This vegan cornflake crusted French toast is the fancy breakfast of your dreams. Crunchy cornflakes coat soft and buttery brioche. Layer with some bananas and blueberries, and top with some maple syrup. We ate the entire loaf of brioche in one sitting, it was THAT good.
Vegan Cornflake Crusted French Toast
We ate the entire loaf of brioche in one sitting, it was THAT good.
Don’t know about you, but I am a HUGE breakfast person. It is definitely the most important meal of the day. E made this recipe for me our first Valentine’s Day together, so this year, I returned the favor. He used to work at the famed Joe’s Stone Crab and got the recipe from the chef there. So like everything I cook, I modified it to meet my needs.
A French toast usually has two main components:
- Stale bread (in this case, brioche)
- Custard – in this case, I’ve subbed out eggs and milk for aquafaba (the juice from a can of chickpeas or white beans) and coconut milk. Easy.
But THIS vegan cornflake crusted French toast isn’t an ordinary French toast. Nope, we overachieve here at The Hangry Chickpea.
- For starters, I’ve added vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg to my custard for maximum flavor. Feel free to add a splash of bourbon if you're feeling feisty.
- We also “dredge” aka dip the soaked slice in a bowl of cornflakes.
- To make sure everything stays together, we pan fry for a couple mins on each side…
- And finally, we bake on a lined sheet tray for a few mins to get that “crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside” vibe we’re going for here.
But Angela…
I can’t find vegan brioche! Talk to your local bakery. Here in Miami, we have an artisanal vegan bakery that makes vegan brioche. Worst case, if you can’t find it, use whatever vegan bread you have. Definitely bias toward cutting your own slices though so it can be nice and thick. If you’re not super strict, you could also use *gasp* regular brioche?!?!?
I only have fresh brioche, will that work? No. You need stale brioche to soak up all the custardy goodness. Luckily there’s an easy short cut. Slice as desired and leave uncovered overnight. You should wake up to a nice and crusty brioche.
This seems involved. Where can I take some shortcuts? Honestly, I wouldn’t take short cuts on this recipe. Trust me, you can’t take a short cut to perfection.
F &Qs
How do you make french toast not soggy? Great question. For this french toast, there are two key steps.
- Use stale bread - leave slices out uncovered overnight, or just use stale bread
- Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes - this will make the cornflakes nice and crispy and ensure your toast isn't soggy.
What do you put in french toast? I'm so glad you asked! You can go so many ways with toppings & ingredients like...
- Bananas
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Syrup
- Powdered sugar
- Whipped cream
- Peanut butter
- Cornflakes
- Nutella
- Cinnamon & nutmeg
- Stewed apples or peaches
The possibilities are endless!
What is a substitute for milk in french toast? Any nut milk will do the job. This vegan & dairy free recipe uses coconut milk, but basically you want anything that will absorb into the bread. It's 100% reasonable to add a little pour of bourbon into your "milk" to give it some extra flavor and kick.
Vegan Cornflake Crusted French Toast
Ingredients
Basics:
- 1 Loaf Stale Vegan Brioche sliced into ½-¾ in pieces (or whatever vegan bread you can find)
- 1 Box Plain Cornflakes
- 1 tablespoon Butter For pan frying
Custard:
- 1 ¼ Cup Coconut Milk
- ½ Cup Aquafaba aka chickpea juice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
Extras:
- 1 Banana Sliced
- 1 Cup Blueberries
- ½ Cup Syrup
- 1 tablespoon Powdered Sugar
- 2 Cups Coconut whipped Cream Reddi Whip makes some, I find it at Publix
Instructions
- Set up your stations: stale bread, custard in shallow dish (I used an 8x8 cake pan), cornflakes, frying pan, and lined sheet tray. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Ready? Good.
- Dip each side of brioche in custard for 1-2 seconds each, then dip into cornflakes on both sides. Add a small shaving of butter into the frying pan (you definitely don't want too much). Then, lay your cornflake crusted piece of bread into frying pan, cook for 1-2 mins on each side, then transfer to baking sheet. Once all slices have been through the aforementioned steps, move on to step 3.
- Put sheet pan into your preheated oven, and bake for 10-12 mins.
- Make your stack with your extras.
- Make somebody else do the dishes 🙂
Amy says
This is the best vegan french toast I've ever had, period. It tastes every bit as good as it looks.
Angela Milnes says
Aww thanks Amy! I love it too, the brioche is sooo key