Have leftover banana bread? Make Banana Bread French Toast and level up your brunch game. I promise you this french toast is so good, you’ll make extra banana bread on purpose next time.
You can use any leftover banana bread to make this banana bread french toast, but I highly recommend my brown butter banana bread – it is amazing on its own but even more amazing transformed into french toast! You can also try making this recipe with my matcha banana bread, lemon banana bread or coconut banana bread for more delicious variations.
I tried banana bread french toast for the very first time (guess where!!) in Maui. The restaurant we went to has unfortunately closed down during the pandemic. But their french toast was life changing, so much so that I have to recreate it at home. Thick slices of fluffy luxurious french toast, sweet and flavorful, you won’t even need syrup, you’re welcome!
Table of Contents
Helpful tools
No special tools are needed to make this french toast recipe. I used a glass baking dish to soak the banana bread slices in the custard mixture, a wire rack and baking sheet to set the soaked bread slices on and a large skillet for frying.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- Banana bread – you’ll need leftover banana bread for this recipe. Six 1” thick slices.
- Half and half – you can substitute half milk and half cream, or use all cream for an even richer custard. I would not recommend substituting all milk as it has much less fat and will make the custard mixture more watery. But you can try canned coconut milk or coconut cream if you want to impart some coconut flavor to your banana bread french toast.
- Eggs – use large eggs. This is to create the custard that the bread will soak in.
- Vanilla – pure vanilla extract adds flavor to the custard mixture.
- Cinnamon – adds extra flavor to the custard mixture. My homemade banana bread doesn’t have any spices in it, so I used cinnamon in the custard mixture for more flavor. If your banana bread already has a lot of spices, you could reduce the amount of cinnamon in the custard or skip it.
- Butter – I used unsalted butter but you can use salted butter here since we’re only using a small amount to fry the french toast.
How to make banana bread french toast
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Prepare the banana bread
As with all french toast, you want to use leftover stale bread so the bread can soak up the custard mixture. For this recipe, I sliced up the banana bread and laid it out on a baking sheet covered with a kitchen towel and let it dry out for a couple of days.
This recipe uses ¾ of a loaf of homemade banana bread. And the slices are about 1” thick.
Soak the bread in custard
Beat together half and half, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add custard mixture to a shallow dish and soak the banana bread in the custard for about 30 – 45 seconds. Flip the banana bread over and allow the other side to soak in the custard until saturated, another 30 – 45 seconds.
Place the custard soaked bread on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and allow the excess custard to drip off if any. Continue to soak the remaining bread slices.
Fry the bread
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the french toast for 3 – 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Adjust the heat between medium to medium-low heat as necessary so the toast doesn’t burn.
What to serve banana bread french toast with
I could seriously eat this by itself, I actually did the first time when I was testing this recipe. But it sure is a lot better with fancy toppings.
- For a classic pairing, dust it with powdered sugar and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.
- To serve it up like a dessert, top with whipped cream and strawberry compote.
- If you want to add an island vibe, serve it with toasted coconut flakes or sprinkle over some crushed roasted macadamias and a generous helping of this Haupia-like coconut sauce – the same one I served with these amazing tropical cinnamon buns with macadamia and coconut.
Storage
Banana bread french toast is best served right away. But if you have any leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Warm them up in the microwave for 15 – 20 seconds, per slice, before serving. You could also toast them in the toaster or toaster oven to get them to crisp up a bit.
📖 Recipe card
Banana Bread French Toast (made with brown butter banana bread)
Ingredients
- 6 slices of leftover banana bread (about 1” thick)
- ⅔ cup half and half (158 g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 oz butter for frying
Instructions
- Cut the banana bread into 1” thick slices and allow to dry overnight or preferably a couple of days in advance.
- Beat together half and half, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and transfer the custard mixture to a shallow dish.
- Place a few slices of banana bread into the custard mixture and soak one side for about 30 – 45 seconds. Flip the banana bread over and allow the other side to soak in the custard until saturated, another 30 – 45 seconds.
- Place the custard soaked bread on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and allow any excess custard to drip off. Continue to soak the remaining bread slices.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the french toast for 3 – 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Adjust the heat between medium to medium low heat as necessary so the toast doesn’t burn.
- Remove the french toasts from the skillet and serve right away.
Notes
- You can substitute the half and half with ⅓ cup of milk + ⅓ cup of cream. I recommend whole milk but 2% will work as well.
- You can also substitute coconut milk in place of the half and half. If using coconut milk, I recommend canned coconut milk for richer flavor and higher fat content.
Nutrition
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Definitely a next level brunch. Thanks so much for the recipe