The following is a guest post by Tess Masters, The Blender Girl - actor, presenter, lifestyle personality, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies book, The Perfect Blend, and The Detox Dynamo Cleanse. She and her easy healthy recipes have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Real Simple, Prevention, Clean Eating, the Today Show, and other media outlets. She is the global spokesperson for KitchenAid blenders and lives in Los Angeles.
For a fabulous family breakfast, brunch, dessert, or (dare I say it?) snack, you can’t beat this phenomenal French toast. My family and I have been battering up with this baby for years, and it is a huge hit with everyone we serve it to. People even say they prefer this healthier incantation of the classic comfort food to its original counterpart! I've received thousands of elated emails and messages on social media about this righteous recipe since I included it in my latest book The Perfect Blend, so I had to share it with you.
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So simple, so delicious, so creamy, so crispy you may never blend your batter using dairy milk and eggs again. Yep! This terrific treasure is dairy free, egg free, and also gluten free, and it utilizes whole ingredients.
Now, before you grimace at the thought of using cardboard-like gluten-free sandwich bread (we all know how awful that can be), the brilliant batter in this recipe makes even the worst gluten-free bread full and fluffy! I use whole-grain gluten-free bread, but you could use regular whole-wheat bread as well. Just know that this recipe (ingredient ratios and cook times) has been calibrated for gluten-free bread. So, you may need more coconut oil when frying and will need to adjust the temperature of your stove top as well as the cook time.
But, resist the urge to use less coconut oil than what I've prescribed, otherwise, your bread won't crisp up. I don't know about you, but I love my French toast crispy on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.
This French toast is a fun, family-friendly recipe. I make it with my niece and nephew, and they love soaking the bread and preparing their toppings so they can get their serving juuust right. The caramelized bananas I've included in this recipe are always a hit, but this fried bread will get cozy with any fruit that takes your fancy. Try serving it with stewed or poached apples, pears, peaches, rhubarb, or some fresh berries.
If you want to make this recipe nut-free, use rice, soy, or hemp milk in the batter, and top it with coconut flakes instead of nuts. Bon appetit!
Blend More Than Smoothies
I use my blender to make all kinds of delicious recipes. I think it's the greatest culinary tool we've been given since fire and spoons! So, I want to encourage you to use your blender beyond smoothies, soups, and cocktails. Your blender can make healthy fast food possible. Blending makes life easier, levels the playing field in the kitchen, and allows anybody to whip up nutrient-dense, tasty foods with limited skills and time.
While my books and website do contain a full repertoire of drinks, smoothies, and soups, you’ll find more than food to sip, glug, or scoop up with a spoon. My recipes are blender centered but by no means blender only. I favor blender-inspired dishes—appetizers, snacks, salads, desserts, and easy main dishes you can attack with your trusty knife and fork.
This is why I love this blender more than anything else on the market:
- The most powerful blender to pulverize ingredients for silky smooth consistencies.
- 3 Adapti-Blend™ pre-programmed settings for smoothies, soups, and juices.
- Insulated jar that keeps the contents cool when you're blending smoothies and juices.
- BPA-free container with soft-touch handle grip and asymmetric stainless steel blade.
- Speed dial that goes to 11 to take things beyond regular speeds to completely pulverize ingredients more quickly.
- Pulse switch for an extra boost of power at any speed.
This is the best blender I have ever used. And I own them all!
You May Also Enjoy
- Peanut Butter Banana Stuffed French Toast
- Sourdough French Toast
- Whole Wheat French Toast
- Quick Breakfast Ideas
- Healthy Breakfast Ideas
If you enjoyed this homemade French toast recipe, please leave a rating and comment! For more inspiration, check out my Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. For 5 free weekly meal plans and more free resources, sign up to receive my free newsletter! For more ideas, check out these Breakfast Recipes.
French Toast
Ingredients
French Toast
- 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
- 1 medium banana (ripe)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (white or black)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 slices bread (gluten-free)
- ¼ cup coconut oil (melted)
Caramelized Bananas
- 2 medium bananas (thickly sliced on the diagonal)
- ¼ cup coconut sugar ((or regular sugar))
- 1 - 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
- Pure maple syrup (for serving)
Toppings
- 2 tablespoons pecans (or walnuts, crushed)
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- Set the oven to its lowest temperature or the “warm” setting.
- To make the French toast, pour the milk, banana, maple syrup, vanilla, chia seeds, cinnamon, and salt into your blender and blast on high for about 30 seconds until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a large shallow baking dish and let rest for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly. In batches, place slices of the bread in the baking dish and let soak on one side for 8 to 10 seconds. Flip the slices and let soak for another 8 to 10 seconds, until evenly moistened.
- In a medium skillet (that fits two slices of bread) or on a large griddle (that holds all of the slices) over medium heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil per two slices of bread. (Resist the urge to use less coconut oil or the bread won’t get crispy.) Add the bread and fry for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy on the edges; you may need to add more coconut oil after you flip the bread. If cooking in batches, transfer the French toast to a lined baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm and repeat to fry the remaining bread, adding more coconut oil to cook each batch.
