Chocolate Chip French Toast (Egg & Dairy Free)

This chocolate chip French toast, slathered with homemade orange marmalade butter, is a deliciously decadent weekend brunch. It's egg free, dairy free, low FODMAP and vegan (depending on your preferred chocolate). It cooks in only 12 minutes, and the custard can be made ahead of time to speed up your prep on the day. The balance of bittersweet, sticky orange marmalade and sweet, melting chocolate chips is the perfect flavour combination.

Ingredients

Here are a few of the key ingredients and things you need to know to get the best out of this recipe:

• Uncut wheat sourdough loaf: The biggest tip I can give you for this recipe is to cut the bread yourself. You need it CHONKY! Sliced bread just won't cut it (pun intended). It's also unlikely that a pre-cut slice is going to perfectly align with the recommended low FODMAP portion size. So you'll either feel deprived by a scrimpy slice or stray into high FODMAP serving sizes by doubling up.
• Firm tofu: This forms the bulk of our custard and is considered our egg alternative. It adds protein, fats and body to our base, but its fairly neutral taste allows the sweet, custard flavour to shine.
• Unsweetened almond milk and coconut yoghurt: These are our dairy substitutes. I find the nutty taste of almond milk works well in this recipe, but it can be substituted for your preferred milk alternative. Just ensure you recalculate the FODMAPs if necessary. The coconut yoghurt adds a creamy sweetness and mild coconut flavour. I use The Coconut Collab brand, which has a high percentage of coconut milk and no added sugar.
• Salted vegan block butter: Using salted butter is controversial, but it's always my go-to, in both sweet and savoury recipes. Use unsalted if you must, because Martha told you that's best, but be prepared to add more salt to the custard when you taste-test it, and you'll definitely be missing out by frying the toast in unsalted butter.
• Dark chocolate chips: I don't use expensive or fancy chocolate chips for this. As long as you enjoy the taste of them straight out of the packet, then they're good in my book. Ensure your chosen brand is dairy free if required.

Please refer to the printable recipe card below for a full ingredients list with quantities. See the FODMAP ingredient notes section for detailed low FODMAP information and portion sizes.

Instructions

Step 1: Cut the bread into thick, single-serving slices that can withstand handling, dredging and turning without falling apart.

If using an uncut loaf as recommended, cut off the end crust first and weigh it to guide you on how thick to cut your slices.

Step 2: To a jug blender, add the milk, yoghurt, firm tofu, peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla seeds, turmeric, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg and ⅛ teaspoon salt.

Whizz up into a thick, smooth custard, shaking and scraping down the sides as needed.

Prep tip: This custard can be made up to 48 hours ahead and stored in the fridge. If making ahead, then allow it to come back up to room temperature and whizz it up in the blender for approx 30 seconds before proceeding with step three.

Step 3: Pour half of the custard into a shallow dish, large enough to fit a single slice of bread. Allow the bread to wallow in the custard for 30 seconds before carefully flipping the slice over and submerging the other side for a further 30 seconds.

Step 4: Set a wire rack over a baking tray. Repeat step three with each slice of bread. As each slice is dredged, allow the excess custard to drip back into the custard dish. Set each slice on the wire rack whilst you dip the next.

If your bread is chunky enough, you can stand it on its end so you don't disturb the coating. If your bread won't stand up, you'll need to fry the slices one at a time as you dredge them.

Step 5: Whilst the bread rests on the wire rack, make the flavoured butter by briskly whipping together marmalade, 2 Tbsps butter and the remaining ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon. For this small amount, I whip by hand using a fork.

Once fully incorporated, taste the butter and add the remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt if required. This will depend on your taste and the saltiness of your chosen brand of butter.

Step 6: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Place as many slices as you can fit in a single layer without them touching. My pan took two at a time.

Fry the bread on each side for approximately 5 minutes until toasted and golden brown.

Step 7: This step is optional, but it's definitely worth taking the extra few minutes. Once each flat face of the bread is toasted and the custard has set, use heat-safe tongs to slowly press the crusty edges against the pan until golden.

