Bananas Foster French Toast

This easy Bananas Foster French Toast recipe is a fun, decadent marriage of breakfast and dessert. It features slices of eggy bread in a rum-spiked, sticky-sweet bananas foster sauce. This French toast is a real treat – perfect for a special occasion brunch!

Easy Bananas Foster French Toast Recipe

This Bananas Foster French Toast recipe is such a treat! It combines two classics – French toast breakfast and bananas foster dessert – into one decadent dish. You’ll love the cinnamon and nutmeg-infused French toast batter that coats each slice of eggy bread in cozy flavor. And the bananas foster sauce, with its warmly-spiced maple syrup and rum base, takes this over the top. Toasted pecans are a beautiful salty, crunchy finish – but you can totally leave them off if you like!

What’s to Love About This French Toast

There’s good French toast. And then there’s reeeeeeeeally good French toast. And this decadent French toast recipe definitely falls into the latter category! Here’s why I love it:

• Extra special. This is not your average weekday morning French toast. No – this is exceptional French toast, fit for a special occasion brunch. (But yay-for-you if you want to enjoy it on a Wednesday morning!)
• So cozy. There are multiple layers of coziness going on in this dish – from the soft eggy bread, to the warm spices in the batter and sauce, to the sweet & sticky caramelized bananas. It’s like a big hug!
• Classic flavors…without the fire! The classic bananas foster dessert, born in New Orleans in the 1950’s, features flambéed rum. My easy recipe skips the step of setting the bananas on fire, to give home cooks an easy recipe that still features those classic flavors.

Recipe Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this French toast recipe. Scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.

For the French Toast

• Milk – I recommend whole milk or 2% milk.
• Heavy cream – This gives wonderful richness to the French toast batter. You can use half & half if you want to lighten-up, just know that it won’t be quite as decadent.
• Eggs – Three eggs plus an additional egg yolk add rich flavor and texture.
• Brown sugar – This adds sweetness with deeper flavor that plays so well with the warm spices.
• Ground spices – Cinnamon and nutmeg are beautiful additions, super lovely with bananas.
• Vanilla bean paste – Or substitute pure vanilla extract.
• Salt – Just a little bit offers a touch of contrast to the sweetness.
• Rum – I prefer a dark spiced rum in this recipe for extra flavor.
• Challah – This egg-based bread gives extra richness and excellent texture. My next choice would be brioche. Or Texas Toast works, too.
• Butter – For beautiful richness.

For the Bananas Foster

• Butter – Provides a rich base for the sauce.
• Brown sugar – For warmly flavored sweetness.
• Ground spices – Cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Maple syrup – Be sure to use pure maple syrup, rather than maple-flavored syrup.
• Hot water – To thin out the sauce a bit.
• Rum – This is an essential ingredient to the original, classic recipe, as the alcohol is what allows the dish to be set on fire. While my recipe does not include igniting the sauce, I still like the flavor that the dark, spiced rum adds to this dish.
• Bananas – Choose bananas that are yellow and ripe, that still have some firmness to them (not mushy).
• Pecans – This is an optional but recommended addition. I use roasted, salted pecans (I love the ones from Trader Joe’s!).

How to Make Bananas Foster French Toast

I’ve outlined my method for making bananas foster French toast below. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card lower down.

• Make the French toast batter. Add the batter ingredients to a low, wide mixing bowl or dish. Whisk together to incorporate.

• Dip. Dip each bread slice in the egg mixture, turning to coat both sides of each slice very well.
• Cook. Melt a little butter in a skillet. Cook the dipped bread until cooked through and golden brown on both sides.

• Make the bananas foster sauce. Melt the butter and add the sugar and spices. Then add the maple syrup, hot water, and spiced rum. Cook until thickened slightly.

• Add bananas. Fold in the sliced bananas and (optional) nuts.

