This recipe is a healthier take on the classic, more indulgent challah French toast. In place of regular challah, this recipe calls for whole wheat challah, but if you can’t find any at your local store, regular challah will work fine, too. Using coconut sugar in place of table sugar makes this recipe refined sugar-free, but light brown sugar is a suitable substitution if that is all you have on hand. One serving is two slices, but if you’re cooking for a hungry crowd, you can easily double or triple the recipe.
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Ingredients
- 1 ripe large banana, sliced into ¼ inch thick pieces
- 3 tsp coconut sugar, divided
- 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
- 1 day-old loaf whole wheat challah, sliced into 2-inch thick pieces
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup nonfat or lowfat milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- Cooking spray or butter for the pan
- Maple syrup for serving
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
- Heat a large nonstick pan oven medium-low heat and grease with cooking spray or butter. Add the sliced bananas to the pan and sprinkle with 1 tsp coconut sugar and ¼ tsp ground cinnamon. Cook for 1 minute, then flip and cook on the other side for 1 more minute, until banana pieces are soft and lightly golden. Remove from the pan and place in a small bowl. Cover the bowl loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm and set aside.
- In a large shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, 2 tsp of coconut sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Working in batches, soak the challah pieces in the egg mixture for 1 minute on each side.
- Bring the skillet back to medium heat and grease with cooking spray or butter. Add a few pieces of the challah to the pan in a single layer and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown.
- Remove the cooked French toast from the pan and place on the lined baking sheet. Keep the French toast warm in the oven while cooking the remaining slices. Continue this process until all of the challah is cooked.
- Serve with the caramelized bananas and warm maple syrup.
