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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!
Latest Recipe Video!
🥘 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, 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.
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!
👨👩👧 Serving Suggestions
These are some of my very favorite ways to serve healthy French toast!
❓Recipe FAQs
Is French Toast Healthy?
Classic french toast is actually not that healthy for you. It's typically made with refined carbs, too much sugar, and lots of fat, making it high in calories!
But there is a healthy way to make french toast! All you have to do is use whole grain bread, reduce the amount of butter/oil/cream, use less sugar, and add healthy toppings like fresh fruit! With these healthy swaps, this quick healthy french toast is low calorie, high in fiber and high in protein!
What kind of bread is best for French toast?
It depends on whether you want to make your french toast healthy or not! When it comes to what bread is good for french toast, the key is to use day-old bread, no matter the type of bread you use.
For an indulgent, traditional french toast, I'd recommend brioche, a thick french bread, or challah. Raisin bread also makes for a sweet and dessert like french toast.
If you want to make healthy french toast, I recommend whole wheat bread, whole wheat sourdough, or sprouted wheat bread.
How Many Calories In Healthy French Toast?
There are only 250 calories in 2 slices of this low sugar french toast, which means that one piece of french toast has only 125 calories! Each serving also has 8 grams of fiber, only 3 grams of added sugar, and 15 grams of protein, making it a great addition to a healthy diet!
How do you make French toast not soggy?
There are typically 3 reasons why french toast turns out soggy.
1) You used fresh bread or your bread is too thin/flimsy. Fresh or flimsy bread will soak up too much of the custard mixture too quickly, and will give you soggy french toast. You want to use day-old, slightly stale bread which will hold together well even after it has soaked up some of the custard. If you are using stale bread, it allows for the cooked French toast to be more crisp and pleasant.
2) You used too much milk in your custard. Too much milk makes it so that the bread can't soak up the egg in the custard properly, resulting in a french toast that won't get crispy.
3) You didn't cook it long enough. You need to cook the toast on medium heat for a few minutes on each side so that it gets crispy on the outside but still cooks all the way through without burning.
Can you use fresh bread for French toast?
Technically, you can try to use fresh bread, but I wouldn't recommend it because you may end up with soggy French toast. If all you have is fresh bread, then I'd recommend either toasting it or leaving it out for a few hours to help dry it out before making this recipe.
How long is french toast good for? Can You Freeze Healthy French Toast?
French toast is good for up to 4 days in the fridge, but you can also freeze french toast easily! In general, french toast freezes really well making it great for meal prep or big batch cooking.
To Store In The Fridge: Let the leftovers cool completely. Transfer the toast to an airtight storage container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the toaster oven or on a warm skillet until heated through.
To Freeze: To freeze this recipe, transfer the cooked french toast to a freezer safe airtight container or freezer bag and separate the individual slices using parchment paper. Place in the freezer for up to three to four months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, and then heat the frozen french toast slices on a skillet on the stovetop or in the oven until warmed through.