• Serve! Spoon the banana fosters sauce over the French toast. If desired, garnish with additional nuts and/or cinnamon

Tips & Variations

Here are a few easy tips and variation suggestions to help you make the perfect bananas foster French toast:

• Soak the bread longer. If you let the bread soak in the batter for 30-60 seconds on each side, this will let the bread absorb more of the egg & cream mixture – making it more flavorful and tender.
• Use ‘just’ ripe bananas. You want to use bananas that are perfectly ripe. No green to the peel. No brown spots on the peel. If you use bananas that are overly ripe, the slices will get mushy and break down in the sauce.
• Add orange zest. Fresh citrus is a lovely addition to French toast batter. Add the zest of one orange to the batter before you dip the bread.
• Go nuts! Crunchy, toasted, salted pecans add a wonderful textural contrast to the soft toast. You could also use chopped, toasted walnuts.
• Try different spices. Add a bit of ground ginger for a different flavor note. You can also add a pinch of cloves, or substitute pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice for the ground spices, to add a seasonal flavor.
• Don’t want to use rum? Dark spiced rum is essential for a true bananas foster. However, if you want to make this without alcohol, try using a bit of rum extract or vanilla extract instead. It’s still going to taste delicious!
• Swap in bourbon. Make this a bourbon bananas foster French toast by replacing the spiced rum with bourbon.
• Use a different bread. While I do prefer to use challah or brioche, Texas Toast or a large soft French loaf also work well.

Serving Suggestions

Serve bananas foster French toast for a holiday brunch or any other celebratory brunching occasion. You could even present this for dessert! Here are some suggestions for how to serve this dish:

• Alongside savory brunch dishes. Serve this sweet celebratory French toast alongside a savory cottage cheese egg bake and hashbrown casserole.
• With fruit. My mojito fruit salad or pineapple fruit salad would be a great side. Or just offer a bowl of fresh berries.
• Other brunch favorites. Serve this decadent bananas foster French toast recipe with other classic brunch dishes like buttermilk pancakes, blueberry waffles, or my grandma’s blueberry muffins.
• Drinks. Don’t forget to serve some coffee, such as a creamy lavender latte, a cortadito, or iced oatmilk shaken espresso. In the fall, a homemade pumpkin cold brew is super fun. Or serve cold glasses of strawberry milk with a big platter of French toast.
• As dessert. Mix things up and serve this dish for dessert! Add dollops of lightly sweetened cream or scoops of vanilla ice cream. Or add extra caramel flavor with scoops of salted caramel ice cream!

How to Store Leftovers

Bananas foster French toast will always have the best flavor and texture when enjoyed right away. But, if you have any leftovers you can definitely enjoy them again. Here’s what to do with any leftover French toast:

• Fridge – Place leftover slices of bananas foster French toast and topping in separate airtight containers and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• To Reheat – Reheat the French toast in the microwave in 20-second intervals, until hot to your liking.

More Breakfast Recipes To Try

• Double Chocolate Pancakes
• Homemade Almond Coconut Granola
• Yeast Waffles
• Overnight Baked Apple Oatmeal

Bananas Foster French Toast

Yield: 4 servings

prep time: 20 minutes mins

cook time: 20 minutes mins

total time: 40 minutes mins

This easy Bananas Foster French Toast recipe is a fun, decadent marriage of breakfast and dessert. It features slices of eggy bread in a rum-spiked, sticky-sweet bananas foster sauce. This French toast is a real treat – perfect for a special occasion brunch!

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Ingredients

For the French Toast:

• 2 cups milk
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• ⅛ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon dark spiced rum
• 8 slices (¾" to 1" thick) challah or brioche bread, or Texas Toast bread, or a large soft French loaf
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Bananas Foster Sauce:

• ⅓ cup unsalted butter
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons hot water
• ¼ cup dark spiced rum
• 3 large ripe yet firm bananas, sliced in coins ⅜" to ½" thick
• 1 cup roasted & salted pecans, optional

Instructions

For the French Toast

• In a low, wide mixing bowl or dish, whisk milk, heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean paste, and salt until well combined and sugar has fully dissolved.
• Add spiced rum to the egg mixture and whisk to incorporate.
• Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, making sure both sides are well coated. 
• In a large non-stick skillet or on a griddle, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat.

For the Bananas Foster Sauce

• In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
• Pour in the maple syrup, hot water, and spiced rum, stirring continuously as the mixture simmers and thickens slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the stovetop.
• Gently fold the banana slices into the sauce, ensuring they are well-coated with the sauce. If using nuts, add them at this stage, stirring until they are evenly distributed.
• Spoon the warm bananas foster over the prepared French toast. Garnish with additional nuts and/or a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 Calories: 1224kcal Carbohydrates: 141g Protein: 23g Fat: 61g Saturated Fat: 24g Polyunsaturated Fat: 32g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 314mg Sodium: 602mg Fiber: 8g Sugar: 80g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.

Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!

© Brenda | A Farmgirl’s Dabbles

Cuisine: American

Course: Breakfast