Looking to breathe new life into your leftover banana bread? This Crispy Banana Bread French Toast brings your loaf to the next level with a buttery, cinnamon-y, crispy exterior and sweet, soft center.
In this post, you will learn my go-to homemade French toast recipe. You’ll learn how to make an egg wash, my tips and tricks for getting the best texture, and the frying technique that gets you that golden brown exterior.
French toast is by and large one of my all-time favorite dishes to make. Creating unique French toast recipes was a hobby of mine long before I started sharing my recipes on the internet.
French toast is one of the easiest ways to revamp stale bread, or in this case—banana bread, making it one of the most delicious ways to reduce your food waste.
Green tip: Did you know that of the billions of pounds of food wasted annually, it is estimated that 50% of it happens in our homes? It’s always best to avoid food waste as much as you can!
Banana Bread French Toast Ingredients
Here’s everything you need:
- Day-old or stale Banana bread. This makes for a truly decadent French toast!
- Eggs. Egg wash is critical to make any kind of French toast.
- Milk. Or half & half or cream for moisture.
- Brown sugar. For sweetness and to help get that caramelization on the outside.
- Cinnamon. For flavor and spice.
- Vanilla extract. To boost the flavor even more.
- Unsalted butter. To fry the French toast in.
- Maple syrup for serving. This is optional, but highly recommended for extra moisture, flavor, and sweetness.
French Toast with Banana Bread Tips and Tricks
Crack Your Eggs First
In this and all recipes, cracking your eggs in a separate bowl or into your bowl first is the best way to ensure you avoid egg shells in your food, giving you a chance to fish any out before getting lost in the other ingredients.
It also eliminates any risk of the rare bad or bloody egg. Did you know you can compost egg shells? Read all about it in this article on composting egg shells!
Green tip: Look for pasture-raised eggs (over free-range or cage-free) to support agriculture that is less reliant on chemicals and fossil fuels.
How to Prepare Egg Wash for French Toast
Add the milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to the eggs. Use a fork or whisk to break the yolks and to whisk vigorously until smooth.
It’s important to note that the cinnamon won’t easily and evenly integrate into the egg wash, but just do the best you can to stir it in.
Melt Your Butter in a Hot Pan
Start with about 1 tablespoon of butter. Melt your butter in a pan over medium heat and allow it to get nice and hot. You want your French Toast to sizzle when it hits the butter.
Make sure the butter is melted before even dunking your banana bread into the egg wash.
You will continue to add butter to the pan as you need it, so you may not use all of it.
Green tip: Look for organic and palm oil-free butter if you can. Buying organic means you are supporting farms that do not use damaging pesticides and fertilizers, and palm oil production is a huge driver behind deforestation.
Soak Your Banana Bread in the Egg Wash
After your egg wash is prepared and while your butter is melting in the pan, slowly lower your banana bread into the wash. Dip the bread into the egg wash until it’s completely coated on both sides.
Just dip the bread, don’t leave it to soak. Soaking it for too long can leave you with soggy French toast.
How to Fry Your French Toast
Your butter is already hot in your pan, so you should get that incredible sizzle sound when you place your coated banana bread in it.
Give it about 5 minutes before peeking underneath by lifting and tilting the bread with your spatula. If you peek and see that it’s golden brown, it’s time to flip it!
Avoid overcrowding your pan to allow enough room for easy flipping. I usually just cook two or three slices at a time. This gives you ample room to slide your spatula underneath your bread so you can flip it.
Once you do flip your French Toast, let it cook on the second side until golden brown. Again, this should take about 5 minutes over medium heat.
You always want there to be a steady, thin layer of melted butter on the bottom of your pan, so continue to add butter as needed.
Serving Your Banana Bread French Toast
This Banana Bread French Toast is ridiculously delicious on its own or with just a little bit of maple syrup. Still, if you want to add a little something, here are my favorite toppings and sides to serve this fun French toast with for some out-of-this-world breakfast ideas:
- Whipped cream
- Fresh berries
- Sliced banana
- Chocolate chips
- Chocolate syrup
- Apple butter
- Peanut butter
- Over Hard Eggs
- Vegan Breakfast Sausage
- Sliced avocado with salt and pepper
How to Store and Reheat Leftover French Toast with Banana Bread
French toast will keep fresh for up to 1 week wrapped and sealed in the refrigerator after preparing it. You can also freeze this Banana Bread treat for up to a month!
From the refrigerator, reheat on a frying pan for about 5 minutes on each side, or until thoroughly heated through. If frozen, you will likely need about double the amount of time.
You can also reheat it in the oven at 375°F for 10 minutes from the refrigerator or 15 minutes from the freezer.
The microwave will also work in a pinch but does tend to change the texture and can even make it a little soggy or rubbery.
If you just have extra egg wash, you can save that, too. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator to make more French toast over the next 3 days.
Green tip: Properly storing, reheating, and enjoying your leftovers is another great way to limit your contribution to food waste.
Banana Bread French Toast Frequently Asked Questions
What is the trick to not soggy French toast?
There are two key elements to making sure your French toast is not soggy. First, make sure you just dunk your bread in the egg wash to coat it, do not let it sit in the egg wash and soak up too much moisture.
Secondly, make sure your butter is melted and pan is hot before adding the egg-wash-coated banana bread. This will get the French toast frying immediately instead of soaking up the butter and getting a soggy interior.
Why You Should Make this Crispy Banana Bread French Toast
- The texture. Fluffy interior and crispy exterior.
- The fusion. The best of banana bread and French toast rolled into one!
- It’s easy! Super easy to make and comes together in less than 30 minutes!
If you’re loving this Banana Bread French toast and want more banana breakfast recipes, check out these Bananas Foster Pancakes and this Banana Porridge.
Banana Bread French Toast
Print Save RateIngredients
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk (or half and half, or heavy cream)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 slices banana bread (day old or stale is best)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (for frying)
- ¼ cup maple syrup for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Crack your eggs into a shallow bowl and add milk, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Whisk until combined to form your egg wash.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of butter to a large frying pan over medium heat and allow butter to melt, tilting the pan to coat the bottom with butter.
- Once your pan is hot and butter is melted, dip the banana bread into the egg wash, one slice at a time, coating both sides and transferring immediately to the hot pan.
- Allow your French Toast to fry for 2-5 minutes before flipping and cooking on the other side. Both sides should be golden brown.
- Repeat for all 6 slices of bread, adding more butter to the pan as needed.
- Serve hot with maple syrup!
Pro Tips
- It’s best just to dip the bread in the egg wash, rather than letting it soak. This will help you avoid soggy French toast.
- Keep the French Toast warm in the oven at 200°F until ready to serve.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan—it will make your French toast harder to flip.
- Depending on the size of your eggs, there will be enough egg wash for 4-6 slices of French toast.
- Check out this list of all my best banana bread recipes.
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