This delicious coconut vegan french toast recipe is easy to make with simple , wholesome ingredients. Try it with added nutmeg for a delicious holiday flavour, perfect for breakfast on Christmas morning.

A stack of coconut vegan french toast being topped with maple syrup.

Who doesn’t love a delicious, decadent breakfast on Christmas morning? What gives this french toast a holiday perfect eggnog quality, is the addition of maple syrup and nutmeg. Combined with the richness of the coconut milk, it’s just perfect. No eggs or dairy needed!

This recipe is quite easy to make. Simply mix the batter, coat the bread, fry and enjoy with you favourite French toast toppings.

Ingredient Notes

Bread, maple syrup, vanilla and spices sitting in front of a griddle.
  1. Bread. I like big, thick slabs of rustic, hearty bread but virtually any bread works. Try sourdough, whole-wheat or anything else you like! Regular white sandwich bread is just fine too. Just check the ingredients if you want to keep the recipe vegan, as some store-bought brands have added milk products.
  2. Coconut milk. You’ll need full-fat coconut milk for this recipe. Make sure you give the can a really good shake before opening.
  3. Maple syrup. Just a touch of natural maple syrup is perfect for sweetening the batter. Agave and coconut sugar work too.
  4. Cornstarch. Cornstarch helps add that eggy texture to the fried bread. I don’t recommend leaving it out.
  5. All-purpose flour. Flour helps to thicken the batter up so it sticks to the sliced bread. This can be subbed with whole wheat or spelt flour.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1. Make the the batter by stirring the coconut milk, maple syrup, nutmeg, vanilla and salt together in shallow dish big enough to fit a slice of bread in it. Slowly add the flour and cornstarch until the batter is smooth.

Pouring a container of coconut milk into a bowl.
Sprinkling a container of cornstarch into a bowl of milk with a whisk in it.

Step 2. Heat up a skillet to medium-high heat and give it a spritz of non-stick cooking spray. Dip a slice of bread in the batter to coat then add to a skillet or griddle. Cook for about 3 minutes then flip and cook for another 3.

Two slices of fresh toast cooking on a griddle.

Serve with maple syrup, a sprinkle of nutmeg and for a special treat, a dusting of powdered sugar.

A stack of vegan french toast being sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Tips for Success

  • Use a dish to mix the batter that’s wide and shallow enough to coat the bread slices in.
  • Depending on the type of bread you use, soak each side for 10-25 seconds. For thin, white sandwich bread, go no more than 10 seconds per side. For thick, hearty bread like ciabatta, or anything kind of bread that’s on the drier and thicker side, soak closer to 20 seconds. It should be fully coated but not totally soggy.
  • Make sure the griddle is fully heated before you begin cooking.
  • Use a quick spritz of coconut or olive oil cooking spray to prevent cooking.
  • 3 minutes on medium-hight heat should do the trick!
A slice of vegan French toast toped with sugar and maple syrup on a white plate.

Here are some more vegan recipes that would be perfect for Christmas mroning:

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A big stack of french toast sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Coconut Vegan French Toast

  • Author: Alissa Saenz
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 3 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Grilling
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

This amazing coconut french toast tastes a bit like eggnog making it just perfect for a luxurious Christmas morning breakfast. Enjoy topped with pure maple syrup and a light sprinkled of nutmeg and powdered sugar.

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, shake well before opening
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or agave syrup
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg, plus extra for topping
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 6–8 slices bread
  • About 1 tbsp coconut oil (or cooking spray, or cooking oil of choice)

Instructions

  1. Stir coconut milk, maple syrup or agave, nutmeg, vanilla and salt together in small bowl. Whisk in flour and cornstarch until batter is smooth. Transfer to a shallow dish.
  2. Coat skillet or griddle with oil or cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Dip each side of a slice of bread in batter, to coat. Place in skillet and cook until lightly browned on bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook another 3 minutes.
  3. Repeat until all slices are cooked, adding a bit more oil between batches if cooking surface begins to dry up.
  4. Serve with maple syrup, a sprinkle of nutmeg and for a special holiday treat, a dusting of powdered sugar.

Notes

Avoid submerging the bread slices, as you might be inclined to do if working with an egg-based batter. With all vegan French toasts, I suggest laying the slice on top of the batter and then flipping and laying the other side, so that both sides are fully coated. This avoids the bread becoming over-saturated and falling apart.

A thickly-sliced, hearty bread works great here.

Keywords: coconut french toast, vegan french toast

Update Note: Originally published on November 24, 2014 as a guest post by Connoisseurus Veg. Rewritten in my own words and updated with new photos in November 2019.