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This Baked Vegan French Toast is made with fresh berries, orange zest and almonds. A healthy version of our favorite brunch recipe that can be made ahead.
I thought I’d post a hearty vegan breakfast that is perfect for lazy Sundays or pretty enough for special gatherings like Mother’s Day Brunch.
This healthy vegan Baked French Toast is a snap to make and tastes and looks delicious! Today I’ve used fresh strawberries and almonds but the recipe can be adapted to fit what you have or what is in season – for example in summer, peaches are nice on their own or with blackberries.
In the winter and fall, I might use pears or apples with hazelnuts or pecans -also very delicious. You can also use frozen berries! It’s a simple foundation recipe for your own creations and I’m excited to share it. I also share a non-vegan option in the recipe notes if you are bound and determined to have your eggs and cream. 🙂
The creamy base of this baked french toast is made with silken tofu. Feel free to swap out eggs and milk ( see recipe notes) but for a much lighter version with zero cholesterol, and less calories, silken tofu gives this a nice richness and even puffs up the french toast like eggs do.
Preheat the oven to 400F
Create the “batter” in a blender adding maple syrup, vanilla, soy, oat or nut milk, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Cut 16 ounces of fluffy, crusty bread into 1-2 inch chunks.
Pour the batter over the bread and toss lightly with orange zest.
Add up to 3-4 cups fresh fruit.
Add ½ cup sliced almonds or other nuts.
Pile it into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 15 more minutes until beautifully golden.
A healthy delicious breakfast I know your mom will love. Worried about the flavor of tofu? You can’t even taste it! Seriously. Give this vegan, healthy Baked French Toast a try and let me know what you think below!
More recipes you may like:
Vegan French Toast
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8-10 1x
- Category: Brunch, vegan, breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Pacific Northwest
Description
Healthy (Vegan) Baked French Toast – made with fresh berries, orange zest and almonds. An adaptable, foundation recipe for different seasons and your own creations. A healthy version of our favorite brunch recipe! Can be made ahead! Vegan!
Ingredients
- 1 orange (zest and 1/4 cup juice)
- 1 package silken tofu ( 12.3 ounces, 350 grams) or see notes for eggs
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons oil ( olive oil, melted coconut, grape seed oil)
- 1 cup soy, oat or nut milk ( or see notes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- —–
- 16 ounces bread ( fluffy, airy with good crust) sliced into 1-2 inch chunks
- 1 lb fruit ( strawberries or mix in blueberries, blackberries or raspberries) 3 cups, or sub apples, pears, peaches.
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds ( or pecans, hazelnuts… etc)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 F
Zest the orange, set zest aside.
Make the “batter”: In a blender, place the block of silken tofu, ¼ cup maple syrup, 3 tablespoons oil, 1 cup nut milk, ¼ cup of orange juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tsp cinnamon and ½ teaspoon nutmeg in the blender. ( see notes) Blend until smooth and creamy and tofu is fully incorporated.
Cut the bread into chunks, place in a large bowl and top with ½ of the orange zest. pour int he wet mixture, scraping down the sides of the blender, Toss well so all is nice coated. Toss in the strawberries and almonds. Place in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle a little orange zest over top. For added yumminess, grate fresh nutmeg over top.
Turn the top visible strawberries, so they are skin-side-up for pretty presentation. Cover with foil. If your dish is overly full, cover with parchment and then foil ( to prevent sticking). Bake 30 minutes.
French toast should looked slightly puffed. (If making with eggs and french toasted is not puffed yet, keep covered, baking another 15 minutes or until puffed.) Continue baking uncovered for 15 minutes, or until nicely golden.
Serve with maple syrup ( I like to drizzle a little more over the top) and powdered sugar.
Notes
*** If wanting to swap out eggs and cream for the tofu and nut milk, use 5 large eggs and 1 cup half and half (or milk)
You can make this ahead, keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and reheat.
The bread matters. I try to find a fluffy, airy bread with a good crust. It can be whole grain, just light and fluffy-16 ounces!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 383
- Sugar: 11.8 g
- Sodium: 169.8 mg
- Fat: 11.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 58.6 g
- Fiber: 4.2 g
- Protein: 12.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: baked french toast, vegan baked french toast, healthy baked french toast, baked french toast recipes, vegan french toast,
This is really simple and very, very delicious! I just love your website, Sylvia! Great recipes!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Jude!
This looks amazing. Do you think the batter without the sweet maple could be used as a batter for a vegan frittata?
★★★★★
Hi Gabrielle- this is an interesting idea- I love the way you think! I’m not sure but I think it is worth a try. I’m might experiment with this. 😉
If anyone has made this using gluten free bread, please let us know !
I think it should work fine!
In the ingredients it calls for 1/4 cup of maple syrup but in the instructions it calls for 1/4 cup of orange juice…? Which one should I use?
You use both. 🙂 In the ingredients, it lists it as “1 orange (zest and juice)”.
Awesome! Thanks so much…I’m LOVING your recipes. Thanks so much for sharing 😁👍🏻
This looks delicious! If I am making it the day before, do I follow all of the steps, mixing the batter, bread, berries, fruit and nuts together and then just refrigerate overnight? Also, are frozen berries okay to use? Thank you!
Yes and yes. Just bring to room temp before baking.
Is there a silken tofu/egg substitute for those that can’t eat dairy/soy/eggs? Thank you so much.
★★★★
I dont have one for this recipe- I’m so sorry. I’m sure there are others out there without the tofu, perhaps just google? The tofu gives this a nice “puff” like eggs do.
Hi, Sylvia – I love your recipes! Could this be made using old-fashioned oats instead of the nuts?
I don’t see why not? Let me know how it goes! Curious!
Could you prep this the night before, to bake in the morning?
Totally!
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
Yes!
Has anyone made this successfully using GF bread? If so, what kind of bread?
I’m curious about this too!
Made this for Christmas brunch because we had a couple dairy free folks attending, and it was a hit! I was all over the place with ingredients: macadamia nut milk, fresh pears and apples for the fruit, and I sliced cashews in half because that’s what I had in the cupboard. I sprinkled a handful-ish of frozen blueberries on top for color. Thank you, Sylvia. This is going into our breakfast rotation!
★★★★★
So happy you improvised and liked it!
I’m going to make this for Christmas breakfast, can I substitute plain Greek yogurt for the silken tofu?
It might be too tangy?
Sounds wonderful! Can this be made with frozen berries?
Totally!
I made this using peaches. Simply wonderful!
★★★★★
This sounds great except I avoid using oil. Can I leave it out? Sub something?
Hi Leslie, I feel like the oil gives it the crispy top, but haven’t tried it without it. What if you decreased by half?