French toast is one of the most beloved bread treats around the world. Due to its simplicity, minimum ingredients and ease of making, it is a favourite among new cooks and busy individuals. If you have some stale bread, milk, honey and butter in your pantry, then you can easily whip up some delicious French toast for anytime snacking.
Classic French toast is made by dipping bread slices in a mixture of eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon sugar, and a pinch of salt. As the bread soaks up the liquid, the flavours get infused in the bread, and it's cooked on a heated griddle or skillet from both sides until crispy. The vegetarian version skips the addition of eggs and instead, cornstarch and plant-based milk is used.
Apart from the traditional recipe, there have been several new twists to the recipe, all introducing a new face of French toast. From sweet to savoury, these French toast variations are sure to delight you when hunger pangs hit.
1) Stuffed French Toast
Imagine your favourite French toast, but this time with a creamy surprise in the middle, it's enough to make anyone a child again. Stuffed french toast hides a cream cheese filling in the crusty sweet bread. It is made by filling a mixture of cream cheese, chopped strawberry, and powdered sugar. The mixture is sandwiched between two bread slices and it is soaked in classic French toast batter made of milk, eggs, cinnamon sugar, and vanilla. After frying on a skillet or pan from both sides, the centre becomes gooey and the outer layer becomes crispy, creating a delightful contrast of textures.
2) Mushroom Tomato French Toast
Move on from sweet French toast and explore the flavours of savoury mushroom tomato French toast. Giving a savoury twist to the classic recipe, this french toast features mushrooms, tomatoes, and tomato chutney to bring a tangy and delicious flavour. For this, mushrooms and tomatoes are grilled or sauteed in oil until well cooked and mixed with tomato chutney. The bread is soaked in the egg mixture as usual and while frying on the pan, the mushroom mix is added on top.
3) Chocolate Banana Sandwich French Toast
If you love everything chocolatey, then this recipe is for you. Chocolate Banana French Toast is no less than a gourmet pancake. In the recipe, chocolate spread and banana slices are sandwiched between bread slices and it is dipped in the classic egg milk mixture. The sandwich is then fried on a skillet from both sides and garnished with chocolate ganache.
4) Besan Chilla French Toast
When your hunger asks for something wholesome and interesting, this besan chilla french toast will surely delight you. In the recipe, bread slices are soaked in besan batter made by diluting besan flour with water and adding chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander, chillies, and spices like chilli powder and turmeric along with some salt. After soaking the bread, it is pan-fried on both sides until crispy and delicious. After trying it once, this besan french toast recipe will be your breakfast staple.
5) Nutella French Toast
How about adding nutella to French toast? The name is enough to bring water to the mouth. You can make nutella french toast in different ways like sandwiching nutella in bread slices or spreading it over french toast after it's cooked. Also, you can try making bite sized crispy nibbles of French toast and pair it with nutella as a dip.
6) French Toast Sticks
French toast sticks are crispy, chewy and convenient to eat on a bed or couch. For the recipe, bread slices are chopped into long sticks and dipped in an egg-milk mixture. And here comes the twist, the breadsticks are then rolled in bread crumb and cinnamon sugar mixture to give a crunchy exterior and its air-fried or baked to a crisp. Pair these french toast sticks with your desired dip and enjoy the crunchy snack anytime.