This Dairy-Free Yogurt Makes Incredible French Toast
I eat a lot of eggs and dairy products, but not all. Some people don’t actually eat either, which (traditionally) would seem to make French toast unaffordable to them. But we live in the golden age of vegan substitutes, and while I’m sure normal French toast can be made with a Just Egg and the like, a modest jar of almond yogurt makes absurdly good French toast.
This piece of advice, which came to us from Danielle Devens of The Kitchn , surprised me. I have never had a recommended alternative to Silk Vanilla AlmondMilk yogurt, or any alternative yogurt for that matter, but it worked great. When mixed with a little oat milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt, it turns into a creamy French toast custard that lends a donut-like character to nearly any bread you dip in it.
How to make dairy-free custard without eggs
With the exception of yogurt and salt, Devens does not list any sizes, but recommends adding “little by little” milk of your choice until it coats the back of the spoon. For me, that meant 2 tablespoons of Chobani Extra Creamy Oat Milk, a capful of rum that I rinsed the vanilla extract bottle with , and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. I churned it all together, then started dipping a few different types of bread.
One thing I learned right away was that the dunk had to be fast. The high moisture content of yogurt means that the custard effectively steams the inside of the bread, making it soft on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside, but it’s easy to overdo it. I made this French toast with egg challah, plain white sandwich bread and chewy baguette and all three came out tender on the inside without any soaking time, with the fastest sauce ever. It really reminded me of a donut. (I tried soaking a piece of baguette for five minutes, which gave the yogurt too much time to seep into the crumb structure, resulting in small pockets of raw yogurt and oat milk. Not great.)
How to make this french toast
This custard is surprisingly sticky, even in a Teflon-coated pan. To keep the tender crust from sticking and sliding off, I rubbed the pan with a dollop of butter before adding the French toast and between flipping. If you want to make completely vegan French toast, you can use vegetable oil, coconut oil, or margarine (sometimes referred to as “vegetable oil” by smart marketing teams).
The fat between the pan and custard also gives it a more classic French toast look. Without it, custard forms a wrinkled crust on bread that tastes perfectly good but is prone to tearing and doesn’t look quite right.
See:
But with fat, you get a more colorful, “fried” look.
Also, you should pay attention to the sides of your bread. Wipe off excess custard and sear the sides a little so the “raw” yogurt mixture doesn’t drip.
As for heat, keep it on a medium to medium-low setting. I ended up toasting my French toast for 3-5 minutes on each side to give the moisture enough time to evaporate and the bread to brown. Hurry up and you’ll end up with moist but burnt toast and your family will hate you. (Maybe they’ll just be a little annoyed, I don’t know them.)
French toast with almond yogurt (makes 4-6 pieces, depending on your bread)
Ingredients:
- 1 5.3 oz can instead of Silk Vanilla AlmondMilk Yogurt
- 2 tablespoons oat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- Bread of your choice
- Fat of your choice for the pan
Combine all ingredients except bread and fat in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add enough butter or vegetable oil to coat lightly.
Dip both sides of each slice of bread in the yogurt mixture and be brief. If you are making a bunch at once, place any pieces that are waiting on a wire rack set over a plate or baking sheet.
Fry each piece of French toast for 3-5 minutes per side until golden brown, remembering to reapply the fat to the pan when you flip. Serve immediately on a plate or, if you are making a large batch, place on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven at 200℉ until ready to serve. Enjoy your favorite French toast.