Yogurt French Toast

Hosting friends for breakfast this weekend? Knock your guests’ socks off with this Yogurt French Toast recipe, which has ALL of the flavor. Serve with your favorite fruit for a delicious weekend breakfast! Makes 6 servings.

Years ago, I was obsessed with making a Healthy French Toast recipe.

In fairness to myself, I was watching my figure (hey, I was getting married and then a newlywed) and also didn’t keep full-fat dairy products in my house because I was the only one who ate them. (Thank you, my darling sweet husband.)

Oh, how the times have changed.

We have two daughters now, and all the dairy products in our house are full-fat.

This here was my first recipe ever published on The Speckled Palate, and I’m loathe to update it. But the fact of the matter is, none of y’all have even seen it, and goodness knows it needs a bit of a face lift. 😉 

This healthy French toast recipe was shared originally on Memorial Day, when I mused about being a staff photographer at a newspaper in Mississippi. While there, I worked holidays quite often, and I always enjoyed doing so because I inevitably learned something I did not know and met some cool people. There were a lot of veterans in my town, and Memorial Day was one of my favorites to document because I loved talking with them, learning and remembering why this holiday is so important. 

This Yogurt French Toast recipe has stood the test of time, having been adapted from my aunt’s recipe that she made for my sister’s graduation day.

And we still make it to this day, though the ingredients are a little bit different.

Other breakfast recipes we’ve loved throughout the years that pair well with this French toast: Blended Mimosas | Sage Browned Butter Homemade Home Fries | Jazzed-Up Scrambled Eggs

Need some breakfast recipe inspiration? Check out my Breakfast recipe index!

What you’ll need to make Yogurt French Toast

• A nonstick skillet
• A large bowl
• Liquid measuring cup
• Sheet pan

How to make Yogurt French Toast

To start off, you’ll need some bread. Ciabatta is one of our favorites for this because it’s nice and crusty and soaks up the liquid without falling apart.

You will also need Greek yogurt, milk, eggs and cinnamon. 

Whisk the yogurt, milk, eggs and cinnamon together. If you want to add nutmeg to the recipe, this would be the time to do it. Vanilla extract would taste really good added at this point, too. 

Dip the bread into the yogurt/milk/egg mixture. It’s not going to be a piddly dip, though. For these, you need to let them sit and soak for about five minutes before tossing them into the pan. Trust me. It’s worth it.

As the slices soak, place a large skillet on medium-high heat with a pat of butter in it so that when the bread is done soaking, the butter will be ready to go.

After the sliced bread has sufficiently soaked in the yogurt/milk/egg mixture, gently place each slice in the searing hot pan.

Be careful at this step, as hot pans and hands do NOT mix very well, and since butter has been melted in the pan, be aware that if you drop the slices into the pan quickly, the butter may spatter. And since it’s hot, it doesn’t feel too good, either.

Since the heat is on medium-high, it shouldn’t take too long to sear the sides of the toast. It’ll take anywhere from 4-7 minutes on each side, tops, but this really depends on your stove and its quality.

Once the first side is browned, flip with a spatula, and allow the other side cook for the same amount of time as the first.

Both sides should be crusty and browned before you remove them from the pan and place them on the baking sheet. 

Pop the baking sheet in the oven. 

Why do we do this? Because unless you have a ginormous frying pan or are only cooking for one, you’re going to need to cook another batch of French toast. And because this is a way to ensure that the inside of the bread cooks all the way through without burning the outside of the bread.

Once the baking sheet is in the oven, repeat the process for the French toast as many times as necessary to make up the amount of toast needed for your crew.

And by the time you’re finished with the toast, the ones that have been slowly cooking through in the oven will look be crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. (And obviously delicious!)

The last step is all about personal preference. For me, strawberries and a delightful pure maple syrup are the perfect topping for my French toast. Dust ’em with powdered sugar, too, if that’s your thing!

And ENJOY.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips and Tricks

Yogurt French Toast is a fun dish to make for brunch at home! (Yes, you can and should host friends or family for brunch. Unsure where to start? I wrote How to Host Brunch at Home just for you!)

