This Vegan French Toast Pudding post is sponsored by the Plant-Based promotion at Publix. The opinions and text are all mine.
How to make the BEST Vegan French Toast Pudding for your guests. Eggs not required! This bread pudding recipe is a super easy, colorful and aromatic dessert to make for your family.
Why make boring old French toast when you can make French toast pudding!
French toast is not just for breakfast. Turn boring old French toast into a sweet, moist, bread pudding recipe. There are no fancy ingredients in this pudding.
There are just ordinary ingredients that come together to make an extraordinary dessert!
Tips for making this bread pudding
- Keep the bread outside for a couple hours to make it a little “stale”.
- Use a smaller baking dish. I used an 8in in length 5.75in size tray.
- Toast the bread after you fill it up in the baking dish. This way, the bread pudding will not be a soggy mess
- I used Arnold Organics Sprouted Wheat Bread for this recipe. It’s denser, plant-based and non-GMO bread. I don’t recommend using any other bread for this recipe because none of the other breads I tried held up well.
- Chia seeds should be soaked in the water for at least 10 minutes before adding to the milk mixture. The chia seeds will become “gloopy”, which is similar to egg texture.
The inspiration for this recipe
Over the years, I have made French toast and bread pudding for my family. They have always loved both of them.
So, I asked myself, “Can I combine these two recipes?”
With that question, the experimenting started. I tried a few recipes and always failed. The bread would get too soggy, the taste was odd, the ingredients were all wrong for the recipe and the list of failure reasons grew longer each time.
But I am so glad I didn’t throw in the towel! If I had, I would have missed out on the best Vegan French Toast Pudding recipe!
Look at how delicious it looks! No soggy mess here!
It came down to getting the right bread for the recipe. I tried Arnold Organics Sprouted Wheat Bread and that changed the game!
This bread is dense enough to hold the liquid and not get soggy. It also absorbs the flavors perfectly, so, every nook and cranny tastes DELICIOUS.
Questions about making this recipe
I feel like you may have questions when you make this recipe at home. So, to help you answer the questions, here are answers to some of your questions.
Why use chia seeds in this recipe?
One of the things most people miss when they go vegan is eggs. But the good news is that eggs have the perfect vegan substitute.
In my experience, Chia seeds are the best replacement for eggs. They have the same amount of good fats and have the same texture after soaking in water.
You can grind the chia seeds until they are a fine powder and then soak them. Personally, I prefer soaking them whole. It gives them a sludge-like texture which is perfect for baking.
Can I freeze this French toast pudding?
Sadly, no, you can’t freeze this bread pudding. It will get soggy when you thaw it out and that just ruins the whole taste of the recipe.
But you can refrigerate it and use it up within a week. I suggest refrigerating it in the baking dish and transfer to a 300° oven for about 15-20 minutes.
What fruits can I use in this pudding?
I love using berries and bananas in this pudding. But, you can use almost any fruit that is in season. Try apples, peaches or even pears. Try dried cranberries or a cranberry pie filling too.
Can I use nuts in this pudding?
Yes, walnuts and pecans are made for bread puddings! They add crunch and flavor to the pudding.
Hazelnuts and pistachios would be a unique choice also. They are easy to find around the holidays and are usually on sale.
Are ginger snaps vegan?
You can easily find ginger snap cookies online and at Publix. They will have the “vegan” symbol on the packaging.
Ginger snaps are mostly made with vegan friendly ingredients, but I always read the ingredients to be sure.
Why is powdered sugar not vegan?
Powdered sugar is made from regular white sugar which is sometimes mixed with bone char that isn’t vegan friendly. Check out my guide on everything veganism where I explain why some ingredients are not vegan friendly.
Publix and most online stores have vegan-friendly powdered sugars available. You can even get vegan sugar and grind it up to make powdered sugar.
How to make vegan French toast pudding
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Soak the chia seeds in 3 Tbsp of water and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Lightly spray a baking dish (8” X 5.75”).
- Cut each bread slice into 4 pieces and arrange it in your baking dish.
