Vanilla Rum French Toast Recipe

If you’re looking for the best french toast recipe—you’ve found it! There’s nothing more satisfying on a slow Saturday morning than enjoying a delicious cinnamon swirl french toast with a cup of hot coffee. But, this isn’t your typical run-of-the-mill french toast recipe…it’s better.

I mean, it still has all of the things you’d get in a traditional french toast, but with just a few more ingredients that create a rich and satisfying flavor unlike any other french toast recipe out there. What’s my secret? It’s rum. Yup, you read that correctly! RUM! So, trust me when I say that once you try this simple and delicious homemade french toast, you’ll never want to try another french toast recipe again. 

French Toast Ingredients

These are the ingredients you’ll need in order to make the best french toast:

• Bread—Using day-old bread that is slightly stale works best for french toast. 
• Eggs—Make sure to include the yolk.
• Milk—Any type of dairy milk or non-dairy milk will work, but I prefer to use half and half.
• Rum—This is not a standard ingredient in french toast but I feel it elevates the flavor profile and adds something unique. I prefer to use spiced rum, like Sailor Jerry, however, I have used coconut rum (Malibu) in this recipe and it tastes just a good. 
• Salt
• Sweetener—Granulated sweetener works best.
• Favorite seasoning—Cinnamon is a must for any homemade french toast recipe.
• Maple syrup—For topping
• Powdered sugar—For topping

Best Bread For French Toast 

Have you ever made homemade french toast and it didn’t turn out like the ones you order at a restaurant? The reason for this is oftentimes your choice of bread. If you want to learn how to make the best french toast, lesson number one—the type of bread you use matters. For the best french toast, you’ll want to use exactly what it calls for, french bread or brioche (which is another type of french bread). I like to buy a fresh loaf and slice it myself. This way, I can get thick slices to soak up all the swirls of cinnamon, vanilla, and rum. Also, this helps the bread from getting too soggy before you cook it. But, if you don’t have french bread or prefer to use another type of bread, these are the next best options:

• Brioche
• French loaf
• Challah bread
• Texas Toast
• Pullman

How To Make The Best French Toast (Step-By-Step)

My vanilla rum soaked french toast recipe certainly sounds fancy, but that doesn’t mean it’s complicated to make. In fact, it’s super simple and uses the same steps as a traditional homemade french toast recipe. Here’s how to make the best french toast, step-by-step. 

1. Using a bread knife, cut the bread into slices. The ideal thickness for french toast is ¾” to 1” thick. Depending on the size of your loaf, you should be able to cut roughly 8 slices of bread. Set aside. 
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the milk (or half and half), eggs, sweetener, seasonings, and rum. 
3. Dip the bread slices into the mixture on both sides, until the bread is covered. Place the moist bread onto a plate and soak for 5 minutes. Do NOT leave bread slices in the batter to soak. This can make the bread too soggy. While the bread is soaking on the plate, heat a frying pan with oil on medium-high heat.
4. Once the pan is hot, place 2-3 pieces of bread onto the pan, leaving a bit of space between them. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and continue cooking on the other side. 
5. Once both sides are golden brown, plate them and top with powdered sugar and warm maple syrup. Serve hot. 

I like to serve my homemade french toast with a fruit salad. My absolute favorite to serve with this particular version of french toast is a mixture of yellow peaches, plums, strawberries, and blueberries.