Sunday Brunch: Cheesy French Toast Recipe · i am a food blog (2024)

Sunday Brunch: Cheesy French Toast Recipe · i am a food blog (1)

This is going to be a quickie because I need to pack my heavy winter coat, scarf and beanie: I’m heading to Minneapolis for a quick trip. I’m kind of excited because I’ve heard so many awesome things. But I’m also kind of scared of the weather. It does look like there’s going to be a warming trend, so fingers crossed that my fingers don’t freeze!

Sunday Brunch: Cheesy French Toast Recipe · i am a food blog (2)

This cheesy french toast is just the kind of thing I love eating in cold weather. Cheesy, warm, eggy bread: what’s not to love? Essentially it’s French toast minus any sort of syrup, plus cheese. Because, cheese. The inside of the bread stays custardy, the cheese gets melty-crisp and with a dollop of sour cream it kind of sort of feels a little bit like eating a pierogi?

Happy Sunday – stay warm and brunch up!

Sunday Brunch: Cheesy French Toast Recipe · i am a food blog (3)

Cheesy French Toast Recipe
makes 1 slice, scale as needed


  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
  • salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 1 super thick slice of bread of choice (I used white)
  • a touch of oil or butter for the pan
  • sliced green onions, to serve
  • sour cream, to serve

Whisk together the egg, milk, cheddar and a bit of salt and pepper.. Soak the bread on both sides while you heat up a non-stick pan over medium heat. Heat up your oil or butter and add the slice of bread to the pan and grill until golden brown. Be patient and cook on medium to medium low so the cheese crisps up and the eggy insides cook through, about 5 minutes per side. Ideally youwant the cheese to frico/get extra crsipy, so patience is a virtue! When both sides are cooked to your liking, serve with sour cream and a generous amount of green onions. Enjoy!

It’s Sunday! You know what that means: it’s time for Sunday Brunch. Why don’t you skip the line and make brunch at home this week? The coffee’s truly bottomless, the booze doesn’t have a crazy markup and you can chill out in your pajamas. Every Sunday I’ll post a brunch recipe. Soon you won’t be asking, where should we go for brunch – instead it’ll be, what should we make for brunch today?

25 Comments

  1. January 24, 2016 at 12:41 am

    as much as i love sugar, i’ve hit my sweets limit for the moment and savory things sound so delicious (especially when there’s custardy, frico-ified goodness!).

    Reply

  2. January 24, 2016 at 1:10 am

    Oh my that cheese crust! Some true cheesep*rn over here!

    Reply

  3. January 24, 2016 at 2:36 am

    I think I’ve just fallen in love with that French toast *drools*

    Reply

  4. Jess says:

    January 24, 2016 at 2:44 am

    Oh my, this looks amazing and absolutely delicious! I’ll definitely give this one a try – I’m an absolute sucker for anything cheese! (like cheese pancakes? yes. cheese waffles? yes. cheese french toast? uh, heck yes!)
    – Jess x

    Reply

  5. January 24, 2016 at 6:40 am

    Enjoy Minneapolis – it is wonderful and so magical in the snow! If you have time, make sure you get dinner at Bar La Grassa, brunch at Bachelor Farmer, donuts from The Baker’s Wife, and coffee from Spyhouse (just to name a few!). Aaaaaand the Cuban food at Victor’s is simply wonderful too!

    Reply

  6. January 24, 2016 at 9:02 am

    You’re going to be in my neck of the woods! It’s going to be (relatively) warm here in the Twin Cities, so it’s a good week to visit. Minneapolis is one of the best foodie cities in the country! We just don’t get talked about as much as New York or LA. Check out Ramen Kazama or Zen Box Izakaya for some of the best ramen in the TC area.

    Reply

  7. January 24, 2016 at 10:42 am

    Funnily enough I had a cheesy toastie this lunchtime, such a delicious meal when it’s cold outside. I love your version with the sour cream and onions

    Reply

  8. January 24, 2016 at 11:16 am

    I love the idea of a savory French Toast!! This looks so good!

    Reply

  9. Heather says:

    January 24, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    This looks absolutely delicious!

  10. Trudy says:

    January 24, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    okay this looks amazing and now I’m so hungry aha!
    TrudyJohanna

    Reply

  11. Stefanie says:

    January 24, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    it’s like a french toast married with a grilled cheese! what a perfect combo.

    Reply

  12. Liz says:

    January 24, 2016 at 6:41 pm

    Yummy! You’ll love MPLS. So much to see and do!

    Reply

  13. January 24, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    Happy Sunday! Have fun in Minneapolis and stay warm!

    Reply

  14. January 24, 2016 at 9:44 pm

    I love this idea! What’s better than french toast… cheese toast turned into french toast. thanks for sharing, and stay warm on your trip!

