French Toast for One Recipe

Learn how to make classic French toast for one with this easy recipe! This recipe makes just one slice of French toast, so there’s no annoying leftovers!

Something I’ve been making for almost a year now is single-serve French toast.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just don’t want an egg for breakfast. It just doesn’t appeal. But eggs are such a great source of protein in the morning!

But soak a slice of bread in egg and transform it into French toast, and suddenly I’m down. And thankfully you don’t have to make a huge batch in order to enjoy French toast. In fact, it’s super easy to make a single serving!

This recipe is perfect for busy mornings when you want a bit of extra protein in your breakfast, or if you have a sudden craving for something cozy.

Okay, let me show you how to make it in your own kitchen!

Video Tutorial

If you like to learn by watching, here’s a quick video overview of the recipe! The full written tutorial and printable recipe are below.

Ingredient Notes:

First, let’s go over the simple ingredients you’ll need:

• A thick slice of bread: This recipe will work with several different types of bread, but the results will vary depending on the bread. The best bread to use is a thick cut, somewhat soft slice. I used my Sourdough Sandwich Bread here (the enriched version), but I think my Sourdough Brioche Bread or Sourdough French Bread would also be lovely. This is the perfect time to use up day-old or stale bread! This recipe makes just one slice of French toast, which makes for a quite eggy bread. If you want to make two slices, increase the milk to 1/4 cup.
• An egg: I like to source organic and/or pasture raised eggs when possible, but any large egg will work here!
• Milk: I use whole milk, but I’m sure low-fat milk or a non-dairy milk such as almond milk or oat milk would also work. I have also substituted heavy cream in a pinch.
• Salt: You’ll want to add a pinch of salt to draw out all the other flavors.
• Sugar: This optional, but I like to add a little sweetness to the custard with sugar or maple syrup. You could substitute brown sugar or honey if you prefer.
• Vanilla extract: This is where the flavor really comes in! Please use a high quality, pure vanilla extract. I also really really like almond extract as a substitute. You could also add a sprinkle of cinnamon if you like that flavor in your French toast.
• Butter: this if for the pan. You could substitute an oil with a high smoke point if you prefer, butter lends such a lovely flavor.

Optional Toppings:

Are toppings really optional? That’s a matter of opinion, but in MY opinion, you can’t serve French toast without butter and maple syrup or powdered sugar.

I’ll have more serving ideas at the bottom of the post.

Step-By-Step Instructions:

Okay, let’s over the simple steps for actually making the French toast!

1. Measure the custard ingredients into a dish or shallow bowl that’s slightly bigger than your slice of bread.
2. Whisk the custard ingredients with a fork or small whisk. This custard is the secret sauce that transforms plain bread and eggs into a breakfast delight. Make sure everything is well combined to ensure that each bite of French toast is evenly flavored! This is a thicker batter since it has a higher ratio of egg, so it can take a little longer to get everything well whisked.
3. Take your slice of bread and place it in the egg/milk mixture. Soak for around 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on how dense your bread is.
4. Flip the slice of bread over and soak until almost all of the custard mixture is absorbed. You want that balance of the bread being saturated, but not completely falling apart.

Important Note: If you use a really soft bread, it may only take a few seconds for it to soak up the custard. But if you opt for a dense sourdough bread, it could take 2 minutes or more for it to properly absorb everything.

If you only have fresh bread on hand, you can place it on a baking sheet and dry it out in 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.

Frying the French Toast:

Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Since you’re only making 1 slice, you don’t have to use a large skillet. An 8 or 10-inch skillet is perfect.

Add some butter to the frying pan and swirl it around to melt it.

If there’s any egg mixture left in the dish, you can go ahead and pour it on top of the bread in the pan. It will absorb more as it cooks.

Carefully transfer the soaked bread to the hot pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown on the first side.

Flip and cook on the second side for another 2-3 minutes.

You can turn the heat down to medium-low if it seems like the bread is browning too quickly.

How to know when it’s done cooking?

As you learned in my Over Medium Egg Recipe, the best way to check for doneness is to tap the center of the French toast. Of course everyone has a different preference for how “done” they prefer their French toast, but you should aim for it feel mostly firm with a little bit of give.

You’ll have to practice this to learn what the toast feels like when it’s done cooking.

Please note that for food safety, you should cook the French toast thoroughly.

Serving:

As I mentioned above, it’s almost sacrilegious in my book to serve French toast without a pat of butter. But you do you!

I love a drizzle of maple syrup or a sprinkle of powdered sugar as well.

Here are some other topping ideas. You can experiment with different combos to find your favorites!

• Honey, caramel sauce, or strawberry syrup.
• Cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top of the melted butter. Oh yum!
• Fresh fruit such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, bananas, etc.
• Nutella or peanut butter for an extra special treat.
• A dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of yogurt (bonus points for extra protein!).
• For a bit of crunch, you can sprinkle some chopped nuts or granola on top.

Most Common Mistakes when Making French Toast:

1. Using the Wrong Bread: You want to skip bread that’s too thin or really fresh. Choose a soft yet sturdy bread such as brioche, challah, or my sourdough sandwich bread.
2. Soaking for the Wrong Amount of Time: If you don’t allow the bread to soak long enough and absorb that delicious custard, your French toast will be dry and bland. But you also don’t want to go so long that the bread completely falls apart. Thankfully this single serve French toast is hard to mess up since you want it to absorb all or almost all of the custard, so that takes some the guesswork out!
3. Incorrect Cooking Temperature: If you cook your French toast over high heat, the outside might burn before the center is fully cooked. And if you cook over low heat, the bread might not develop a lovely golden brown color before it dries out. For best results, go for medium or medium-low heat.
4. Not Using Enough Butter: Don’t be scared to use a good amount of butter when while frying! It helps the French toast to brown properly, and it adds such a lovely flavor.

So there you have it, a foolproof guide to making French toast for one! If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please come back and leave a star rating. It really helps Buttered Side Up out!

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