- Place the baking dish in the heated oven for about 7 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- While the bread is being toasted, make the milk mixture.
- In a saucepan, add all the ingredients for the milk mixture and heat on low for no more than 5 minutes or until the sugar has melted.
- Let the milk mixture cool to room temperature.
- While the milk mixture is cooling, gently grind the ginger snaps to powder.
- Gently pour the milk mixture over the bread in the baking dish. Make sure every inch of the dish is coated.
- Spread the ginger snaps powder over the top of the bread.
- Place the baking tray in the oven and bake it for 35 minutes.
- Remove the French toast pudding from the oven and let it cool.
- While the pudding is cooling, prepare the syrup.
- In a bowl, add the syrup ingredients and whisk until it’s blended well.
- Sprinkle the powdered sugar on your French toast pudding and top with the fruits and nuts (if using)
- Spread some of the syrup on the bread pudding and leave the remainder for your guests to drizzle on their pudding.
Serve the bread pudding to your guests and watch them enjoy every morsel.
If you tried and liked this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and rating below. I am always happy to get feedback from my readers.
A few more dessert recipes for Thanksgiving
Blueberry crumble
Vegan pumpkin spice cookies
Vegan cranberry pie filling
Cranberry Loaf Cake
If you love vegan baking, I have collected all my vegan desserts in one place. Bookmark it and visit it frequently.
Vegan French Toast Pudding
Equipment
- 8″ rectangle baking dish (Stoneware)
Ingredients
For the bread
- 13 slices Arnold Organics Sprouted Wheat Bread
- 5 pieces ginger snap cookies
- olive oil spray
For the milk mixture
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 ¼ cup Elmhurst Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp hemp seeds
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- ¼ tsp salt optional
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 2 drops lemon extract
- ½ tsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup demerara raw cane sugar
- ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice optional
For the syrup
- ¼ cup Barney Butter Almond Butter
- ¼ cup warm water
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp pumpkin spice
- 2 drops vanilla essence
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Soak the chia seeds in 3 Tbsp of water and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Lightly spray a baking dish (8” X 5.75”).
- Cut each bread slice into 4 pieces and arrange it in your baking dish.
- Place the baking dish in the heated oven for about 7 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- While the bread is being toasted, make the milk mixture.
- In a saucepan, add all the ingredients for the milk mixture and heat on low for no more than 5 minutes or until the sugar has melted.
- Let the milk mixture cool to room temperature.
- While the milk mixture is cooling, gently grind the ginger snaps to powder.
- Gently pour the milk mixture over the bread in the baking dish. Make sure every inch of the dish is coated.
- Spread the ginger snaps powder over the top of the bread.
- Place the baking tray in the oven and bake it for 35 minutes.
- Remove the French toast pudding from the oven and let it cool.
- While the pudding is cooling, prepare the syrup.
- In a bowl, add the syrup ingredients and whisk until it’s blended well.
- Sprinkle the powdered sugar on your French toast pudding and top with the fruits and nuts (if using)
- Spread some of the syrup on the bread pudding and leave the remainder for your guests to drizzle on their pudding.
- Serve the bread pudding to your guests and watch them enjoy every morsel.
Notes
- Nutrition info is approximate
- Using different brand of ingredients than those listed above can result in altered taste and nutrition information
Michell says
So delicious and rich with the almond butter.
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Michell
veenaazmanov says
Love your recipe and love the presentation. Made with all the delicious combinations of healthy ingredients and love that it is veg. Yum
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Veena
Traci says
Fun, easy, and on the healthier side of French toast. We love it…thanks for sharing 🙂
Healing Tomato says
You are awesome, Traci. Thank you
Sarah James says
Oh my, your french bread pudding looks absolutely delicious. The topping of crushed ginger snaps with the syrup served as a sauce is a great idea, can’t wait to try. Thanks for sharing.
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Sarah
Kate says
Oh my, this looks WONDERFUL – can’t believe it is vegan, thank you so much for a great recipe!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Kate.