My husband requested French toast for Sunday breakfast last weekend (I was out of ideas and asked him what would be a nice change from our usual tofu scramble). Thinking on it, I decided to go with French Toast and make a simple, very low-sugar blueberry sauce to top it off, since I have a big bag of the berries in the freezer.
Now, lately I’ve been making French toast with Follow Your Heart/Earth Island VeganEgg, and, before that was available, I used TheVegg, which is no longer available in Canada. The VeganEgg is good, but expensive in my area, so I decided to go back to my old tried-and-true French toast batter made with simple, inexpensive products that I always have in my house, and I’m pretty sure that most vegans have available.
Well, we enjoyed this just as well as the recipes using the more expensive options, so I think I’ll stick with this easy and inexpensive recipe.
REVIVING MY OLD INEXPENSIVE VEGAN FRENCH TOAST RECIPE, WITH 3 COOKING METHODS AND VERY LOW-SUGAR BLUEBERRY SAUCE
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
6 slices slightly stale bread of choice (I use sprouted wheat or multi-grain bread, such as Silver Hills brand.)
BATTER:
1 cup non-dairy milk, such as soy, nut or oat milk
6 T. more vegan milk plus 2 T. lemon juice (OR 1/2 cup orange juice)
1 T. whole golden flax seeds
2 tsp. powdered egg replacer (Ener-G Egg Replacer or Orgran No Eggâ„¢ Egg Replacer are easy to find.)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or paste
1/4 tsp. salt OR kala namak (aka black salt) for a more eggy flavor and aroma
A few gratings of nutmeg
OPTIONAL: 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. grated orange or lemon zest
BLUEBERRY SAUCE:
3 cups frozen blueberries, thawed
1 1/2 T. vegan sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. water
OPTIONAL:
2-4 tsp. grated orange or lemon zest
METHOD:
Blend together the batter ingredients in a blender until smooth. Soak the bread slices in this mixture in a 9 x 13� shallow baking pan. Turn the slices over a few times to make sure they are evenly soaked.
Baking:
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Place the soaked slices on a nonstick or lightly-oiled DARK cookie sheet (dark pans brown better). Spray the tops with a little bit of oil from a pump sprayer, too. Bake 10 minutes in the bottom third of the oven (use convection, if you have it), then turn and bake about 5 minutes more, or until golden brown and a bit crispy on the underside.
Using an Electric Skillet:
This is my new favorite method, as it is an energy saver. I have a rectangular electric skillet that I found in a second-hand shop– similar to this one:
It works wonderfully for pancakes and French Toast, and many other dishes, though I bought it originally to simmer batches seitan cutlets, etc.. Set the temperature of your skillet to High or 400°F. Spray the pan with oil and carefully add all 6 of the soaked pieces of bread to the skillet, if it’s a large one– otherwise you will have to cook them in two batches. When the undersides are nicely browned, turn the bread slices over and cook until that side is also browned. Serve immediately with the Blueberry sauce (below) or your favorite toppings, such as maple syrup.
Using a Skillet on the Stovetop: This is basically the same as the Electric Skillet Method above, except that you will need a couple of stovetop skillets (well-seasoned cast iron, if possible, or whatever is your favorite), and you will have to adjust the heat as you go, so that the toast doesn’t get browned too fast, without cooking the interior properly.
WHILE THE FRENCH TOAST IS BAKING OR PAN-FRYING, make the simple Blueberry Sauce. Mix all of the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly; OR microwave in a medium, deep microwave-safe bowl (deep in order to avoid splashes) for about 2 minutes, or until thickened and bubbly. Serve hot over the French Toast.
NOTE: I used to do my nutritional facts on Living Cookbook, but they just disappeared, with all my recipes on it (fortunately I keep copies in my files online and off). I have not found a satisfactory substitute yet, so I’m using https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 for the time being.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 3 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 387 |
| {ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 6.8g | 9{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Saturated Fat 0.8g | 4{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Sodium 564mg | 25{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Total Carbohydrate 69.3g | 25{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Dietary Fiber 13.2g | 47{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Total Sugars 27g | |
| Protein 14.4g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Calcium 56mg | 4{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Iron 3mg | 18{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| Potassium 448mg | 10{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} |
| *The {ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet.2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
Recipe analyzed by  |
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Enjoy!
