Savory French Toast
If you haven’t tried savory french toast, you are in for a treat. Delicious Italian flavors combine beautifully in this easy dish you can serve for breakfast, brunch, and even dinner!
While I like the flavors of sweet breakfast items, I quickly find them overwhelming (except this Betty Crocker coffee cake recipe). Instead I try to make these traditional recipes into slightly more savory options – like cheddar + chive cornmeal waffles??
And while most days I’m a small breakfast person – happy with my yogurt and granola, every once in a while, I like to make us a big breakfast (call it brunch if you must)!
CONTENTS
Savory French Toast
I really want to call this recipe “Italian French Toast,” but I realize that’s confusing. It’s basically your classic french toast recipe with some fresh basil. Because I’m infatuated with always having veggies, I layered the savory french toast slices over roasted eggplant.
The thing is, French toast isn’t actually sweet in and of itself. Except for perhaps some cinnamon in the egg batter, it’s bread, eggs, and maybe milk. It’s the powdered sugar and syrup put on after that make it sweet.
So really savory french toast is just a switch up on the toppings – parmesan cheese and a tomato dipping sauce!
You could layer it over any veggies really – zucchini, onions, roasted bell peppers, you name it – whatever is in season!
I roasted the eggplant slices (try this roasted eggplant dip) with just salt and pepper – nothing fancy.
Serve it all with roasted garlic marinara (recipe below) that’s almost too easy to make and you’ve got a filling, healthier version of a classic meal.
Savory Brunch Recipe
These small savory french toast slices are also great for a party. Skip the roasted veggies and serve them next to a batch of the marinara for easy dipping (a brunch version of crispy polenta sticks). It’s a no muss, no fuss option.
And these can be made ahead of time and reheated on the stovetop (though they don’t take long to make in a large frying pan).
More Savory Brunch Recipes…
What to Serve with Savory French Toast?
I can think of three things to enjoy with this savory french toast. I always think this breakfast salad is a good idea – no matter the main dish.
This winter fruit platter would also be heavenly – as would it’s summer fruit platter counterpart!
And then a breakfast protein of some kind would be great – bacon, chicken sausage, or ham immediately come to mind. Eggs (scrambled to poached) are easy too!
Finally, my brunch sangria is the perfect drink for any weekend brunch gathering!
Breakfast Recipes
Want some other breakfast recipes? Try this salmon frittata, fried oatmeal (not as weird as it sounds!), ginger smoothie, make-ahead breakfast tacos, fig granola, hard boiled egg toasts, and toasted muesli with yogurt!
SAVORY FRENCH TOAST
Ingredients
Roasted Eggplant
- 1 eggplant sliced in ½″ pieces
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Savory French Toast
- 1 French baguette
- 4 eggs
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil plus more
- parmesan cheese for topping
Roasted Garlic Marinara
- 2-3 medium garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 8 oz. diced tomatoes drained
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
Roasted Garlic Marinara (can be made ahead)
- Preheat oven or toaster oven to broil.
- Place garlic cloves on pan covered in foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil garlic for 8-10 minutes. This may take longer in a full-size oven.
- Add salt and pepper to taste – you’ll likely need more salt.
- Refrigerate marinara sauce in sealed container until ready to serve.
Roasted Eggplant
- Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Lay eggplant slices on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes or until tender.
Savory French Toast
- Slice baguette into ½-1-inch pieces.
- In a baking dish, combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and basil. Dip bread slices into egg mixture, coating both sides. Heat large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.
- Cook battered bread 3-5 minutes per side until golden brown.
- In a small food processor*, pulse the roasted garlic cloves. Add in tomatoes, Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Pulse again.
- Heat marinara sauce. To serve, top 1 cup sauce with roasted eggplant and french toast slices. Top with parmesan cheese. Serve with warm marinara sauce to dip.
I never would have thought to do a savoury version of French toast. This looks amazing.
This is great for side dish! Looks so good!
This french toast looks so delicious and something I would never have considered! So intrigued and going to make this for brunch on Sunday! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this savory french toast over the weekend and my whole family loved it! Definitely a nice change from the sweet version.
What an absolutely brilliant recipe. Savory French toast is amazing, and my whole family loves the flavors!
Oh, wow! I have never seen French toast done like this before. I think making it a savory dish is just fantastic. I can’t wait to make it.