Rotate the bread every minute or so until all the edges are toasted and the custard has formed a sealed crust.

Step 8: Slather each slice with marmalade butter and sprinkle 10 grams of dark chocolate chips per slice evenly across the top. Carefully place the slices back into the pan, choc chip side up and cover with a lid for roughly 1 minute until the chocolate starts to turn glossy and melt.

Serve immediately with optional orange wedges on the side.

Substitutions

• Wheat free: If you require a gluten free diet, substitute the wheat sourdough with a crusty, uncut gluten free bread of choice.
• Nut free: Replace the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter or Biscoff spread.
• Soy free: This Easy Vegan French Toast recipe from Minimalist Baker uses mashed banana and cornstarch to make the custard, without the need for tofu. It appears to be accidentally low FODMAP too.

Variations

• Peanut butter: Swap the orange marmalade butter for peanut butter.
• Maple tahini: Swap the peanut butter in the custard for hulled tahini paste and add a splash more maple syrup to cut through the bitterness. Be aware that this will change the FODMAPs due to the tahini paste containing GOS.
• Mocha: Dissolve 1 heaped teaspoon each of cocoa powder and instant coffee into warmed almond milk. Allow the milk to cool fully before adding it to the custard ingredients. You may need to add sugar or extra maple syrup to taste. If you're sensitive to fructans, be aware that the cocoa powder adds a small amount in addition to the existing fructan content.
• Biscoff: Replace the peanut butter in the custard with Biscoff spread. If you want to go all out on the spiced speculoos flavour, use Biscoff spread in place of the marmalade butter and swap the chocolate chips for crumbled Biscoff cookies. Be aware that the Biscoff spread has not been lab tested or listed in the Monash or Fodmap Friendly apps.

Equipment

• Jug or immersion blender - essential for achieving a smooth sauce when using firm tofu.
• Wide shallow dish - large enough to fit the sliced bread when dredging in the custard.
• Non stick frying pan/skillet - preferably with a lid.
• Wire rack - set over a baking tray to allow the excess custard to drip off the bread.

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Storage

Room temperature: Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If you're making ahead, pop the custard in the fridge until needed.

Fridge: The custard will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

Freezer: This recipe is not suitable for freezing. Whilst you can freeze the sourdough bread separately, once the bread has been coated in custard, it won't freeze well. Due to the high tofu content in the custard, freezing it will result in adverse changes to the texture.

Reheating: This recipe is best served straight away. If you're determined to reheat it, then the easiest way to restore its crunch is in the air fryer for a few minutes at 180 C. You could also gently reheat it in a non-stick pan over a medium heat, flipping halfway through. I do not recommend reheating this in the microwave.

Cooks tips

The great thing about vegan, egg free custard is that you can safely taste the batter before cooking. Once the custard is blitzed together, taste and adjust to your liking. Add more maple syrup or vanilla for sweetness and cinnamon or nutmeg for warming spice flavour.

Although this recipe serves 4, the custard mixture serves 8. This is intentional, as you'll generally get a smoother finish and better results when making the larger amount in a blender. Also, you'll likely be serving this to folks who are not on a low FODMAP diet and may want to eat more than one slice.

See the storage section below for tips on storing leftovers.

Vegan Tips

Coconut yoghurt: As coconut yoghurt gains popularity, I've noticed a few emerging brands, particularly greek-style yoghurts, that are a blend of coconut and dairy. Always read the label to ensure your chosen brand is dairy free.

Dark chocolate: Unless you choose 100% cocoa, which I don't recommend from a flavour perspective, be aware that not all dark chocolate is vegan. Many brands, particularly cheaper or supermarket own brands, contain milk.

Gluten Free Tips

The crusty sourdough bread in this recipe can be easily swapped for a gluten free loaf. Be mindful that not all gluten free bread is vegan or low FODMAP.

It's worth mentioning that the low FODMAP diet is not a gluten free diet, unless you also have additional allergies or intolerances. There are low FODMAP servings of many wheat-based products that may be more suitable for your budget and needs.

