Recipe: Vegan French Toast with Chocolate Ganache and Chai-Spiced Pecan Maple Syrup

This vegan French toast recipe uses flax seeds in place of eggs and plant-based butter and mylk in place of animal products. Its toppings make it so decadent that you forget that you once needed animal products to carry out an indulgent recipe like this.

Vegan French Toast

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups plant-based mylk
• 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 6 pieces of sliced bread
• Oil or plant-based butter for pan frying (or both)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 200°F
2. In a deep pan or dish, whisk together plant-baed mylk, ground flax seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon zest.
3. Set aside for 10 minutes and allow to thicken. Meanwhile, make your chocolate ganache and chai-pecan maple syrup mixture (see recipes below).
4. Warm a large pan or indoor griddle to medium heat.
5. While heating, stir together the mylk-flax mixture and ensure it has thickened. If it appears too thick, you can always thin it out with some extra plant-based mylk.
6. Using one slice of bread at a time, press each piece gently into the mylk-flax mixture. Press down gently on bread until you feel it start to soak up the mixture, before flipping over and repeating on the other side.
7. Brush the warmed pan generously with plant-based butter or oil to coat. Lift soaked bread out of the mixture, ensure any excess drips off before adding to the pan.
8. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden.
9. Once you finish cooking, add each slice to the baking tray, cover with tinfoil and put them in the preheated oven to keep warm while you prepare your other slices.
10. Once done, you’re ready to top the slices with the chai-pecan maple syrup and chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet (or dark) chopped vegan chocolate or chocolate chips
• 2+ tablespoons of plant-based mylk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave on high for 30 second increments for a total of 2 minutes, removing from the microwave to stir in between each increment.
2. Once chocolate has melted and has been stirred smooth, add 1 tablespoon at a time of the liquid, stirring well in between additions.
3. Once liquid is well-incorporated, set mixture aside until ready to use. Heat slightly in the microwave and stir before using.

Chai-Spiced Pecan Maple Syrup

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 to 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 or 2 chai tea bags (depending on how strong of a chai flavour you’d like)
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To a small pot on high heat, add chopped pecans. Let warm through and darken slightly for 1 to 2 minutes, before adding maple syrup.
2. Let maple syrup warm for another couple of minutes before adding chai tea bag(s).
3. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.
4. Remove tea bags from mixture before using. If desired, warm again before using to top french toast.

This recipe was originally published in February 2023.