Orange and cinnamon: an unlikely duo of flavor, but an amazing one in this vegan french toast recipe; the nostril-ensnaring aroma from the ground cinnamon compliments the acidic and sharp but also modestly sweet juice of the orange. And together, they create a truly tasty confluence of sheer breakfast-y bliss that’ll transport your vegan french toast to a new plane of culinary existence. I dare you to try to name a breakfast food more an embodiment of an idyllic breakfast than his crispy, citrus-y, and cinnamon-y vegan french toast, especially when topped with vegan butter, maple syrup, coconut yogurt and fresh orange slices!
“I don’t mean to brag, I don’t mean to boast, but I’m intercontinental when I eat French toast.”
– Mike D.
Vegan French Toast In A Bite
Somehow sweet, somehow savory, somehow everything in-between, too, this vegan french toast’ll have your tastebuds tap dancing.
– Acidic & sweet freshly squeezed orange juice
– Aromatic & pungent ground cinnamon
– Almost savory & subtly egg-y nutritional yeast
– Mildly desiccated & appropriately sour.. sourdough bread
– Gooey, viscous & sweet maple syrup.. the real stuff
– Melty, slightly salty vegan butter
– Creamy & tart unsweetened coconut yogurt
“I went to a restaurant that serves ‘breakfast at any time’. So I ordered French toast during the Renaissance.”
– Steven Wright
Pain Perdu: The Story of Lost Bread
Interestingly, the French don’t call this breakfast item, “french toast.” That’d be like calling an apple pie, “American baked circle pastry.” Instead, the French name for french toast is “pain perdu,” which literally translates to “lost bread.”
The reason for this name is rather cute: when you dip the slice of bread in the french toast batter, it disappears underneath the surface and, for the briefest of moments, is lost.
I’ve always considered this name for french toast to be so much more playful and interesting. Truly, it’s quite disappointing that we don’t call french toast lost bread in the English language. The term pain perdu makes me think of a child who’s in the kitchen with their parents, watching them while they prepare french toast, exclaiming with glee that the bread disappears whenever its dunked in the batter.
But the French aren’t all innovation and elegance when it comes to food names. After all, they did come up with the name, “crème anglaise,” so I guess we can call it even.
“If you really want to make a friend, go round someone’s house with a freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread!”
– Chris Geiger
Nutritional Yeast: Just Enough Eggy-ness
Simply put, nutritional yeast is pivotal for this recipe because it not only thickens the batter, but also imparts that oh so familiar “egg-y” vibe to it too, a classic flavor in most egg-based french toast recipes. But the eggy-ness from the nutritional yeast isn’t overwhelming; in fact, it’s quite subtle. And it’s that subtle savory kick that really helps to balance the sweet and the sour in this vegan french toast.
If you’ve never used nutritional yeast, A.K.A. “nooch,” it’s generally pretty easy to find in stores. Bragg’s makes a good one, but you can also sometimes buy it in bulk for less expense.
If you’re looking for another amazing example of nutritional yeasts’ “eggy-ness,” then check out this Turmeric, Ginger, & Red Pepper Tofu Frittata.
“I once went out with this wild girl. She made French toast and got her tongue caught in the toaster.”
– Rodney Dangerfield
The Importance of Being Dry Bread
If there is one thing you need to know about making french toast, it’s this: use dried out bread! Seriously, use bread that’s been left open for a day or two, and especially a bread that has a bit of volume to it, like a sourdough, for example. The dryness of the bread will often be the difference between a decent french toast and an amazing one
Using dried bread is just logical. French toast is all about taking a piece of bread and dunking it in a batter, so it stands to reason that a bread that interacts better with the batter is going to be a better bread to batter. And a dry bread is like a sponge: the perfect vessel to soak up all that delicious orange-y & cinnamon-y goodness from this vegan french toast batter.
The main message is this:
Use day or two old dried out sourdough bread!
Helpful tip: to dry out the sour dough loaf faster so that you have the perfect french toast sponge, pre-cut the loaf into your apportioned slices (about 1 – 2 inch slices), and then place it back in the bag for a day or two.
“We wanted to do French toast for the brunch, but acknowledged that it is a dangerous item for a special event where people might be dressed up.”
– Stacey Ballis
An Orange & Cinnamon Vegan French Toast Recipe
I sincerely hope that you’re inspired to make this vegan french toast. If you have some leftover sourdough loaf, then you’re only 8 ingredients and about 20 minutes away from making a truly enjoyable, flavorful and remarkable vegan breakfast. Personally, I find that this recipe is super simple and quick to make, and a tasty and easily shared breakfast to make on weekends.
So if you’re feeling for slice of crispy, orange and cinnamon vegan french toast, then don’t hesitate to break out the skillets and whisks and lose your dried out bread beneath this dynamic and delicious vegan french toast batter.
Orange Cinnamon French Toast
Ingredients
- ¾ cup soy milk, or your favorite plant-based milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons orange zest, about one orange worth or so
- ⅓ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 – 8 slices of sourdough or bread (or whatever kind you'd like), moderately dried out
- Couple tablespoons coconut oil or vegan butter, for frying
Instructions
- Heat about ½ tablespoon of coconut oil or vegan butter in a cast-iron pan just under medium heat.
- Next, combine the soy milk, maple syrup, orange zest and juice, nutritional yeast, ground cinnamon and salt in a dish big enough to dip your slices of bread in, and then whisk until well combined.
- After that's done, dip your bread a couple times on each side. Saturate it until it's well soaked through.
- Then, 1 to 2 at a time depending on your skillet size, fry the battered french toast slices in the cast-iron pan for about 2 – 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown around the edges and crispy in the middle. Remember to replenish the oil in the pan for each batch of french toast that you fry.Enjoy with some vegan butter, coconut yogurt, maple syrup, or fresh fruit.
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Nutrition
Did you enjoy this vegan french toast recipe with orange and cinnamon? If so, leave me a comment and recipe rating below.
Also, check out the category Vegan Breakfast & Brunch for more delicious recipe ideas for the start of the day.
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
This was delicious! I am new to vegan eating, and I was initially skeptical about using the nutritional yeast, and almost omitted it. I’m so glad I didn’t! I realize that it helped give the toast its crispiness. I’ve also never used sourdough for French toast, but now I don’t think I’ll ever use anything else. Great recipe!
So glad that you enjoyed it! I had a similar reaction to nutritional yeast when I started cooking more plant-based, too. Now, it’s one of my favorite ingredients – so versatile and unique, and great for obtaining a kind of cheesy/egg-y funk. Thanks for the feedback, Coby!