French toast is remarkably delicious and very easy to make, which is why it’s considered a classic breakfast staple.
In addition to its simplicity, French toast is remarkably versatile, as you can enjoy it both sweet and sour, which allows you to combine it with a huge variety of side dishes.
If you want to know what to serve with French toast, you’ve come to the right place! In today’s guide, we’ll walk you through a brief guide with 18 amazing combinations to try out.
1 – Jam
Let’s kick off the list with one of the easiest and most popular additions to French toast that a lot of people enjoy!
Like French toast, jam is remarkably versatile and comes in a huge variety of types, whether you like it spreadable or with fruit chunks.
Not only that, but in addition to putting jam on your French toast, you can actually whisk it directly into the egg batter!
The sugar in the jam helps the toast caramelize more and gives a subtle fruity flavor (along with a unique color tint from the jam) that you’re going to love if you have a sweet tooth!
2 – Scrambled Eggs
Like French toast, scrambled eggs are very easy to make and take almost no time, making them an excellent choice for anyone who is busy in the morning but still wants to enjoy a delicious and fulfilling meal.
The combination of Scrambled eggs with French toast provides some decent nutritional diversity because it’s an easy method to load up on all macronutrients in one plate (protein, carbs, and fats)
To make your scrambled eggs fancier, consider adding a bit of milk along with some cheddar or diced bell peppers.
3 – Coffee
Since a lot of people would enjoy French coffee on its own, enjoying some freshly brewed coffee on the side would be a great way to kickstart your morning!
The combination is also ideal for a busy morning, especially if you have a coffee or espresso machine brewing your java while you’re making French toast.
If you’re a big fan of coffee flavor, you can actually make coffee cream by whisking some instant coffee powder, sugar, and thickened cream in a bowl, then drizzle it over your French toast!
4 – Yogurt
This might sound weird to some, but yogurt is a great combination with French toast. Whether you like your yogurt homemade or store-bought, you can definitely enjoy it alongside some french toast.
You can also enjoy it as plain yogurt or fruit yogurt, such as strawberry yogurt. The best thing about this combination is that the yogurt is quite healthy and nutritious, especially the low-fat one, as it is rich in calcium and usually fortified with vitamin D3, which is great for your bones.
5 – Bacon
When it comes to breakfast, bacon is an indispensable choice that many people would enjoy with anything.
If you like to add a touch of savory crunchiness to your meal, having some bacon alongside your French toast should be a great idea!
Plain bacon is ideal for anyone who wants to balance the sweetness of French toast, but you can also glaze the bacon with some brown sugar and maple syrup if you’re all about sweet and sour!
6 – Hash Browns
Speaking of crispy, if you want another delicious treat to enjoy in the morning, you might want to consider hash browns.
You can enjoy this combination any time throughout the day. Additionally, you can enjoy it with different versions of hash browns, including Mexican-style Chorizo hash browns.
In that case, we highly recommend that you add a dab of hot sauce to your egg batter before dipping your day-old toasts in them!
7 – Fruit Salad
Another great side dish to consider while enjoying French toast is a simple fruit salad. Like French toast, fruit salad is remarkably versatile because you can add and remove just about any element and get a completely different flavor profile.
For example, if you want a fruit salad with mild sweetness and subtle fruitiness, you can go for apples, pears, watermelons, and apricots.
On the other hand, if you want an extra fruity salad, you can go for berries, grapes, bananas, pineapple, mangoes, and strawberries!
You can also add your choice of homemade or store-bought fruit compotes if you don’t mind the extra sugary flavor.
8 – Powdered Sugar
If you’re low on ingredients but still want to enjoy some fancy French toast, one of the quickest solutions here is simply powdered sugar.
To prepare a batch of powdered sugar, you’ll only need to add around 1 cup of white sugar (granulated) to around 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to add volume and adjust the sugar’s consistency.
An optional choice here is to add some dried fruits to add color and flavor to your sugar. Blend the mix until you get the powdery consistency you’re looking for.
You can then sprinkle the powdered sugar on top of the French toast or serve it on the side as a sugar dip before every bite!
9 – Nutella
We highly recommend that you set your calorie counters aside for this one! If you want to enjoy a super delicious and incredibly easy French toast recipe, all you need is some Nutella!
Of course, this can work perfectly fine with any kind of cocoa spread, and you can simply use homemade Nutella for the recipe.
Instead of serving the Nutella on the side, the best way to do it here is by piling up the French toasts like pancakes with a layer of Nutella in between!
10 – Peanut Butter
Another spread that works incredibly well with French toast is peanut butter. What’s great about this combination is that any type of peanut butter will work just fine.
Depending on your preferences, you can enjoy this one with ultra-soft peanut butter as well as extra crunchy ones.
You can also use low-carb peanut butter if you want to make a healthier breakfast or if you’re not a fan of heavily sweetened peanut butter.
In addition to peanut butter, you can use just about any type of nut butter that you like, such as pistachio butter and walnut butter.
11 – Sausages
Sausages are remarkably delicious and versatile, which makes them blend very well within sweet and sour recipes.
You can use sausages as links or as patties depending on your preferences. You can also prepare the sausages in a pan or in the air fryer.
Although the air fryer can speed up the cooking process significantly, consider going for the pan method if you’re also cooking some scrambled eggs because the seasoned greases of sausages make the perfect cooking fat for the eggs!
12 – Ice Cream
A great way to mix things up while eating French toast is to add a scoop of your favorite ice cream on the top, especially if you’re enjoying it as a snack.
To make the French toast more aesthetically pleasing, you can also add some berries alongside the ice cream.
13 – Eggs Benedict
Another breakfast staple that you can cook alongside French toast is eggs Benedict. You can enjoy this combination in any way you like, but an excellent tip here is to top it off with some hollandaise sauce.
You can prepare it by adding egg yolks to melted butter and a squirt of lemon and a dash of salt and pepper on top. Alternatively, you can add a dab of mayonnaise or mustard.
14 – Granola
Granola is an excellent side dish that you can enjoy with French toast in a variety of ways. For starters, you can add it to the egg batter in order to add a crunchy texture to French toast.
Additionally, you can combine them with some yogurt and berries to create a yogurt parfait, which also goes very well with French toast.
15 – Mushrooms
If you like your French toast a bit on the savory side, you should consider mushrooms as a great side dish.
Mushrooms are delicious, easily cooked, and full of proteins. You can use both sauteed and roasted mushrooms for a tasty meal that you can enjoy any time of the day.
For an extra savory touch, sprinkle some finely grated parmesan cheese and chopped chives on top.
16 – Cheese
Another way to take your French toast to the next level is using cheese, either while making it or on the side.
You can use cream cheese to make your French toast richer without being too savory, but you can also try savory types of cheese if that’s right up your alley!
17 – Quiche
If you want a side dish that compliments French toast like no other, you should definitely consider quiche.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to the filling of this creamy, savory French tart. You can fill it with bacon, meat, mushrooms, cheese, vegetables, and just about anything you like!
18 – Caramelized Fruits
Last but not least, since French toast is all about caramelized crusts, it is no wonder that pairing it with caramelized fruits will work out like a charm!
You can try out a wide variety of fruits, although we highly recommend fruits with rich flavor and high sugar content, such as bananas, peaches, pears, apples, etc.
Final Thoughts
This wraps it up for today’s guide that walks you through a wide variety of side dishes that you can serve with French toast.
As you can see, the versatility of French toast makes it go perfectly with a huge variety of options, whether you like your breakfast sweet, sour, or a combination of both!
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard.