A must-make for your next weekend brunch, this Bananas Foster French Toast is rich, perfectly sweet, and just a little boozy from a hit of dark rum.
If you were to ask me about my favorite breakfast foods on any given day, I’d almost always skew savory over sweet. For someone who bakes at least once a week, I have almost no sweet tooth. When I bake, I usually eat one of whatever I make and give the rest away to friends and family.
So when it comes to breakfast, I’d pick a frittata, a slice of quiche, or a good ol’ fashioned plate of (turkey) bacon and eggs over pancakes, waffles, or French toast. But sometimes… Sometimes I get an insatiable craving for those sweet breakfast standbys, and nothing else will do. Enter this Bananas Foster French Toast.
Yes, it’s true: this French toast is good enough to convert even me, the staunchest of savory breakfast lovers. It’s got an unexpected twist of orange zest that cuts through all that sweetness to deliver some much-needed zing, plus those BANANAS.
The key to getting those perfect golden-brown bananas is a hot, hot pan.
Let that pan heat up alllll the way before you add in your banana slices one at a time. I find it also helps to use bananas that are just barely ripe, without many brown spots. These bananas will hold their shape better when cooked.
And one more thing: I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend adding that shot of dark rum to the mix. It makes a huge difference in flavor, and that hit of booziness is what makes bananas foster really special.
More crowd-pleasing breakfast recipes:
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
Herby Avocado Egg Salad Bagel Sandwiches
Did you make this French toast recipe? Don’t forget to share a photo on Instagram and tag me @emily.eats.things!
PrintBananas Foster French Toast
A must-make for your next weekend brunch, this Bananas Foster French Toast is rich, perfectly sweet, and just a little boozy from a hit of dark rum.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the French toast:
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, from about 1 large orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter, for cooking
- 4 thick slices white bread, preferably slightly stale
- Maple syrup, for serving
For the bananas:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium bananas, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, from about 1 large orange
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons dark rum, optional, but highly recommended
Instructions
- Make the French toast: In a shallow bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, orange zest, vanilla, and cinnamon. Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. While the pan is heating up, dip each slice of bread, one at a time, into the egg mixture, letting each side soak for at least 10 seconds. Cook for 5–6 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Keep finished slices on a plate covered with aluminum foil to stay warm while you make the bananas.
- Make the caramelized bananas: In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, orange juice, and rum, if using. Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, add bananas and cook for about a minute on each side, or until they start to get brown and crystallized on the edges. Remove the bananas to a plate, then carefully add the orange juice mixture to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced. Remove from heat and toss the bananas with the orange-rum caramel.
- Serve: Divide the French toast between two plates and top each portion with bananas and caramel. Serve with a little drizzle of maple syrup, if desired.
Made this recipe? Leave a comment!