Despite having a sweet tooth the size of the Grand Canyon, I’m not a huge fan of sugary breakfasts.
I’d much prefer some eggs, with a side of piled high potatoes (my Irish is showing) and a wedge of some kind of delicious crusty bread, perhaps all with a side of fruit and cheese.
Sometimes though, exceptions can and should be made.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on pancakes, waffles, pastries, scones and the like. Mmmm…scones. Those concoctions are wonderfully fantastic and I really do love them, but they often leave me wanting more a short time later, whether it be a snack or a nap. So if I’m going to indulge, which I do from time to time, I want to incorporate a little extra nutritional oomph to keep me going and satiated. Like the Energizer Bunny on crack. This French Toast does just that. It’s crack in carb form, with a side of fruit, omegas and coconut.
I made this three times in one weekend, and the Hubby declared it good enough for company. He said our next batch of overnight guests need to be fed this for breakfast the next day. That’s when you know something is really on point.
The basic recipe hails back to the days of my youth, where I was French Toast making machine, which means this dish is simple enough to have your kids help you make it, or even one hungry Hubby. It’s easy to throw together, requires only a handful of ingredients, and ends up tasting incredibly indulgent and decadently delicious.
The coconut adds to the sweetness and gives the French Toast a crispy finish, which is key for all you texture buffs out there, myself included. The end result is a bite that is warm, soft and chewy on the inside with a light, crackling exterior, bathed in hints of citrus. The finishing touches of blueberries, orange slices and toasted walnuts provide some extra bang for your buck in the form of antioxidants and omegas. They also taste phenomenal and make the dish seem far more extravagant than the reality.
Basically, it looks beautiful while being super simple to make, and that is my kind of recipe right there.
Coconut Orange Blueberry French Toast (Makes 8 Pieces)
Ingredients
Egg Wash
- 8 slices of a good quality Bread. *An egg bread like Challah would be great here.
- 3 Eggs, beaten.
- 1 cup Milk of choice, I used unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 Tbsp. Orange Extract
- 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. All Spice
Breading (for lack of a better term)
- 2/3 cup of Unsweetened Coconut
- the zest of 2 Clementine or 1 Orange, save the slices for finishing.
- 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
Finishing Touches
- Oranges Slices from 2 Clementines or 1 Orange
- 1/4 cup Blueberries
- 1/4 toasted Walnuts, chopped*
- 1 Tbsp. melted Butter mixed with 1/2 cup Maple Syrup**
Directions
- Crack your eggs into a shallow, wide bowl or a cake pan if you don’t have a bowl that fits the bill. Beat your eggs and then mix in the rest of the ingredients for the egg wash (from the Milk to the All Spice).
- In a separate shallow and wide bowl, mix together your coconut, orange zest and nutmeg.
- On the stove, bring a cast iron or non-stick skillet to medium heat. Using a spatula, spread a splash of olive oil, a pat of butter, or your greasing agent of choice, around the skillet.
- While your skillet is warming, dunk your bread slices, one piece at a time, into your egg wash. Flip over to cover both sides. Then dunk your now wet bread slice into your coconut mixture. Also flip to cover both sides. Place the bread onto your heated skillet. Cook on both sides for a few minutes until it’s lightly browned. Depending on the heat of your skillet this can take anywhere from 1 minute to 4 minutes per side.
- Once done, remove your French Toast from the skillet, plate it and then top with finishing touches: blueberries, orange slices and toasted walnuts. Drizzle with warm butter and maple syrup mixture.
*To make toasted walnuts, add chopped nuts to a skillet on medium heat for ten to fifteen minutes, stirring often. They’ll smell like popcorn when they’re cooking. I make these in large batches and store them in the fridge for future use as additions to French Toast, Salads, Roasted Veggies, Mac & Cheese or anything where a little texture is needed.
**For the maple syrup mixture, I melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in the microwave. Then I add a half cup of maple syrup to the melted butter and heat in the microwave for another thirty seconds or so. Remove it from the microwave and stir to combine.
Today’s post is being shared with She Eats Fresh Food Wednesdays, Anyonita Nibbles Tasty Tuesday’s, Hun… What’s for Dinner’s Simply Supper Tuesday’s, Buns in my Oven What’s Cookin’ Wednesday and The Novice Gardener’s Fiesta Friday.
Who wants to be my next batch of overnight guests?When was the last time you made French Toast? Have you ever added any unusual toppings? If so, what were they?
Beautiful, delicious and healthy! Looks as if you can’t go wrong with this. Love the touch of walnuts…they must give the french toast a little ummph of flavor and crunch!
Thanks Nancy. Yep, I love the additional of toasted walnuts for a little extra flavor and crunch.
my kids will come out of the womb knowing how to make French Toast. It is the only skill in life that you need in my opinion.
If it’s not the only skill, it’s at least pretty high up there on the priority chain. 😉
You had me at sugary breakfast. I don’t always indulge my cravings, but if I want sweet, it is usually early in the day. These look fabulous, and are the perfect thing for all that maple syrup I am working on, along with the fruit and nuts of course.
Sometimes you gotta let go and indulge those cravings. This is definitely one of those times.
I love French Toast. This recipe sounds so delicious and easy. Happy Fiesta Friday!
Same to you!!
Me me me me me me.
Confession – I’ve only ever made French Toast once and it went so wrong I’ve never tried again since…
Really? Aw, that’s too bad. You’ll have to try again, perhaps with this exact recipe and see what happens. Hopefully, you’ll be hooked for life.
