Eggnog French Toast
Eggnog French Toast is the perfect holiday breakfast — delicious and festive, yet made with simple pantry ingredients plus buttery challah and creamy eggnog! Bonus: it’s quick and easy enough to make on Christmas morning.
Raise your hand if you buy a carton of eggnog, then wonder all season what in the world you’re going to do with it. Guilty! Turns out, I love the idea of eggnog more than I love drinking it. But baking with eggnog, it turns out, is right up my alley. And using it to make a buttery, richly spiced batch of eggnog French toast for a holiday breakfast is, in my opinion, actually the creamy beverage’s highest calling.
I make this French toast at least once per holiday season for my family, and this year I actually served it with sausages and fruit for breakfast for dinner. You can bet the kids were excited for that!
Related: Eggnog Sugar Cookies
Ingredient & Substitution Notes
Here are a few notes and shopping tips about the ingredients you’ll need to make this, as well as possible substitutions. Find full amounts in the print-friendly recipe card below.
- Bread. You can make French toast with any bread, but it really does work and taste best with a thick-sliced, enriched loaf such as brioche or challah. I use the sliced brioche sold at Trader Joe’s. Is it healthy? No. Is it worth it? Yes!
- Eggnog. I have made this with full-fat and reduced-fat eggnog and honestly can’t tell a difference.
- 4 large eggs.
- All-purpose flour. To slightly thicken the batter.
- Brown sugar. Can use light or dark.
- Vanilla extract.
- Ground cinnamon and nutmeg. For that irresistible holiday spice aroma and flavor.
- Sea salt. Perfectly complements and cuts the sweet flavors.
- Butter, for cooking, and maple syrup or powdered sugar and fresh fruit, for serving.
Pro Tip
Unwrap and set your bread out on the counter to dry overnight before making French toast. This gives it the best texture, allows it to absorb more of the delicious batter, and reduces the odds of it becoming overly soggy and falling apart as you dip and transfer slices into the pan. Forgot to set it out overnight? Don’t despair! To mimic the effect, remove all packaging and arrange slices in a single layer on a baking pan in a 150 degree F oven for 5-10 minutes.
How To Make Eggnog French Toast
- Make the batter. Whisk the eggs first in a shallow baking dish — I like to use a pie plate — then whisk in the eggnog, flour, sugar, vanilla, and spices. This is your batter for dipping.
- Preheat a griddle or non-stick skillet over medium heat and generously slick with butter.
- Dip bread on both sides and cook until golden and slightly crisp on the edges.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this French toast with your favorite berries or other fruit. We love pomegranate arils, blackberries, or blueberries best, with cantaloupe or orange slices on the side.
Don’t forget a drizzle of maple syrup or a light dusting of powdered sugar on top!
Recipe FAQs & Expert Tips
How can I keep French toast warm?
For weekday breakfasts, I sling my kids French toast slices straight off the griddle, but for a holiday meal, you may actually want to sit down and eat all together! To serve this or any other French toast all at once, place a baking sheet in a 200 degree F oven while you make the batter. As slices come off the griddle, transfer them to the baking sheet and leave in the oven until all are done and ready to serve.
Make-ahead eggnog French toast
Want to front load as much effort as possible? Make the batter up to 24 hours ahead of time, either whisking it directly in a baking dish or blitzing everything together in a blender or food processor. Store the batter tightly covered in the fridge until ready to dip bread and cook.
I find this method more effective than soaking the bread overnight, which can cause it to absorb too much eggnog mixture and fall apart when transferred to the griddle.
Storage & Reheating
To my delight, fully cooked eggnog French toast keeps very well in the fridge for 2-3 days. I refrigerate any extra pieces in a large zip-top bag and reheat quickly in the microwave as needed.
Related Recipes
Some of other favorite breakfast treats include cinnamon chip scones, five banana banana bread, banana almond milk smoothies, and zucchini walnut muffins.
Pairing this French toast with something savory for a special occasion? It goes beautifully with a breakfast strata or spinach Parmesan frittata.
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Eggnog French Toast
Ingredients
- 8-10 thick slices of brioche, challah, or another enriched bread I use Trader Joe’s brioche
- 4 large eggs
- 2/3 cup eggnog either full-fat or low-fat
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar either light or dark
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon table or sea salt
- butter for cooking
Instructions
- Dry out the bread: Unwrap and set bread out on the counter overnight to dry out a bit, or, if in a hurry, place slices in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 150 degrees F.8-10 thick slices of brioche, challah, or another enriched bread
- Make the batter: Place eggs in a shallow baking dish and whisk well. Add eggnog, flour, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk again until well-combined. Don’t worry if there are a few little lumps of flour.4 large eggs, 2/3 cup eggnog, 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon table or sea salt
- Coat: Dip the bread into the batter, a few pieces at a time, and flip to generously dunk both sides of each slice in the mixture.
- Cook: Warm a griddle or non-stick skillet over medium heat, and grease generously with a pat of butter. When hot, transfer dipped bread onto the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until the bottom is golden brown with slightly crisp edges. Flip to cook until the other side is golden, then remove to a plate. Continue with additional slices of bread.butter
- Serve right away with berries and maple syrup or powdered sugar, as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Keep Warm: If you want to serve the French toast all at once, place the cooked slices in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven while you finish dipping and cooking the rest of the bread.
- Make Ahead: Make the batter up to 24 hours ahead of time, either whisking directly in a baking dish or blitzing in a blender or food processor. Store tightly covered in the fridge until ready to dip bread and cook.
- Storage: Cooked eggnog French toast keeps very well in the fridge for 2-3 days. I store any extra pieces in a large zip-top bag and reheat quickly in the microwave as needed.
