Gluten Free French Toast (Quick & Easy)

This gluten free French toast is made with thick slices of brioche soaked in a simple custard and fried in butter, coated in caramelized sugar. Even though it's only soaked in a simple custard mixture for a short time, it still has the perfect crispy outside and rich, fluffy inside texture.

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Why this recipe works

The texture of this French toast is truly perfect. Each slice has a crisp-tender, sugary crust on one side, and the fluffiest, custard center.

A mixture of eggs and milk, along with some sugar, salt, and just the right amount of gluten free is used as a soaking custard. This method ensures that the bread soaks it all up, so the inside tastes like actual custard.

How to choose the right bread

The ideal bread is one that is tender but sturdy, sliced thickly, and doesn't have any competing flavors or textures like nuts, seeds or even cinnamon.

If your bread is too delicate, it would just fall apart during soaking, never making it to the pan.

You need bread that you can soak. I used our recipe for gluten free brioche bread, but any sturdy gluten free bread will work, especially if you can slice it thickly.

Brioche is made with butter, eggs, and milk, and it's already incredibly rich and tender, but with a relatively tight crumb, so it holds the custard without disintegrating.

If you're using a moist bread with a more open crumb or one that feels at all wet to the touch, let it sit out and go stale first. If you're in a rush, try placing your slices in a 300°F oven or toaster oven until firm, about 20 minutes.

Using store bought bread

You can use store-bought gluten free bread. There are so many really good types of packaged gluten free bread brands out there these days. If you can, select thicker slices with a smaller crumb, like Trader Joe's gluten free multigrain bread or BFree's sandwich loaf.

How to make gluten free French toast quick & easy

Soak the bread in custard

The method I use here works just as well as soaking the bread overnight, but requires no more planning than selecting and preparing your bread. The custard is thicker and richer, since it's made with not only milk and eggs, but our simplest gluten free flour blend, which thickens without making the mixture at all gummy.

If you use another flour blend, one that contains xanthan gum and is heavier, your custard will be much thicker. That will coat the bread more than soaking into it, and the inside won't be rich and extra soft.

You'll need to turn the bread over a couple of times in the custard mixture to encourage it to absorb the custard, but it only takes about 30 minutes total.

Fry the French toast

Then, melt butter in a hot skillet (cast iron is best, since it heats so evenly and holds heat so well), and fry on both sides. The key is to allow each side to cook completely before you turn the bread over.

While the first side is frying, sprinkle sugar on the top and let it absorb. Then, carefully turn over the bread and allow it cook on the other side. The sprinkled sugar will caramelize as the bread fries on the second side.

Make ahead tips

You can assemble the bread and custard, separately, before you are ready to cook. Store the bread at room temperature; it's fine for it to go a little stale, even if it's brioche), and the custard in the refrigerator if it's for longer than 30 minutes.

To serve all the French toast at once or prepare it up to 20 minutes ahead of time, place the prepared slices, sugar-side up, on a clean, lined rimmed baking sheet. Keep warm in a 300°F oven until ready to serve.

If you'd like to make everything ahead of time fully, just let the fried pieces of bread cool completely. Wrap them tightly in freezer-safe wrap, and freeze. Defrost at room temperature and refresh in that 300°F oven or toaster oven.

Ingredient substitutions

For information about ingredients and substitutions with respect to our recipe for gluten free brioche bread, please click through and see this same section of that recipe.

Dairy free

For the cow's milk in the custard mixture, try unsweetened coconut milk in the carton, soy milk, or almond milk. Be sure to use something with fat. For the butter used for frying, try block-style vegan butter, butter-flavored shortening, or even Earth Balance buttery sticks. Be sure to choose a bread that is dairy free, or use dairy free substitutes as suggested in the gluten free bread recipe you're using.

Egg free

It's difficult to replace the eggs in the custard that is used to coat the bread before frying it, since the eggs thicken the inside of the bread and tenderize it by locking in moisture. You may be able to make it with something like plant-based “Just Egg”, which you'll find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

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Gluten Free French Toast Recipe

5 from 4 votes

By Nicole Hunn

Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Yield: 4 slices French toast

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This gluten free French toast is made of gf bread soaked quickly in the perfect custard for a crispy outside and rich, tender fluffy center.

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 slices gluten free brioche bread, or other gluten free bread (See Recipe Notes)
• ▢ 2 (100 g) eggs, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) whole milk, at room temperature
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• ▢ ¼ cup (36 g) gum-free gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ Unsalted butter, for frying

Instructions 

Prepare the bread.

• Slice the bread into slices about 1-inch thick, if possible. The bread should not be fresh out of the oven, or at all warm.
• Set the slices, side by side and not overlapping, on a large rimmed baking sheet or in a rectangular baking dish.

Make the custard

• In a medium-sized measuring cup or bowl (ideally with a pour spout), place the eggs, vanilla, and about half of the milk. Whisk to combine well, beating the eggs until smooth.
• Add the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, flour blend, and salt, and whisk until smooth and well-combined.
• Add the remaining milk, and whisk to combine.

Soak the bread

• Slowly pour the custard on top of the slices of brioche, allowing the bread to absorb as much of the custard as possible.
• Flip the bread over, and pour the rest of the custard onto the underside.
• Allow the bread to sit, flipping it occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Most of the custard should have been absorbed by the bread.

Fry the French toast

• When the bread is nearly done soaking up the custard, place about 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a cast iron or other heavy-bottom skillet with at least 1-inch high sides.
• Turn the heat to medium-high, and heat until the butter has completely melted and is beginning to crackle in the pan.
• Remove two slices (or as many as can fit without touching) from the custard and place them flat in the pan.
• Sprinkle the raw top of the slices of bread with a thin layer of granulated sugar.
• Allow the bread to cook, undisturbed for at least 3 minutes or until golden on the underside.
• Carefully flip the slices in the pan and continue to cook, sugar side down, for 4 more minutes or until golden brown on both sides.
• The sugar should have caramelized. Remove the slices from the pan and place on a plate for serving, sugar-side up.
• Repeat with the remaining slices.
• To serve all the French toast at once or prepare it up to 20 minutes ahead of time, place the prepared slices, sugar-side up, on a clean, lined rimmed baking sheet.
• Keep warm in a 300°F oven until ready to serve.

Video

Notes

About the type of gluten free bread

I like to use our recipe for gluten free brioche bread to make French toast, sliced at least 1-inch thick. It has a tender, but relatively closed crumb, so it soaks up the custard really well without becoming very fragile.

But you can really use any sort of gluten free bread. In fact, commercially-prepared gluten free sliced bread is often great for French toast, especially if it’s gone a bit stale.

Flour blend information

To make 1/4 cup of our 3-ingredient gum-free gluten free flour blend, combine 24 grams superfine white rice flour, 8 grams potato starch, and 4 grams tapioca starch/flour. You can also use an equal amount of Nicole's Best multipurpose without xanthan gum, Vitacost's Multiblend gluten free flour without xanthan gum, or even a low-gum gluten free flour blend like Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 196kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 244IU | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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