Sunday, January 18, 2015

How to make vegan French toast without a recipe

how to make vegan french toast without a recipe

I used to marvel at how my mother could make French toast without a recipe. Whisk together an egg or two with a glug of milk and some cinnamon, soak bread, and fry in plenty of butter. Top with maple syrup. Bingo—French toast, with almost zero effort involved.

Naturally, I wanted to one-up my mother with a recipe of my own, but without eggs or butter or any of that shiz. To do this, I consulted my faint memories of having read recipes for vegan French toast which used banana instead of egg—giving the toast a slightly sweet, fruity flavor—and set out into the kitchen one day in search of an easy variation on that theme.

The result? Egg-free, dairy-free French toast easier than any other you’ve made before. I don’t even need to write up a recipe. Just look at these photos, and let the knowledge soak in. 

Stop talking. Let me see this toast of which you speak. source

Here are the ingredients. 

Very fascinating, I know.

For this recipe, I used homemade whole wheat bread (made in a bread machine). You can use basically any bread, from French toast slices (for little bite-sized toasts) to giant slabs of vegan challah. Use one banana per serving.

Ahhhh! What is happening??

So first you take the banana and mash it. In a bowl. Oh and first take off the peel. I should have mentioned that you need a fork in the ingredients too. Fuck I’m not good at this.

It looks gross, but stay with me here.

Then you add some motherfucking milk. And you whisk it.

Quick joke. What's brown and sticky? A stick.

And then you add some vanilla extract, just a tad, and a bucket full of cinnamon. Because we like cinnamon in this house. Whisk that all up and dip the bread in it.

Stick the toast on a well-preheated frying pan and fry until golden-brown on each side. Aaaand there you have it.

More like freedom toast. #Murica #1776

Wasn’t that easy? Almost as easy as getting a halfway decent pouring shot.

It's funny because I'm better at graphing rational equations than I am at pouring shots.

Hopefully that makes sense. Really, the whole process takes about five minutes. It’s one of those things that’s almost too easy and too convenient, since you’ll end up making it like every other day, even if it means getting up at five in the morning to whip up your precious toast.

Well, that’s probably just me. 

But seriously, who doesn't like syrup-drenched toast?

It might seem ironic that I was compelled to write an entire post about something that is not technically a recipe, as it lacks any kind of measurement or rhyme or reason. But there you go. Irony is fun.

Some other delightful breakfast treats you may appreciate.

Pumpkin pie cheesecake-stuffed breakfast braid. This was my 100th post-anniversary recipe, as it happens. Very much worthy of the occasion.

Cannoli crepes. Simple and effective.

Pumpkin pie French toast with pumpkin pie filling. If you want to take your French toast to the next level.

20 comments:

  1. I would never have guessed you could have used bananas for dipping and frying toast like that! Muchos clever :D And it looks like the real deal :D
    My first French toast memories was that of the savoury kind, but I have since come to love both versions :D Thanks for the heads up :D I hope you have had a lovely and leisurely Sunday :) x

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    1. It's true, works really well! Of course I didn't come up with the idea--it's a vegan classic, but sometimes it's good to have a classic recipe like this on hand :)

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  2. In the past 2 weeks or so, I've been rediscovering cooking without recipes and it's absolutely glorious. (And being a food blogger, I always feel compelled to write things down when they turn out well - trying to stop myself from doing that.) I love that you used banana instead of egg. So much tastier!

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    1. Thanks! It is pretty cool when you can just walk into the kitchen and whip something up without following a detailed recipe. It's rare in baking, but possible :)

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  3. I confess, I have always been skeptical of this whole "bananas work as eggs!" promise, but I am definitely eating my words. When I started reading this post, it didn't even occur to me that duh eggs aren't vegan so this must be egg free. My brain just saw ZOMG FRENCH TOAST DROOL. (Yeah I know I'm a grown woman saying zomg, sue me) Honestly, this looks wonderful.

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    1. Yes--zomg indeed :) That is the appropriate response! It's not exactly like egg french toast, of course, but it's really good and has a lot of the same qualities :)

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  4. Bananas! That's genius! I made french toast with just milk and cinnamon a couple weeks ago and it was soggy and inedible. I love banana pancakes - can't wait to try this!

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    1. To be fair, it wasn't my idea, just mooching off other experienced vegans here, heh--but yeah, you should totally try it! Very delicious :)

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  5. Love delicious recipes that require no measuring!! Especially breakfast recipes, because I am high-maintenance about how quickly I need my breakfast. This looks awesome. Also.. I know you threw some shade at your pouring shot, but I think it looks good! I find pour shots more difficult than many math related pursuits, too..

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  6. I laughed too hard at your "sticky" joke...and yes, I am 10. French toast is one of my fave brunch foods, and now you have me wishing it was Saturday morning already so I could get me some of that.

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    1. haha yes, that is one of my favorite jokes. So immature but so funny :) glad you like the French toast!

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    2. I also laughed at the stick joke lol

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  7. This article/recipe/whatever just made me so happy haha. Great sense of humor. "Then you pour some motherfucking milk on it" lmao!

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    1. Thanks! I try not to take myself too seriously :)

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  8. Now I prefer not to use a recipe! Thanks for participating in our Sunday Recipe wrap-up linky

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