FODMAP Tips

As written, this chocolate chip French toast is low FODMAP when divided into 4 servings; however, the quantity of custard serves up to 8. This allows for leftovers or extra portions for non-fodmappers. One serving of this recipe contains the following FODMAPs in low FODMAP amounts:

• Fructans - sourdough wheat toast, firm tofu and dark chocolate chips
• GOS - nil as written
• Fructose - nil as written
• Sorbitol - coconut yoghurt
• Mannitol - nil as written
• Lactose - nil as written

Where multiple ingredients include the same FODMAP, the individual quantities have been calculated to ensure the overall combined serving remains low FODMAP.

Please refer to the Monash FODMAP app or FODMAP Friendly App for current low FODMAP servings and categorisations. FODMAP values and portion sizes can and do change over time. The FODMAP info we offer is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication.

FODMAP Ingredient Notes

Almond milk

Surprisingly, although whole almonds are high FODMAP, almond milk is listed in the Monash FODMAP app as remaining low FODMAP up to 500 grams. It is my preferred low FODMAP milk alternative of choice due to its FODMAP levels, being easily available and affordable.

Coconut yoghurt

Listed in the Monash FODMAP app as low FODMAP at a serving size of 149 grams. It becomes moderate in sorbitol at 200 grams and high in sorbitol at 227 grams.

In the FODMAP Friendly app, it has a low FODMAP pass at 85 grams, with a maximum recommended low FODMAP serving of 170 grams and is listed as containing sorbitol.

Firm, plain tofu

The Monash app lists firm tofu as low FODMAP at 170 grams. It becomes moderate in fructans at servings of 175 grams and high in fructans at 205 grams. Firm tofu should be thoroughly pressed and drained to remove as much of the water-soluble fructans as possible.

The FODMAP Friendly app lists firm tofu as no FODMAPs detected, with no recommended maximum serving; eat freely. Interestingly, way back in 2017, when I began the low FODMAP diet, these were also the findings in the Monash app, but since then, they have retested and reclassified firm tofu as above.

White wheat sourdough bread

The Monash app lists many variations of sourdough bread, which have changed significantly over the years. Unfortunately, this historical data is not preserved in the app, so we can only work from the current listings.

Firstly, to see the entry for white wheat sourdough, you need to ensure that the filter by country setting is turned off in the app. This is because the wheat sourdough tested was a brand specifically from the US, and as such, it will not show up if any other country is selected in the filters. It is listed as low FODMAP at 109 grams. It becomes moderate in fructans at 114 grams and high in fructans at 133 grams.

The FODMAP Friendly app listings for sourdough bread are slightly more straightforward, with only wheat or spelt sourdough tested. They give wheat sourdough a pass at 76 grams, with a generous maximum low FODMAP serving of 190 grams. It is listed as fructan-containing.

Vegan dark chocolate chips

Dark chocolate has two separate listings in the Monash app, which have changed over time. Some helpful historical detail has unfortunately been removed from the current entries. Neither listing is labelled as vegan, which explains the differences in serving sizes.

One entry is for dark chocolate containing 85% cocoa solids. It is listed as low FODMAP at a 20 gram serving, with no excess FODMAPs reported. However, in the current data, the traffic-light system and maximum serving size are no longer shown, leaving 20 grams as the only available guidance.

The second listing does not specify a cocoa percentage. It is considered low FODMAP at 30 grams, with lactose flagged at 80 grams and fructans at 125 grams. This indicates that the chocolate tested was not vegan and likely contained milk. It's a helpful reminder that dark chocolate isn't automatically dairy-free.

In my recipes, I always use vegan dark chocolate, which is naturally lactose free.

The FODMAP Friendly app includes a single listing for dark chocolate, again without a specified cocoa percentage. It is rated low FODMAP at 30 grams, with a maximum recommended serving of 100 grams. As with the Monash app, lactose and fructans are listed, suggesting the tested chocolate contained dairy.