Best French Toast Recipe

This Classic French Toast Recipe is light, fluffy, and super simple.  Lightly sweetened, with just a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, this accompanies just about any breakfast dish.  It tastes great, served solo with maple syrup or with fresh fruit and whipped cream. This is an easy breakfast recipe your family will be asking for again and again.

Jump to:

• Classic French Toast Video Tutorial
• Simple French Toast Recipe
• Best Bread for French Toast
• What To Serve with Classic French Toast
• French Toast Ingredients
• How to Make Homemade Classic French Toast
• Variations of This Classic French Toast Recipe
• Tips to Make the Best French Toast
• Homemade Breakfast Syrup
• Classic French Toast Recipe

Classic French Toast Video Tutorial

Simple French Toast Recipe

French toast is one of the most-requested breakfast favorites in our house, and this is our go-to recipe.  It’s quick, easy, and perfect for using up day-old bread.  Thick slices of brioche, challah, or Texas toast are soaked in a delicious cinnamon french toast custard, then baked to golden-brown perfection.  It only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, so it's great to make on a lazy weekend morning.

We’ll show you how to make the very best Classic French Toast, with tips to make sure it’s never soggy and ideas for yummy toppings.

Best Bread for French Toast

• French Bread
• Challah
• Sourdough
• Texas toast
• Pullman loaf

If I had to pick just one, I think the brioche French toast is the way to go.  It’s soft, but sturdy enough to hold up to all of the soaking and cooking it needs to go through.  It’s best if each slice is about 1” thick - not so thin that it will fall apart, but not so thick that it will never cook through.  You want to avoid store-bought sandwich bread slices, which will turn soggy.

What To Serve with Classic French Toast

French toast is great all on its own, especially if you serve it with a heaping portion of fresh fruit.  But, if you want to serve it as part of a brunch spread or for a holiday breakfast, we recommend any of the following:

• Spinach and Feta Quiche
• Sausage Egg Biscuit Casserole
• Cheesy Hash Browns with Bacon and Ham
• Candied Bacon
• Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole
• Mini Cheese Quiche

French Toast Ingredients

• Bread - we prefer brioche, with slices that are about 1” thick.  You can also use challah, sourdough or Texas toast.
• Milk - we suggest either whole or 2% milk.  You can also try substituting coconut or almond milk for a slightly different flavor.  
• Eggs - any type of large eggs will work.
• Brown Sugar - we use light brown sugar for this recipe.
• Cinnamon and Nutmeg - these spices add a little extra layer of flavor to your custard.  You could also add a touch of cardamom if you really want to increase the warming spices.
• Salt - we like to use sea salt.
• Toppings - for simple, classic french toast toppings we suggest soft butter, maple syrup, whipped cream and/or fresh fruit.  Try these macerated strawberries! And if you're looking for some homemade syrup ideas, try our mixed berry syrup, lemon syrup or buttermilk syrup. Any combination will taste great!  You can see below for more variation ideas.

How to Make Homemade Classic French Toast

1. In a pie plate or shallow dish, combine the eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg, whisking well to remove any lumps.
2. Preheat large saute pan or skillet over medium heat, then grease with non-stick cooking spray or melted butter.
3. Dip bread in egg mixture 1 slice at a time, making sure all of the bread is covered and each side has soaked through.  (Note: if you use day-old bread, you'll need to soak a bit longer than fresh bread).
4. Grab each slice of the dredged bread using tongs and let any excess egg mixture drip back into the bowl.  Place it into the skillet and toast over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.  Flip to the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.  Depending on the skillet size, you can cook up to 3 slices at a time.
5. Repeat with the remaining bread, then serve warm with any combination of soft butter, maple syrup, whipped cream or fresh fruit.  Enjoy!

Variations of This Classic French Toast Recipe

• Spices - while our Classic French Toast recipe already contains cinnamon and nutmeg, it wouldn’t hurt to add a little cardamom or even sprinkle some cinnamon over the top to finish.
• Citrus Zest - lemon and orange zest make deliciously refreshing additions to your custard, especially if you serve your french toast with fresh fruit.
• Vanilla Extract - vanilla extract adds a nice sweetness that goes well with most other flavors.  
• Chocolate Chips - go ahead if you want. It’s your french toast!
• Toppings - you can top with just about anything!  Try syrup, powdered sugar, Nutella, whipped cream, or even chocolate chips for sweet toppings.  Try chopped bacon, smoked salmon, or cheese spread for savory toppings!
• Flavor Variations- One of our favorite ways to switch up French Toast is to use a flavored Coffee Creamer instead of milk.  We love the coconut Creamer the best.  It makes the most amazing Coconut French Toast. You can also swap out the vanilla extract for another flavor.  Coconut extract is our favorite, but the rum or a splash of almond extract is fun too. 

Tips to Make the Best French Toast

• Use Day-old bread, if possible.  Like with our Classic French Toast Bake, you want to use bread on the stale side because it soaks up liquid much better.
• Thick slices are best - avoid sliced sandwich bread, which will get mushy.  Yuck.
• Make sure to whisk your batter well so you don’t get any egg lumps.
• As long as you are using thicker, sturdier bread, you'll want to let the batter soak into your bread for at least 20 seconds per side before cooking.
• Be sure not to cook at too high of a temperature so that the inside has a chance to cook completely without burning the outside.

Homemade Breakfast Syrup

• Buttermilk Syrup -it's a classic!  Once you try this, you'll never return to regular 'ol Maple Syrup.  It's thick and rich and caramelly, it's perfect for french toast, pancakes, waffles, or even as a topping for ice cream.
• Coconut Syrup -this is a spin-off from the buttermilk syrup.  It's everything you love about buttermilk syrup with a splash of coconut flavor. 
• Mixed Berry Syrup -made with a frozen triple berry mix.  For all the fruity syrup lovers out there, this is the one for you. 
• Lemon Curd Syrup -This lemon syrup is naturally flavored with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.  If your breakfast recipe is calling for a lemon twist.  You're gonna love this.

Here are some other French Toast recipes that we love!

• Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake
• Mixed Berry French Toast Bake with Cream Cheese
• Classic French Toast Bake
• Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast
• Easy Coconut French Toast Bake
• Homemade Buttermilk Pancake Recipe
• More Breakfast Recipes
• More Breakfast Casseroles

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest,  feel free to leave a comment and photo there too.  Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!

This Classic French Toast is made with thick slices of brioche soaked in a delicious cinnamon custard and baked to golden-brown perfection.  It's light, fluffy and only takes about 20 minutes to make so it's perfect for a lazy weekend morning.

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