Challah French Toast is the best way to turn any leftover challah into a sweet, lightly spiced brunch treat. Once you try it, you won't be able to go back to regular bread again!
By Candice Walker on May 7, 2024 (Last updated May 7, 2024) This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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Challah French Toast is the best way to turn any leftover challah into a sweet, lightly spiced brunch treat. The thick challah bread absorbs all that scrumptious eggy, cinnamony goodness and the naturally sweet flavor of challah makes it the best french toast EVER.
This French toast takes under 30 minutes to whip up, and you can make as much toast as you have the challah for! It’s perfect if you’re hosting a breakfast or brunch and need to feed a crowd.
Day-old challah works best for this because once it has dried out a little it keeps its structure better when soaked in the eggs and milk. Fresh bread, on the other hand. can turn to mush quite quickly. Use this recipe to make challah bread, and a 4-strand braid works best for this recipe. You can also use raisin challah, which tastes delicious as french toast.
🌟Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Pillowy soft challah – When you take that first bite of this French toast, the soft, sweet doughiness of the challah just oozes with the spiced cardamom and cinnamon mixture. It’s seriously decadent.
Better than regular bread – The thick bread soaks up more flavor and cooks in the pan in a way that gives it a light crunch on the exterior. It’s the perfect match of textures.
Whip this up in no time – You can make a whole batch of this quickly, and it’s a fantastic way to make sure any leftover challah doesn’t go to waste. Craving pancakes instead? Try my persimmon pancakes with your favorite syrup.
🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe
Challah – Use day-old or slightly stale challah, cut into 1-inch thick pieces. A braided loaf of challah works best for shape. Try my homemade challah recipe if you want to make one from scratch.
Eggs – These make up the majority of the soaking liquid.
Milk – I use whole dairy milk as it gives a nice rounded flavor without being too thick or thin, absorbing well into the day-old bread. You could substitute with half and half, heavy cream, or non-dairy milk with slightly different results.
Butter – Use unsalted butter to grease the pan. You can leave this out and double the oil.
Oil – A flavorless oil like canola or sunflower oil is ideal. You can leave this out and double the butter.
Maple syrup – Any brand works. You can also substitute with agave syrup or a syrup alternative.
Vanilla extract –
Cardamom – Use dried, powdered cardamom.
Cinnamon – Use dried, powdered cinnamon.
Salt – I’m using pink Himalayan salt here but you could use any salt you like.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
⭐️ Butter or oil? ⭐️
I use both butter and oil to fry the French toast because you get the moisture from the oil and browning from the butter. It’s a great combination, but you can also use just oil or butter.
👩🍳How to Make This Recipe
Add the eggs to a medium bowl and scramble thoroughly. Then add the milk, vanilla extract, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to incorporate.
Transfer the egg mix to a large baking dish that fits at least 2 pieces of the challah, preferably 4.
Soak the challah bread slices for 2-3 minutes per side.
Melt a knob of butter with the oil in a non-stick pan over medium to medium-high heat. Cook 2-4 slices of soaked challah for 2-3 minutes per side. Once you add the soaked challah to the cooking pan, start soaking the next batch.
⭐️ Pro Tip ⭐️
Give your challah enough time to soak up the egg and cinnamon liquid. You want to allow the liquid to absorb into every crevice of the bread for maximum flavor.
Plate up your challah french toast and serve with a generous pour of maple syrup.
❤️ More Recipes to Enjoy
Follow up your challah baking with one of these more-ish sweet recipes.
Challah French Toast is the best way to turn any leftover challah into a sweet, lightly spiced brunch treat. Once you try it, you won't be able to go back to regular bread again!
Add the eggs to a medium bowl* and scramble. Add the milk, vanilla extract, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to incorporate.
Transfer to a baking dish that fits at least 2-pcs of the challah, preferably 4.
Soak the challah for 2-3 minutes per side.
Melt the butter with the oil in a non-stick pan over medium to medium high heat.
Cook 2-4 slices of soaked challah at a time for 2-3 minutes per side. Once you add the soaked challah to the pan, start soaking the next batch of challah.
Serve with maple syrup.
Video
Notes
* I prefer to use a bowl to mix these ingredients instead of the dish I use for soaking because they incorporate more efficiently this way. However, you can use the dish. Just tilt it to the side to get a good mix.If baking your own challah, a 4-strand challah works best. It is the perfect balance of lofty and wide but not too wide.The maple syrup is not included in the nutrition calculations.
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.