    Reply

  15. January 25, 2016 at 5:31 am

    What?! Cheesy FT? Hollaaaaa

    Reply

  16. Jonathan says:

    January 25, 2016 at 10:13 am

    This is amazing, Steph! I can’t wait to try it this weekend!

    Reply

  17. Ania says:

    January 26, 2016 at 12:18 pm

    Hey Stephanie! First of all, I love your blog. It’s so inspiring! And beautiful. But tell me,why do you you think it tastes almost like pierogi? It can’t just be the sour cream cheese right? Cheers and pierogis, Ania

    Reply

    1. Stephanie Le says:

      January 27, 2016 at 10:49 pm

      it’s the crispy cheese and the inside texture of the toast that is sort of custard-y. it reminds me of the potato filling in some pierogi :)

      Reply

  18. Beata says:

    February 2, 2016 at 6:23 am

    Crispy, savory and cheesy!?! I’m hooked, can’t wait to recreate this one.

    Reply

  19. Ellen Violet Beckett says:

    December 26, 2017 at 4:56 am

    Just tried this and it was beautiful, added my own twist by putting chopped up basil with it!

    Reply

  20. Tessa van Niekerk says:

    February 6, 2020 at 2:24 am

    This is the version of French Toast I grew up with. I actually didn’t know that “without cheese” was an option!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Sunday Brunch: Cheesy French Toast Recipe · i am a food blog (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good French toast? ›

Nail the Egg-to-Milk Ratio

Eggs and milk are the essential components of the custard base that gives French toast its tender richness—but get their ratio off and you'll wind up with undercooked slices that have an unpleasantly savory "scrambled eggs" flavor.

Should I toast bread before making French toast? ›

Use stale bread or toast the bread until it's golden-brown. It needs to be sturdy to hold up to the egg mixture. If the bread is fresh from the bag or you toast it too lightly, the finished dish will be soggy. Soak the toasted or untoasted bread for about 10 seconds per side to achieve the optimal texture.

How do you keep French toast from being too eggy? ›

If the balance is off and you include too many eggs or not enough milk, the finished French toast will have a scrambled egg-like flavor. When scaling this recipe up or down, keep in mind that you need 1/4 cup of milk for every egg.

Should French toast have more eggs or milk? ›

Whatever you decide on, the ratio of liquid to egg will still be about ¼ cup liquid to one egg, and one egg per two slices of bread. So, if you want to make four slices of French toast, you would need four slices of bread, two eggs, and ½ cup milk. How's that for an easy recipe?

Is butter or oil better for French toast? ›

As you cook the French toast, bits of that nutty brown-butter flavor slowly develop — much slower than they would if you cooked with just butter alone — so the the French toast has time to cook evenly without burning. A neutral oil, like canola, is the way to go since it won't disrupt the flavor of the butter.

Does the milk matter in French toast? ›

In addition to making French toast taste the way it does through the Maillard reaction, milk also prevents it from turning out rubbery. Per Food & Wine, the texture of French toast relies on a loosened egg structure best achieved by the addition of milk.

How do you elevate French toast? ›

There are so many ways and variations to change up the flavor of homemade French toast. You can add extra vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, or fresh orange zest to the egg and cream mixture to add freshness and or warmth to the French toast custard.

What's the difference between French toast and bread toast? ›

French toast, which isn't really toast, is made from bread dipped in seasoned, beaten egg. This is then shallow fried. Fried bread is just that, bread that is fried. Preferably fried in the fat that has rendered out when cooking your bacon & sausage.

What is a fact about French toast? ›

In fact, French toast was invented long before France even existed. The first known recorded recipe for French toast comes from Rome around 300 A.D. The Roman author Apicius included it in his cookbook titled "Cooking and Dining in Imperial Rome". For centuries, the French themselves called this dish "Roman Bread".

Why is French toast unhealthy? ›

French Toast is a delicious breakfast entree that is loved by many. With this in mind, french toast can be very calorie dense with high amounts of added sugar and fat. But, it can be tweaked to reduce the sugar and fat content while adding some fiber to your breakfast - yay!

Is it better to cook French toast fast or slow? ›

Cooking it low and slow lets the bread soak up even more flavor. Stuffed French Toast: Chocolate, fruit, cream cheese or savory ingredients can all be stuffed inside French toast for extra flavor.

How to make toast crunchy? ›

A heat of 350º will cause your toast to be more browned, while a heat of 400º will result in a crunchy texture. Remember that the higher the temperature is, the less time it needs on each side. Try leaving your toast in for four to five minutes on each side.

Why is my toast always soggy? ›

When toast is allowed to lay flat down, condensation can build up and get trapped on the underside. This moisture then seeps back up into the bread, causing one side of your toast to become soggy.

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