This looks and sounds amazing! I like how you wrote on the top of your blog, “I’m not on a diet, I’m eating healthy!” Yes! I feel the same way about how I eat!
Thanks Lori for stopping by and saying hello. I love hearing from new people, and a diet free life is my motto. I just happen to love my fruits and veggies as much as my cake and French Toast. All good things in moderation. 🙂
The Energizer Bunny on crack, huh? Wow, I’m sending this recipe over to my friends who run marathons!! Aside from the energy level of your breakfast, I love the flavours!! And the addition of coconut and walnuts?? This makes an over-the-top French Toast, in my books 😀 Thanks so much for bringing this to FF#10. We are a very busy crowd and need all the energy we can get!
I tend to take some creative liberties with my writing. 😉
Thanks for having me; I am absolutely digging the Friday fiestas.
Well, if you always so feed the guests, I can arrive? My mother prepared for me the French toasts in the childhood… Yes, it was my favourite breakfast 😉
I always try to feed my guests for sure. I wouldn’t want anybody going hungry in my house, and breakfasts tend to be my specialty.
OOhhh yummy! going to try this on the weekend! Thank you for sharing.
Yeah! I hope you love it as much as me.
I love this take on French toast! Perfect for Sunday brunch!
My thoughts exactly.
Thanks for stopping by and saying hello.
Dear Lord this looks insane. I love the prep photo of all the food before it’s combined. Pure beauty.
That’s actually my favorite shot of all these pictures. I should have known you would love it just as much. Great minds think alike.
I do I do I do.
So question- I have a brunch in 2 weeks time where I need to bring something- I reckon I could pretty much make it as it is but bake it in one- Is Challah bread the same thing as the Jewish Sweet bread (MY lack of better term now lol but it’s what we have in Australia)- if so, do you reckon it might be too sweet then? I’m intrigued- this looks delicious!
Yes, I think they’re pretty similar if not one and the same. 🙂
I’m sure you could bake this. In fact, I think it would be fantastic baked, although I might up the liquid portion a bit by adding more milk, maybe another egg and some more orange extract. Then I would just put the coconut portion on top. I hope you make it, and if so, I want to hear if it works.
same, i love savory.. unless it’s like this. the coconut orange, ya. I’m in love. Butter me up
I had a delicious and savory breakfast this morning: cheese and micro green omelet with English muffin bread. It was delicious too.
Confession: I’ve never been the biggest fan of French toast, but I’m pretty sure that’s because I’ve never had THIS French toast before. My God, woman — this looks amazing! The addition of orange zest totally reeled me in, and the “breading” sealed the deal. The Canadian in me also loves the fact that you used real maple syrup <3 Pinned!
For me, there is no other syrup. It’s all maple, all the way.
Um I’m hopping on a plane right now, or a train, or my bike. I want to lick my screen and jump for joy and maybe send you a crack bunny to fuel your genius! And on top of sounding amazing your pictures are gorgeous!
Hope you’re having a good weekend 🙂
Thank Sarah. I’d make you French Toast any day of the week.
The pic before your recipe directions is so pretty! I just love it. I rarely make pancakes or french toast. It’s just not my thing. I love making fritatta or quiche.
Thanks so much. The ingredient picture is actually my favorite of the bunch.
I’m a huge frittata or quiche girl myself. Good stuff.
Hi Meghan, this plate of french toast looks delicious! Lovely photos, too!
Thanks; I appreciate it.
Oh wow…this looks fabulous. I could eat this all day!! I love how you have the oranges and blueberries arranged so pretty on the absolutely delicious sounding French toast! Wonderful post…great recipe! 🙂 I look forward to catching up on your blog!
It’s all about the presentation! Actually good flavor helps too. 😉
Thanks for swinging by and saying hello. 🙂
A recipe that I can eat, exactly as it is! Oh my goodness this is so exciting.
I just had lunch, and am still drooling over this recipe. The way you described it… Oh my goodness, I could just smell it cooking. Honestly, I might have just momentarily entered a reverie of a sunny Saturday morning with this on the menu. That must happen soon! Thanks for bringing this to the party!
I’m thrilled to hear that and be a part of the party. Thanks for stopping by and saying hi. I love hearing from new people. 🙂
Oh god this is delicious. Just as I saw your pics I knew I had to have them. You know they remind me of dunkin d coconut munchkins, but sooooo much better and healthy!!! Love them!!!! I’m not done eating and I cannot wait for tomorrow’s breakfast for leftovers. Thanks!!!
Yeah! I’m thrilled to hear you loved it as much as me. Next time, I need to make enough to have leftovers. I like that. You were thinking ahead.
What a warm recipe :).
Thanks.
“The end result is a bite that is warm, soft and chewy on the inside with a light, crackling exterior, bathed in hints of citrus.” <- Seriously woman!?! You are KILL-IN meeeee! I'll not only be your next house guest, but I'll be your live in maid/cook/entertainment/whatever the heck you want as long as I get to eat your food! And ahem, buttered maple syrup!?!? Yeah, I think I just orgasmed! Lol
Glad to hear I can still get you going. 😉
You need to take another trip to Cleveland and stay with me this time. We’ll while away the days in the kitchen, drinking mimosas, running around the park, eating delicious treats, lots of veggies, and watching bad television.
Oh girl…you ARE tempting me!!!
OH MY GOSHHHHHH. Just saw this on Amanda’s link-up today and holy yumm I need to make this goodness ASAP! It’s like all of my favorite flavors rolled into one meal….
Thanks Kat. Great minds think alike huh? Especially when it comes to blueberries and oranges. It’s such a fantastic combination!!