French toast is one of my favorite breakfast dishes, if I’m craving sweetness. There is something about a slice of bread that has a fluffy, almost custard-like, inside with a crisp outside. Bagels, with their slightly denser nature, have a great propensity to absorb the batter and make a wonderful version of French toast.
When you have bagels lingering in your refrigerator or bread box, give this recipe a try.
The original post from May 2014
Sometimes buying a new or different food item doesn’t go as well as planned. For example, my husband bought banana bread bagels. We all like banana bread, and he and the kids eat bagels occasionally for breakfast. However, after a week of them being in the refrigerator, there was only one missing from the package. Why did so many bagels remain?
First, my husband enjoyed the one bagel he had but apparently seemed to forget about them. Second, for whatever reason, our teens decided that although they like banana bread and bagels, they preferred them separate, thank you very much. (Also, maybe they’ve been spoiled by access to homemade bagels.) Third, I don’t typically eat bagels. So, we now had five bagels hanging out, waiting to be eaten or tossed.
I am not one for wasting food, so I considered what could be done with these fine baked goods, and it occurred to me that the best way to get them eaten was to repurpose them. All of us are fans of french toast, so why not use sliced bagels instead of bread? Apparently, this was something I should have considered sooner; the bagels disappeared quickly in this form!
A couple notes on the recipe- You can slice the bagels either vertically or horizontally. It is easier to slice them vertically, but you will have many more small pieces to dip and cook. It is more difficult to slice them horizontally, but there will be fewer pieces to dip and cook. In the end, both take about the same amount of time; it’s a matter of deciding whether you’d rather spend more time slicing or dipping.
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 bagels, sliced thin
- butter
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- In a bowl wide enough to fit your bagel slices, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla.
- Heat frying pan or griddle over medium heat.
- Coat bottom of pan with butter.
- Dip bagel slice in egg mixture, coating both sides.
- Place in frying pan.
- Repeat with other slices until pan is full but not crowded.
- Cook for approximately one minute (or until golden brown), then flip.
- Cook for an additional minute.
- Transfer to a serving plate.
- Repeat with remaining slices.
- While french toast is cooking, combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- After slices are placed on serving platter, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Serve with butter and maple syrup.
- (If french toast isn’t being eaten immediately, cover plate loosely with foil and place in a 200° oven.)
