredients! You may already have these ingredients in your kitchen and refrigerator, but if not, then you should be able to locate these in your local market.

• Eggs: For this recipe, we used whole eggs that were at room temperature to yield the best results. You can lighten this up even further by using 2 egg whites for every whole egg used in this recipe.
• Bread: Whole grain bread slices are the way to go here! You can use whole wheat bread, sprouted wheat like Ezekiel bread, or whole wheat sourdough bread.
• Milk: Either dairy-free or regular organic low fat milk will work for this recipe! Both options help to lower the overall fat content.
• Sweetener: We like to use maple syrup or honey. Brown sugar or coconut sugar would work too. You can also omit this altogether or use a monk fruit based, sugar free maple syrup to make this light french toast recipe with no sugar!
• Spices: What is low cal french toast without ground nutmeg and cinnamon? You will definitely want to make sure to add these items to the recipe!
• Citrus: The zest of one orange is needed for this sweet recipe to add a hint of bright citrus! This adds sweetness and flavor without any calories!
• Oil: For this recipe, we used coconut oil, but you can use any neutral oil such as grapeseed or avocado oil. You can also use organic grass-fed butter.

Healthy French Toast Toppings

There are so many good toppings for french toast — the possibilities are endless! Here are some of our favorites:

• Fresh Fruits: Fresh berries, sliced banana, stewed pears, diced apples
• Sweet Toppings: Powdered sugar, a drizzle of syrup, vegan honey, homemade whipped cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, strawberry simple syrup, peach simple syrup, blackberry simple syrup,
• Crunchy Toppings: Low calorie granola, high protein granola, slivered almonds or other chopped nuts or seeds
• Protein-Packed Toppings: A small amount of Greek yogurt, peanut butter, almond butter, or even pumpkin seed butter

🔪 Instructions

Follow these step-by-step photos to make the best french toast every time! Here’s how to make french toast healthy:

Whisk Ingredients: First, whisk the eggs, milk, and sweetener until combined.

Pour the egg mixture into a shallow bowl or dish.

Soak The Bread: Next, place four slices of bread into the egg mixture and allow them to soak for two minutes before turning over and soaking again for another minute.

Melt Oil: While the bread soaks, melt some coconut oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat.

Cook The Bread: Remove each slice of bread from the egg mixture and cook until golden brown. Repeat.

Serve: Serve this recipe with your favorite toppings!

How To Make Healthy French Toast Sticks

You can easily turn this recipe into the healthiest french toast sticks! Just cut the bread into 1 inch wide strips, then dip into the egg mixture and follow the rest of the directions in this recipe! Toddlers and kids of all ages tend to love this version because it’s easy for little hands to manage, and is fun to dip!

💭 Expert Tips

• Room temperature ingredients are important for your custard! You want to make sure the eggs, especially, are at room temperature before making the custard mixture to reduce the “eggy” flavor.
• Use stale bread! Use two-day old bread for the best results. If using fresh bread, it will not be as good.
• For meal prep: You can easily make the egg mixture ahead of time. Store the mixture in an airtight container overnight in the fridge and use it the next day. Just give it a quick whisk before using.
• Don’t leave your bread in the egg mixture for too long or it will get soggy! 1-2 minutes on each side is enough to soak up enough of the custard.
• Don’t cook on too high heat. You will end up burning the outside of the bread but the inside will remain undercooked. Medium to medium low heat is perfect for this recipe.

📖 Variations

• Change The Bread: From the softest and richest breads such as brioche and challah to artisanal breads like sourdough – feel free to use any type of bread! Even sprouted wheat or thickly sliced sandwich bread will work for this recipe. The key to making this recipe for healthy french toast is to use a thick-cut “sturdier” bread.
• Gluten Free French Toast: Use a low carb bread (most keto breads are gluten free) or your favorite gluten free bread. You can also use a homemade gluten free bread recipe or this buckwheat sourdough bread!
• Sugar Free French Toast: Making sugar free or low sugar french toast is super easy! All you have to do is substitute the maple syrup for a sugar free maple syrup, and make sure to use sugar free toppings. For a low sugar version, use half the amount of maple syrup.
• Add Extra Flavors: For extra flavors, add almond extract, orange juice, or vanilla extract!
• Vegan French Toast: To make this heart healthy french toast vegan, use a flax egg and a little bit of cornstarch instead of the regular eggs, and unsweetened almond milk instead of the regular milk! Also be sure to use maple syrup and not honey for the sweetener.
• Milk: Make whole wheat french toast with almond milk by replacing the milk with unsweetened almond milk. You can also make coconut milk french toast by using full fat coconut milk or light coconut milk instead of the regular milk. Oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk should all work as well for a dairy free french toast recipe.
• Healthy French Toast Recipe For One: Just cut this recipe in half and you’ll have an individually sized portion of french toast with wheat bread just for yourself!

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🍳 More Healthy Breakfast Recipes!

• Nutella Waffles
• Green Waffles
• Croissant Waffles
• Gluten Free Vegan Waffles
• McDonald’s Hash Browns Recipe
• Crock Pot French Toast Casserole
• Oat Flour Pancakes
• Vegan Banana Bread Recipe
• Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

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