Savory French Toast Recipe

Yet another way to use fresh tomatoes from your garden, try this tasty savory French toast recipe. A combination of sweet tomatoes, salty bacon and Italian spices makes for a hearty and delicious breakfast or lunch. Easy to make and a nice change of pace from sweet French toast.

You might also like this easy air fryer mushroom flatbread recipe.

I learned about savory French toast from my mother in law. She was the daughter of Italian immigrants and had many interesting recipes to share with me over the years. One such recipe was her polenta with chicken and French toast with stewed tomatoes.

I don’t eat French toast much because the bread and the sugar just make me want to take a nap. I love it but it doesn’t love me. But I like the idea of savory flavors and decided to make my own version. 

This savory French toast recipe would be great for a brunch, breakfast or lunch. And because I had a lot of fresh tomatoes from the garden I found another way to use them.

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used were Italian bread, egg, fresh garlic, bacon, half and half, Italian seasonings and grape tomatoes.

• Italian bread – I had this loaf of Italian bread and I like that it’s crusty and already sliced. However you can use any kind of bread you want. The sturdier the better but you can also use regular white bread. If you want a bit of sweetness you can use brioche.
• grape tomatoes – I used these because we had so many however you can use any ripe tomato be it cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, etc. Actually I think the larger ones would break down more and be easier to eat.
• eggs and half and half – I used this because I didn’t have any heavy cream. Either would work. You could also use whole milk or nondairy milk if you want. And the eggs are necessary. I am no aware of a way to make French toast without eggs.
• bacon – If you are vegetarian you can eliminate this but if you are not keep it in. It adds more flavor to the topping. You could substitute with Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, cananadian bacon, etc.
• fresh garlic and Italian seasoning – Fresh garlic is always better than garlic powder to me but if you have to substitute remember 1 clove equals ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder. And if you don’t have Italian seasonings you can substitute with basil, oregano, thyme or a combination of any of those.
• (optional) hot pepper flakes and grated parmesan cheese – These are both optional because I love spicy food so hence the hot pepper flakes. And the cheese adds just another bit of flavor but it’s optional.

How to make this savory French toast recipe.

Step 1: To make the topping, get out a medium size skillet and heat to medium heat. Add the bacon and get it nice and crispy. Take out and leave the grease in the pan.

Step 2: If you already have bacon made you will have to use a tablespoon of olive oil instead of the bacon grease and heat the skillet to medium heat. Add the tomatoes, Italian seasonings and crushed garlic. You can also sprinkle some salt and black pepper if you want. Or add the hot pepper flakes for more heat.

Cook for 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes start to blister and cook down.

Step 3: When you get the tomatoes to the consistency you like add in the crumbled bacon and mix well. Set aside while you make the French toast.

Step 4: Get out a clean skillet and heat to medium heat. Spray with nonstick cook spray.

Step 5: Get out a shallow bowl and whisk the egg and cream together. Take one of the bread slices and coat each side. Place in the pan and cook for a few minutes on each side. You want both sides to be golden brown. Continue with the rest of the bread slices.

Step 6: Place the finished bread and top with some of the sauteed tomatoes. You can eat this as is or sprinkle fresh graded parmesan cheese on top. If you want you can also sprinkle some fresh herbs as a garnish. Try fresh thyme, basil leaves, or parsley.

And that is all there is to it. A very simple but tasty breakfast, lunch or even dinner.

TIP: You can add a fried or poached egg on top to up the protein or make it more of a breakfast.

More savory breakfast recipes to try.

Most of the recipes I make are low carb but I have quite a few you might like. Here are some of my favorite recipes and all my breakfast recipes are here.

• smoked salmon flat bread
• homemade muesli recipe
• savory zucchini waffles
• mini savory sausage muffins (low carb)
• blueberry baked oatmeal cups
• low carb breakfast biscuits (with sausage and cheese)

TIP: This low carb tomato and bacon jam would be great for another savory French toast recipe. It has similar flavors as this recipe but had caramelized onions and doesn’t use the Italian herbs. It only requires 4 ingredients and is very easy to make. Below is what it looks like.

And there you have a savory option for your morning French toast. Or you can eat this for a quick and easy lunch. Either way I hope you like it as much as we did.