• Purchase your ingredients a few days in advance. Why? Because you want the bread to be kind of stale to make it extra awesome for French toast. When I purchase the bread, I’ll oftentimes slice it and then leave the bag open until the morning we make the toast.
• Make the French toast 30 minutes to 1 hour before guests arrive. Since it goes into a low temperature oven to cook all the way through, you can (and should) make the French toast earlier. Just be sure to give yourself enough time to cook the toast on the stovetop before they go in the oven! French Toast is best when the outside is browned and crusty.
• Set out your toppings. Whether you’re serving fruit, powdered sugar or maple syrup, you can easily prep these ingredients before your guests arrive, too. Place them on the table (or on the bar where you’ll be serving the French toast from) so that everyone knows what is available.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best bread for French toast?

I highly recommend using a crusty bread, like a ciabatta or a baguette, for this recipe. Ideally, the bread should be a few days old and a little stale so it can soak up all the liquid.

Can I make this recipe dairy free?

I’m sure you can, though I’ve never given that a try before. Dairy free yogurt and milk should work as substitutes here, but I can’t confirm it works.

If you’re in the market for a dairy free French toast, I suggest checking out my Praline French Toast!

Why do you use yogurt in this recipe?

French toast recipes normally call for heavy cream or a whole milk.

I started using yogurt because I had it on hand, and it gives the French toast an amazing texture, too. This recipe was developed in 2011, when I was all about low-fat yogurt and milk, and this was my way to have a more decadent breakfast without worrying too much about the fat content.

These days, I’m not too concerned about fat content or about an occasional indulgence. 😉 

What are some substitutions I can make to this Yogurt French Toast recipe?

• You can use full-fat, low fat or no fat versions of the milk and the yogurt here. Use whatever you have on hand.
• The original recipe calls for low fat vanilla yogurt, but we’ve been using plain Greek yogurt in recent years. If you’d rather have flavored yogurt, have at it! Just know that your substitutions will change the calories in each serving.
• You can also use regular yogurt or Skyr-style. The different types will make for different thicknesses of the dipping mixture, but it yields an equally delicious result.

Yogurt French Toast

Erin Parker, The Speckled Palate

Hosting brunch or breakfast this weekend? Knock your guests' socks off with this Yogurt French Toast recipe, which has ALL of the flavor and less fat than the regular. Crusty pieces of bread are dipped in a yogurt, skim milk and egg mixture before frying in a pan with a little butter until golden brown. The French Toast pieces are then baked until cooked through. Enjoy warm with fresh berries and your favorite syrup!

4.56 from 9 votes

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Servings 6 servings

Calories 535 kcal

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

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French Toast

• 1 loaf ciabatta bread sliced into 12-1" thick slices
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 ¼ cup milk at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Toppings

• Sliced fruit
• Pure maple syrup
• Powdered sugar optional

Equipment

• Cast iron griddle
• Rimmed sheet pan
• Liquid measuring cup
• Oval casserole dish (8.25" x 5.5")

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Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Crack the eggs into a bowl or a large baking dish. Whisk them together, then pour in the milk and the yogurt. Stir until just mixed. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and whisk.
• Slice the bread into 1" thick slices if you haven't already.
• Dip the sliced bread into the egg/milk/yogurt mixture and let sit for five minutes.
• While bread is soaking in the mixture, heat a large skillet or a griddle over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pan.
• After the bread has soaked, gently lift it out of the liquid mixture and place in the searing hot pan.
• Sear on both sides until browned, then transfer to a baking sheet into the warm oven. Transferring the cooked French toast into the oven does two things: ensures that the toast is cooked through AND also keeps the toast warm while the rest is being cooked up.
• Repeat the process as needed and once all the toast is cooked, serve topped with your favorite fruit and syrup.

Notes

Older bread works better in French toast, simply because it will sop up more of the liquid mixture and have more flavor.

Substitutions:

• You can use full-fat, low fat or no fat versions of the milk and the yogurt in this recipe.
• The original recipe calls for low fat vanilla yogurt, but we've been using plain Greek yogurt in recent years. If you'd rather have flavored yogurt, have at it! Just know that your substitutions will change the calories in each serving.
• You can also use regular yogurt or Skyr-style. The different types will make for different thicknesses of the dipping mixture, but it yields an equally delicious result.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 535kcalCarbohydrates: 92gProtein: 19gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 696mgFiber: 4gSugar: 32g

Keyword Breakfast, Brunch, easy entertaining, easy French toast, french toast

Course Breakfast & Brunch

Cuisine American

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

What is your favorite breakfast food? Are you a fan of French toast?

The photos and recipe for this Yogurt French Toast were originally published on May 30, 2011. The photographs, along with the text of this blog post, were updated on November 27, 2019.