Vegan French Toast with cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, and fresh orange zest. Once you learn how to make this completely vegan Orange Chai Spiced French Toast, you’ll want to make it every weekend!
It’s such a cozy combo for breakfast or brunch. I hope you enjoy!
This vegan French Toast recipe is a spin on the classic French Toast recipe you can find here. But this version is a little more cozy thanks to some common pantry spices, fresh orange and a dash of vanilla. Simple as these staple ingredients are, they come together to make one of my favorite brunch recipes!
Whether it’s a lazy weekend morning or special occasion, this is my go to brunch recipe because the glorious smell of buttery, golden brown French Toast cooking in the kitchen will have everyone gathered in the kitchen in no time!
This plant-based French Toast is easy to whip up, and perfect whenever you have some stale bread in the house that you want to use up. Instead of eggs, I make a dairy-free French Toast batter with plant milk, nutritional yeast and baking powder. It sounds crazy I know, but it makes a custardy base for the day-old bread.
I add some cozy warmth to the batter with cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and vanilla but the orange zest is the real star of the show! I love that grating in fresh zest is a quick and easy thing to do, but it instantly elevates the dish and makes it taste so much fancier!
I like to drizzle a little warm maple syrup on top and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee. It’s breakfast heaven. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Ingredients for chai spiced French Toast
Vegan French Toast is great because it requires mostly pantry staple ingredients!
- Soy Milk – I start making the dairy-free batter with a thick plant-based milk like soy, pea or oat.
- Cornstarch, Nutritional Yeast and Baking Powder – seems odd, but these ingredients will replace the eggs that traditional French Toast recipes use to create a custardy batter.
- Spices – a sprinkle of cinnamon, cardamom and allspice adds warmth and coziness.
- Vanilla and Orange Zest– two ingredients that add so much flavor and really compliment the warming spices and sweet maple syrup.
- Day Old Bread – slightly stale bread works well for this recipe because it absorbs more batter without falling apart, thus creating the perfect French Toast! I recommend using good bread, because the better the read, the better the French Toast will be!
- Maple Syrup – I like to warm it up a little and drizzle on top of the golden brown slices of toast. Perfect combo!
How to Make Vegan French Toast
Start by making the Chai Spice Blend
Combine all of the cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and salt in a bowl and stir to combine.
Next, make the dairy-free French Toast Batter
In a large shallow bowl, add the cornstarch, baking powder, nutritional yeast and the Chai Spice Blend.
Mix well and add 2 tbsp of the soy milk. Whisk together to dissolve the cornstarch and then slowly whisk in the remaining soy milk. Doing it this way will prevent lumps in the batter!
Next add the orange juice orange zest and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
Cook the French Toast
Place a large skillet on the stove and set to medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of vegan butter and while it melts, soak one or two slices of bread in the batter for 20 seconds on each side.
When the pan is fully warmed up, place the soaked bread in the pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until it easily releases from the pan. Flip over and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes.
You’ll want to lower the heat slightly to medium low heat as needed to give the slices of French Toast enough time to develop a golden brown crust. When the crust is properly developed it will easily release from the pan before you flip.
How to get the perfect, golden brown crust without sticking: Flipping too soon, having the heat too high, and not having enough butter in the pan are the three reasons French Toast can stick to the pan or not get crispy enough, so medium-low and slow is the way to go!
Serve with a drizzle of warm maple syrup and enjoy!
More Vegan Brunch Recipes You Might Like:
- Homestyle Vegan Banana Pancakes
- Norwegian Waffles
- Everything Bagel Breakfast Burrito Boats
- Stovetop Vegan Frittata
- Cheesy Vegan Breakfast Casserole
- Classic Vegan French Toast for One
Orange Chai Spiced French Toast
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup soy milk unsweetened
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 8 thick slices day old bread
Chai Spice Blend
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp kosher salt I use Morton's
Additional Items
- vegan butter for cooking
- maple syrup for topping
Instructions
Make the Chai Spice Blend
- Combine all of the spices in a bowl and stir to combine.
Make the French Toast Batter
- In a large shallow bowl, add the cornstarch, baking powder, nutritional yeast and Chai Spice Blend. Whisk together and add 2 tbsp of the soy milk.
- Mix well to dissolve the cornstarch and then slowly whisk in the remaining soy milk. Doing it this way will prevent lumps in the batter!
- Next add the orange juice orange zest and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
Cook
- Place a large skillet on the stove and set to medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of vegan butter and while it melts, soak one or two slices of bread in the batter for 20 seconds on each side.
- Then place the bread in the warm pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until it easily releases from the pan. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown. About 2 minutes.
- How to get the perfect, golden brown crust without sticking: Flipping too soon, having the heat too high, and not having enough butter in the pan are the three reasons French toast can stick to the pan or not get crispy enough, so medium low and slow is the way to go!
- How to keep the French toast warm: Place finished French toast in a 300 degree oven to stay warm while you repeat this process with the remaining bread and batter.
Serve
- Serve warm with a drizzle of maple syrup on top and enjoy!
Hey! I’m Nicole and I make practical vegan recipes for REAL life. I cook with simple, easy to find ingredients and I’m passionate about creating delicious plant-based meals that everyone will love!
I hope you enjoy my recipes and videos :) Happy Cooking!
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