This buttermilk french toast needs just 7 simple ingredients! This fluffy french toast recipe is perfect if you have any leftover buttermilk hanging around your fridge, and I would absolutely love to make this for Christmas morning! Soft brioche bread is dipped in a buttermilk and cinnamon mixture before being fried until golden. I love serving it with fresh berries and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.
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A lot of my blog is dessert recipes, but believe me, I LOVE breakfast. Especially a fancy, all-out breakfast of pancakes, waffles or french toast. This buttermilk french toast recipe is the kind of brunch I would love to be served at an old inn in Vermont (which I have stayed in, but they served us amazing gingerbread cake and refused to give me the recipe! Oh well)
I first thought about making french toast with buttermilk after I made an amazing french toast recipe from King Arthur using heavy cream! After that, I thought what else can I use to make french toast? And I've always got some buttermilk hanging out in my fridge since I'm always developing new cake recipes.
If you want even more fancy breakfast recipes, you have to try my overnight french toast casserole, apple waffles, brown butter cinnamon rolls, and sweet cream pancakes.
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Why you'll love this recipe!
- Simple Ingredients: you only need 7 simple ingredients to make this classic french toast recipe, nothing too fancy.
- Crowd Favorite: not only is french toast loved by everyone, but you can easily make it for a crowd!
- Easy: all you need to do is soak the bread in an egg mixture, fry in a skillet, and keep warm in the oven! This is one I can make before I've even had my morning cup of coffee.
Grab your ingredients
- Eggs: a must to make french toast! The eggs will create the base for the custard batter that you'll dip the bread into.
- Buttermilk: I've tested this recipe with buttermilk. This is going to give the custard base a slight tang!
- Ground Cinnamon: I love adding some spices to my french toast. Cinnamon is a warm spice that compliments the french toast and goes great with maple syrup.
- Vanilla Extract: I like adding a dash of vanilla extract to give more vanilla flavor to the custard base.
- Sugar: adding a bit of granulated sugar will help sweeten up the buttermilk mixture.
- Brioche Bread: I love using stale bread for french toast. It makes your french toast so much fluffier than regular sliced bread, plus brioche loaves are usually thick slices of bread which are really going to soak up that buttermilk mixture.
Substitutions & Additions
- Bread: you could swap out sliced brioche bread for sliced chocolate chip brioche bread or challah bread. In a pinch, you could use regular sliced sandwich bread or white bread.
- Sugar: feel free to swap out the granulated sugar for light brown sugar.
- Spices: swap out the cinnamon for pumpkin spice or any of your other favorite spices!
- Buttermilk: ok so technically if you swap this out it won't be buttermilk french toast! But you can use an equal amount of heavy cream (note that it makes the french toast super rich!) or you can use regular milk.
- Bourbon: kick it up a notch and use 1-2 tablespoons of bourbon!
How to make this recipe
- Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400°Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg together in a shallow dish.
- Step 2: Melt butter or cooking spray in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Place one slice of bread in the buttermilk mixture, let one side soak for 20 seconds.
- Step 3: Flip the piece of toast in the french toast batter so the other side can soak for 20 seconds.
- Step 4: Place the eggy bread in the hot skillet. Cook until golden brown, flipping after about 2 minutes.
- Step 5: Once golden brown on each side, place the cooked french toast on the prepared baking sheet and place in the oven to stay warm. Continue cooking the remaining pieces of french toast.
- Step 6: Once all the pieces are cooked, serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit!
My Top Tips
- I recommend keeping an eye on the pan's temperature as you cook the slices of french toast. You may need to lower the heat after you've cooked the first few slices or the french toast might burn, so feel free to turn it down to medium-low heat.
- Dip one slice of toast at a time and let it really soak for 20 seconds on each side. You want to saturate the pieces of bread!
- Once the bread has soaked, let any excess liquid drip off before you start frying it in the pan.
- Using a shallow bowl is going to make it much easier to soak the bread! I used a shallow pasta bowl.
Serving Suggestions
- Fall Breakfast: serve this fluffy buttermilk french toasted with a pumpkin spice latte, using my pumpkin sauce for coffee recipe!
- Fresh Fruit: I love serving this french toast with fresh fruit like raspberries, blueberries or strawberries. You could even add some lemon zest for a bit of zing!
- Breakfast Spread: if you're thinking of doing a big breakfast spread, serve the french toast with apple waffles, chocolate cinnamon rolls and brown butter cinnamon rolls!
- Favorite Toppings: warm maple syrup is a must for me, but you can also add some unsalted butter, whipped cream, powdered sugar, or jam!
Storage & Freezing
I recommend enjoying the french toast right away. You can let the french toast cool down and place in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a nonstick skillet and serve.
Make these breakfast recipes next!
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Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Easy Buttermilk French Toast with Brioche Bread
Equipment
- Skillet
- Baking Sheet
- Shallow Bowl
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 pieces brioche bread or challah
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉/200℃ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a shallow bowl until smooth.3 large eggs, ½ cup buttermilk, 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, ¾ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.2 tablespoons butter
- Place one slice of bread in the bowl at a time, letting each side of the break soak for 20 seconds.8 pieces brioche bread or challah
- Place the soaked bread in the warmed skillet and cook until golden brown, this should take about 2 minutes on each side.
- Once golden brown on each side, place on the prepared baking sheet and place in the preheated oven.
- Cook the remaining pieces of french toast, always placing each toast on the baking sheet to continue cooking and stay warm.
- Once all cooked, serve with maple syrup and enjoy!
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