by If you’re looking for the perfect holiday breakfast recipe, look no further than this Gingerbread Vegan French Toast! Comes together in less than 30-minutes and uses pantry staples that you probably already have on hand!
It’s the beginning of December, which means the holiday season is in full swing. Personally, I celebrate Christmas, so I’m starting to think about my Christmas menu. This year I really wanted to develop a breakfast recipe that would be quick, easy, and delicious for Christmas morning (or any other morning of the year!), which is how this Gingerbread Vegan French Toast came to be! This the first time I’ve made vegan french toast, and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it would be challenging to get the right texture or flavor profile, but this turned out so delicious!
This recipe is also super easy. As in, it’s really just about dunking bread in a plant-based milk mixture then pan-frying on both sides. Top the Vegan French Toast with whatever you like, and that’s it!
Why you’ll love this Gingerbread Vegan French Toast:
- It’s insanely easy. This Gingerbread Vegan French Toast comes together in less than 25-minutes start to finish, meaning it’s an amazing weekend brunch recipe to make, and you can even have it throughout the week!
- It’s absolutely delicious. The spices used are usually found in gingerbread, giving it a delicious, holiday flavor.
- It’s so festive! You can enjoy this throughout the holiday season.
- It’s wholesome and nutritious. We use whole wheat bread, plant-based milk and chia seeds as the main ingredient in this recipe, meaning it’s nutritious and will keep you feeling energized!
Main Ingredients
Blackstrap Molasses: One of the ingredients in this Gingerbread Vegan French Toast is blackstrap molasses. You might be familiar with molasses in many gingerbread recipes, and if that’s what you have on hand, then go ahead and use that. I’ve opted for organic blackstrap molasses in this recipe since it’s packed with calcium and iron. Some people even take a spoonful of organic blackstrap molasses as a supplement to boost their iron and calcium intake!
Whole wheat bread: Using whole wheat over white bread in this recipe means it’s going to be higher in fiber, which will keep you feeling fuller for longer, but if white bread is what you’re craving or what you have on hand, go ahead and use that!
Chia seeds: Chia seeds act as the egg replacer in this recipe. Chia seeds form a gel in the plant-based milk, which helps to coat the bread and allow the other ingredients to stick to it. Chia seeds are packed with calcium, fiber, and plant-based protein, but if you don’t have chia seeds on hand feel free to replace them with ground flax seeds, which are also super nutritious!
Plant-based milk: we’ve swapped regular milk for plant-based milk in this recipe. As always, I recommend using fortified plant-based milk to get a good dose of calcium. I’ve used fortified oat milk in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
Spices: We use a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom in this recipe. Feel free to adjust the spices based on your own taste preferences!
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Recipe Notes:
- I definitely recommend enjoying this recipe fresh. While it can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days, it has a much better texture when enjoyed fresh.
- If you don’t love tons of spices in your food, feel free to half the amount of spices in this recipe, or omit them all together! It would still taste delicious with some simple cinnamon.
- I topped this Gingerbread Vegan French Toast with maple syrup, but it would also be delicious with coconut whipped cream.
- If you don’t have chia seeds on hand, feel free to replace with ground flax seeds.
- If you don’t have organic blackstrap molasses, feel free to use regular baking molasses.
- I’ve opted to use sprouted whole grain bread for this recipe, but sourdough would also be absolutely delicious.
Gingerbread Vegan French Toast
Ingredients
- 2 cups plant-based milk
- 6 slices bread
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients besides the bread and coconut oil. Let sit for 5 minutes, until the chia seeds start to gel.
- Dunk bread into liquid mixture and let sit for 30-60 seconds to absorb liquid. Repeat with all pieces of bread. Melt coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Place bread on the pan and let cook on one side until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes), flip bread and repeat on other side.
- Serve with a drizzle of map syrup, a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a dollop of coconut whipped cream (or all three!) and enjoy!
I’ve tried this recipe, and the flavor combination is great, but for me, there was so much liquid in the bread that it did not toast in the pan properly and ends up a bit mushy. In fairness I didn’t have any chia seeds on hand so I had to leave them out. As this is vegan, an egg substitute could be something called a “flax egg”. You just put about a tablespoon of flax meal and put in around 2.5 tablespoons of water. Just let it sit for a while and the flax will sort of gel similar to chia seed. Presumably that is why chia seed is listed in the recipe.
Hi Rhonda, thanks for the insight! Yes, the chia seeds are vital to the recipe for this reason- they thicken the liquid, the same way a flax egg does. I noted in the recipe that you could’ve used flax if you didn’t have chia on hand. You could also try pan-frying a little longer to get a crispness on each side. Glad to hear you liked the flavor!