Um, could you die just looking at this stack of heaven?
I cannot get enough of this Blood Orange and Vanilla Bean French Toast. I was lucky enough to be able to test these out on some houseguests a while back and I’m just now getting around to posting them! By houseguests, I mean family. Daniel’s cousin Nate, his best man and one of the best people you will ever meet, and his wife Chelsey, his equal. They drive up to see us from California a couple times a year and it’s always great.
They love going to new places to eat, adventuring in Portland, and thrift shopping like crazy. We always have a ton of fun when they are here! Plus, they are awesome at testing out recipes and being awesome sports when I ask them to sprinkle powdered sugar while I take a picture.
Now, more than ever, I’m looking for ways to add some vitamin C to every meal that I make. The sun has gone MIA, people. I don’t function well basically I’m a hot mess without sunlight. So, I saturate my recipes with lemon, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries and anything that has a high concentration of vitamin C. I haven’t gone as far as eating sauerkraut yet, but if this winter is as bad as last year, it might come to that.
This Blood Orange and Vanilla Bean French toast is so good. And really, it can be any kind of orange you have on hand. I have a little trick for all of you out there who are thinking, “I don’t want to spend half of my grocery budget on buying a vanilla bean.” It’s called “vanilla bean paste.” I use the Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste and it’s super affordable for all the tiny little vanilla beans you get! I buy it non-stop since 1 vanilla bean is like a trillion dollars.
These little guys literally take no time at all to whip up, so they are perfect for a big family or hosting a brunch. But let’s be honest, it’s a breakfast for dinner kind of recipe too. BFD is where it’s at!
[sp_recipe]
PrintBlood Orange and Vanilla Bean French Toast
This super simple recipe for Blood Orange and Vanilla Bean French Toast is great for a big crowd or just a simple Saturday breakfast at home!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 servings 1x
Ingredients
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean
1 blood orange, zest of
pinch of salt
1 bag Texas toast
3 tablespoons butter
|| Syrup ||
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean
1 blood orange, juice of
1 cup water
|| Garnishes ||
Whipped cream
Pomegranate arils
Blood oranges, thinly sliced crosswise
Powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla bean paste or the scraping from one vanilla bean, and the blood orange zest. Place a large frying pan over medium heat and add enough butter to coat the bottom of the pan. Dip both sides of the Texas toast into the egg mixture and place in the frying pan. Flip once it turns golden brown. About 3-5 minutes on each side.
|| Syrup || Whisk sugar and corn starch in a small saucepan until smooth. Juice the blood orange into the sugar mixture, and add water and vanilla bean paste or scrapings from a vanilla bean. Whisk over medium heat until it has thickened to a syrup consistency, about 5-10 minutes. Drizzle over the prepared toast. Garnish with whipped cream, pomegranate arils, thin slices of orange, and powdered sugar if desired.
Keywords: blood orange, french toast, pomegranate, recipe, vanilla bean
This looks so delicious, and the photos are so beautifully set up!
Thank you, Bethany!
This french toast is absolutely gorgeous! I love how you set up the shoot, and the flavors sound fabulous. Yum!
Thank you, Valenina. I was happy how they turned out 🙂
Love this recipe and the pictures look great too.
Thanks!!!!!! 🙂
Blood oranges aren’t in season right now but I would SO love to make this over the weekend when we have special out of town guests coming. Do you think this would be as tasty with regular oranges or any other citrus?
Definitely!!!! I’m obsessed with citrus! Even if you used the zest of both orange and lemon would be I’d say go for it!
I’m gonna go for it! Thanks! You gave me the encouragement I wanted. 😉
One more question… I was going to make my own no-knead bread for this. Do you think that would work rather than “Texas toast” (I don’t know what that is).
You should use a softer bread than a no knead bread. Using croissants would be delish!! Texas toast is just an eggy bread that’s cut thicker. Hope that helps! I’m craving no knead bread now!!