- While the last pieces of toast are cooking, make the caramelized bananas. Combine the banana slices and the coconut sugar in a zip-lock bag, seal, and shake to coat evenly.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, warm the coconut oil, add the coated bananas, and fry for about 2 minutes on each side until nicely caramelized.
- Serve two slices of French toast on each plate, topped with one-quarter of the caramelized bananas, one-quarter of the crushed nut boosters, and one-quarter of the coconut booster. Pass maple syrup at the table.
Kristine P says
I'd love the blender to make healthy foods (with hidden veggies!) for my 14 month old!
Clark S. says
So excited to try this - we love French toast! We love to use our blender for breakfast smoothies. Would love to branch out and get inspired by new recipes!
Sonia says
I will make oats pancakes, almond milk, green juices, all blending girl recipes, etc, etc..
Anne Kurek says
Smoothies, pesto, hummus
Lisa says
Smoothies! It's our family's new "thing".
Mary says
Smoothies, bread crumbs, tomato juice! Thank you!
Leslie Dorfman says
My kids and I love to make smoothies for a quick breakfast or snack.
Mary Ivasutyn says
Smoothies, soups & humus
Lisa says
Smoothies!
Jason says
Smoothies & Shakes
Julie says
I started making smoothies from the Zero Belly diet and loved them. I am addicted to them. I have one every morning with coffee and when I want to lose a few pounds, I do one for lunch as well.
I had no idea you made other foods with a blender. This really excites me. I would love to broaden my horizons and try recipes other than smoothies. Thanks for the opportunity to win a blender and your cookbook!!!!
Hayley says
I would use the blender to make this french toast and other healthy delicious food!
Isis says
I would use the blender for smoothies, salad dressing, soups, flours, oh, let's be honest: I'd use it for everything! And Tess' books would make me use it even more!
Fred Vinson says
I would love it for smoothies, juices, soups and nutmilks!
Karol says
I would love to use the blender to make creamy soups, smoothies and pina coladas :)
Angie says
Would love for smoothies, nutmilks and soups!!!
Angela says
I love the color of the blender and would love to use it evèry day to make soups as I begin my journey of a plant base diet to help clear severe plague in my brain and clogged arties causing circulation issues and inflammation. I have several of Tess receipes ready to blend in the Grey color Blender that I love!
Jewel says
I would love to use the blender for nut milks, smoothies and the French toast recipe. Wonder what new things I could do with.
Jennifer Sohn says
I would make smoothies and baked goodies for my two young kids :)
Salouni says
Omg! I'm already dreaming of smoothies, nicecreams, cold cucumber soup, gazpacho, pesto on zoodles, avocado alfredo sauce with fettuccine... i'm salivating!
Janel says
I would use it to make our daily breakfast smoothies! We were able to take my 12yr old off of his medication for arthritis by supplementing daily collagen in his smoothies!! The blender we have really struggles with daily use so it would be awesome to have a nice one!!!
Debra Davis says
I would make smoothies and soups
IvyNowland says
I was thinking I to would be great for nut milks and smoothies but now I have to add your French toast recipe to my list of things to make :)
Ester Williams says
I would love to make healthy, soups, pancakes & green smoothies without having to pull out various different appliances. I LOVE all things Kitchen Aid! They make cooking & baking so much fun!
Sharyl Anderson says
Since my blender broke, I've been dying to replace it with this blender, but need to save up! Bought your book a month ago and salivating over the recipes, but haven't been able to make one yet! Love to win this!
Ann says
We love smoothies and would love a blender that could whip them up for us quickly and deliciously! I would also love to see how this blender would work for making my own pasta sauce.
Mike Williams says
This recipe looks great! And a blender is an excellent kitchen tool
Pat Brown says
I would love to try some new recipes with the new blender. Trying to eat healthy in our golden years!
Joelle says
I would use the blender to make soups and smoothies and definitely try the recipe above! Sounds delicious!! I hope I win!!!
Nicole Schaefer says
I would love to use the blender for smoothies and I would love try some soups as well!
Barb Umland says
I would enjoy trying this blender to smooth out our potato soup recipe, filled with many veggies!
Karen Moss says
I would make nut milks and all other recipes from Tess's cookbooks!
Fadzai says
We need to eat better and this is one of many steps to a lifestyle change! Smoothies, soups, almond milk, almond butter. Bring it on!
Rebecca Hesse says
I'd like to make mango and carrot smoothies. So yummy!
Maritess S says
I would love to make fruit smoothies for my morning routine .
Felicity Slemp says
I've just discovered protein smoothies!! (I know, where have I been, right?) I want to make them for my kids after school and before soccer to keep their tummies satisfied and their bodies healthy.
Sounds like I need to check out Tess' cookbooks for other healthy whole-food options I can make with a blender!
CMccool says
I'd love to make the above recipe, but also try new smoothies for me that inevitably my kids will steal!
Tamra H says
I'd love to make a roasted veggie soup!
Norma says
Sauces, soups, salad dressings, energy bars, desserts, and, of course, smoothies!!
Leah says
Would love this blender for my morning smoothies!!