The Best Options to Make French Toast Without Milk

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There’s nothing better than a golden-brown slice of French toast in the morning. The syrupy, crispy treat is an excellent, and nutritious, way to start your day.

However, if you’re lactose intolerant, you’ll find it difficult to enjoy the meal. So, you may wonder if it’s possible to make French toast without milk.

In this article, we’ll take a look at why we use dairy in French toast recipes. We’ll also discuss some of the most popular milk substitutes.

Why Do We Add Milk to French Toast?

As part of a basic French toast recipe, we have to make a batter. Traditionally, this mixture consists of eggs, milk, and flavorings like cinnamon.

Each part of this batter will play a major role in the final meal.

The main part of this mixture is the eggs, and these are what we call binding agents. They help all the ingredients stick together while you’re prepping the toast.

However, because of the thick consistency, eggs are a little tricky to use on their own. For that reason, many people like to add a little milk to the mixture to thin it out.

This gives you a creamy batter, which makes assembling the French toast easier.

The thin batter will be able to glide over the bread and seep through all the nooks and crannies. That ensures every bite of the toast is flavorful.

Milk Components

In order to understand how milk does its job, it’s a good idea to look at its components.

The basic parts of milk are good fat, protein, minerals, and lactose. This composition gives the liquid a few interesting properties.

First off, let’s take a look at fat, which is the part of the milk that contributes the most to texture. It gives the liquid its consistency and allows it to flow easily.

That’s why milk coats your mouth when you drink it on its own. Besides that, the good fat will add a lot of flavor and help you with your cholesterol.

Moving on, proteins are the stabilizing agent in the liquid. They hold all the components together and allow milk to thicken up.

That’s why you can create foam when you whisk milk vigorously. The protein will help trap air bubbles that’ll stiffen up the liquid.

Next, minerals like calcium, zinc, and other vitamins add nutritional value to the milk.

Finally, lactose is a form of simple sugar that gives the milk a slightly sweet taste.

Can You Use Milk Substitutes to Make French Toast?

The simple answer to this question is yes. There are many ingredients you can use instead of milk to thin out French toast batter.

However, before you do that, there are a couple of considerations to make. You have to ensure that some factors stay the same, to avoid changing the recipe.

For starters, figure out the type of dairy you need. The recipe can call for whole or skimmed milk.

Each one has a different amount of fat. On average, whole milk has about 3.5% while skimmed has close to 0.5% or less.

So, when picking out a replacement, you have to ensure the fat content matches.

Next, the substitute will need a similar consistency to maintain the texture of the recipe.

Unfortunately, finding a liquid with the same fat content and texture can be tricky. However, you can make the process easier by tweaking the recipe.

Can You Make French Toast With Lactose-Free Milk?

One of the main reasons we want to substitute milk in recipes is because of lactose. Many people have a hard time digesting the sugar, and it may cause flatulence.

An easy way around this problem is using lactose-free milk. This has the same properties as the regular variety, but with no sugar.

That means you can use a 1:1 ratio substitution when you switch out the milk.

Although, this will take away some of the sweetness from the recipe. For that reason, you may have to add a couple of teaspoons of normal granulated sugar.

As a simple example, you can use this ingredient list for your recipe:

• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¼ cup lactose-free milk
• 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar.
• 4 slices of toast

All you have to do is mix the ingredients together, and dip your bread in the batter. Then, you’re ready to fry it up!

Can You Make French Toast With Almond Milk?

Almond milk has been around for quite a long time. People have been using it as a dairy substitute for years.

That’s because it shares many of the basic properties of regular milk. They’re both sweet and smooth and have a creamy texture.

The only major difference is the flavor profile. Almond milk tends to have a faint nutty aftertaste.

That means you can use a 1:1 substitution ratio.

Here’s a recipe example:

• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¼ cup almond milk
• 4 slices of toast

The nutty flavor shouldn’t be noticeable once you mix all the ingredients. However, this will depend on the type of almond milk you have.

If you feel like the nuttiness is taking over your French toast, add a splash of lemon. The acidity should cut down the almond taste and add a little freshness.

Can You Make French Toast With Oat Milk?

If you’re looking for the closest match to regular milk, the oat variety may be the way to go.

It has the same consistency, flavor profile, and fat content. Aside from that, it can coat your mouth just like cow’s milk.

There’s only a minor difference in the sweetness. Oat milk usually has a higher sugar content than regular milk.

However, this shouldn’t affect your recipe. You should still be able to use a 1:1 ratio without adding any extra ingredients.

For example, here’s a sample recipe:

• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¼ cup oat milk
• 4 slices of toast

The sugar won’t alter the flavor, but it’ll change the browning. When you use oat milk, you’ll notice that your French toast has a darker golden-brown crust.

Can You Make French Toast With Buttermilk?

If lactose isn’t the issue, there are a couple of dairy options that can stand in for milk like buttermilk.

This is the liquid left behind after we churn butter. It’s generally much thicker than milk and has a tangy aftertaste.

Unfortunately, that means there’s no specific substitution ratio. You’ll need to change the recipe quite a bit to get amazing French toast.

Here’s an example of a recipe you can use:

• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ⅓ cup of buttermilk
• ¾ tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 4 slices of toast
• Pinch of salt

As you can tell, we added a few ingredients to make up for switching out the milk. The butter will add fat to help with consistency, and sugar will neutralize the tanginess.

Other than that, we add a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness in the dish.

Can You Make French Toast With Water?

If you’re in a pinch and you have an empty pantry, you can use water instead of milk to make French toast.

The liquid should be able to thin out your batter. However, water is tasteless and fat-free, which makes the substitution a little tricky.

So, you’ll want to start with the basic ingredients and add water at the end.

For example, you can follow this recipe:

• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 4 slices of toast
• Pinch of salt

Once you have all your ingredients in a bowl, add a splash of water, about 2 tablespoons. Then, mix it around and check the consistency.

What you’re looking for here is a batter that’ll flow, but isn’t too thin. To test this out, grab a spoon and dip it into your mixture.

Then, gently lift the utensil out of the bowl. The batter should coat the spoon and flow out in a steady stream.

You can add a little more water until you reach the desired consistency.

Final Thoughts

Making French toast without milk is easy, all you need is the right substitute. For that, you can use a couple of dairy-free options.

That includes almond milk, oat milk, and water. You can also use lactose-free milk if the sugar is the problem.

Finally, in a pinch, you can add buttermilk, and a few other ingredients instead of milk to make French toast.

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