Can You Freeze French Toast?
Bread has always been a staple food for many cultures. Instead of throwing stale bread away, someone thought of dipping bread in a mixture of eggs and milk and frying it on a pan.
This simple decision made by someone centuries ago gave birth to the classic treat we now know as French toast.
Not only does it require little effort to prepare, but it goes well with literally any garnish and you are using leftover bread which is additionally cost-effective.
Sometimes, we make too much French toast simply because we do not want to throw any bread away. And since it consists of eggs and milk, we need a good way to store it between the meals.
Can you freeze French toast? Yes, french toast freezes well and does not change in taste or quality when frozen. To freeze cooked french toast, place it on a wire cooling rack, wait until it reaches room temperature, then transfer the french toast into a freezer bag and freeze it for up to 2 months.
All you need to do is follow several quick steps and you can safely store your delicious French toast in the freezer for whenever you want it. Next time you plan to make French toast, do not worry about preparing extra.
How To Freeze French Toast
While you can freeze French toast cooked or uncooked, we do not recommend freezing the uncooked ingredients.
After all, the egg and milk mixture takes minutes to prepare, and having it frozen with the bread would just add additional time to thaw and prepare later.
Of course, you can prepare the French toast and freeze it uncooked but you will have to wait for more than 30 minutes to thaw it later, which is more than you would need to prepare it from scratch.
With this said, we recommend only freezing cooked French toast because you never have to wait for it to thaw.
Unlike most dishes, you can simply reheat French toast directly instead of waiting several hours for it to thaw in the refrigerator first.
When freezing French toast, it’s important to let each piece of toast cool down separately.
Ideally you can let them rest on a wire cooling rack, like our favorite one on Amazon.
This will ensure that your toasts remain crispy and they will also cool down faster for you to freeze.
The fastest and easiest way to freeze them once cooled is to use wax paper to wrap each toast individually.
Then, you will need aluminum foil to wrap them a second time or a trustworthy freezer bag which is an easier and more effective method.
There is a second option which is as effective but slower.
For the second option, you can freeze the French toast as it is on the baking rack and put it in freezer bags once frozen.
In a similar way, you can freeze them wrapped in wax paper as we mentioned above and once frozen, to remove the paper and foil and, once again, transfer to freezer bags.
How To Thaw Frozen French Toast
Most methods of reheating French toast allow you to skip on the thawing process that most other dishes require.
However, this does not mean that you cannot thaw it in the refrigerator overnight or for a few hours.
It will not change the flavor nor affect the quality of the French toast as long as you do not keep it in the refrigerator for a few days before you finally reheat it and eat it.
The advantage of thawing your French toast is that it will take less time to reheat. In the end, it is entirely up to your preference.
Related Questions
How long should you soak bread for French toast?
This does depend on the kind of bread you’re using to make French toast.
If you’re using a heartier, denser loaf of bread, like a multi-grain or wheat bread, then you’ll want to soak it for a bit longer, maybe 1-2 minutes.
If you’re using a light, airy bread like challah or brioche, then you’ll probably want to have your bread soaking for no longer than 15-30 seconds. The bread can absorb too much of the mixture and become soggy and hard to fry.
In truth, the answer to this question is not clear and does come down to personal preference.
Though the above-mentioned recommendations are the most universal, there are many chefs who recommend soaking your bread anywhere from 5 seconds to 20 minutes.
Make sure to experiment and see which style you like best for your French bread.
What is the best temperature to cook French toast?
Cooking at the proper heat level is always key for the end result. With French toast, you want medium heat in order to cook it properly.
Remember to always preheat your skillet or pan for French toast. You want your slices to start cooking from the moment you put them on the cooking surface.
If the heat is too low, it will dry your bread and you can forget about the softness of the French toast you had in mind.
Conversely, if the heat is too high, it will burn the surface of your bread and fail to cook it thoroughly.
French toast can also be cooked in the oven, as demonstrated below by America’s Test Kitchen. This method is fast and efficient when prepping lots of french toast for a breakfast gathering!
Is French toast unhealthy?
When you consider that the custard you need for French toast includes eggs, milk, and sugar, it is normal to question whether it is an unhealthy choice of breakfast.
It is true that, in most cases, you can get half a day worth of calories from your breakfast if it includes French toast, but this is also why you do not eat it every day, right?
Fortunately, there are countless alternative recipes to the original French toast that you know and love that you can try.
Furthermore, there are numerous reduced-fat kinds of milk or vegan alternatives that you can use and still end up with a delicious French toast.
All in all, we are fortunate to live at a time with unlimited options of food and ingredients.
If you love French toast but you cannot fit it into your latest food regime, we guarantee that there are enough alternatives and substitutes to make French toast work for you.
Can you reheat frozen french toast?
Ideally, you should eat your frozen French toast in 1 to 2 months if you are keen on the best quality. It could be kept longer but it would not taste as good.
With this said, you also need to know how to reheat it properly and fortunately, there are several equally good methods to choose from.
How do you reheat frozen french toast?
Ideally, you should eat your frozen French toast in 1-2 months if you are keen on the best quality. It could be kept longer but it would not taste as good.
With this said, you also need to know how to reheat it properly and fortunately, there are several equally good methods to choose from.