Start your special day with this adorable heart-shaped French toast! It’s a playful twist on a classic breakfast favorite, perfect for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion. This easy-to-make recipe will quickly become a new family favorite that both kids and adults will adore!
Valentine’s Day French Toast Recipe
It’s amazing how a heart-shaped cookie cutter can make a great recipe even more exciting! The heart shape adds a little fun and playfulness, which is especially fun on Valentine’s Day.
Kids particularly love this recipe for heart shaped French toast, so it’s a great way to make sure the whole family starts the day with delicious food in their bellies!
Why We Love This Heart-Shaped French Toast
- So easy to make: Simply press the cookie cutter into the bread, then soak the bread slices in the egg mixture and griddle. French toast is always one of those recipes that comes together faster than you’d expect!
- Fun & versatile: This Valentine’s Day French toast is so fun! My family loved that you can serve just the hearts or use the outside piece of heart-shaped bread to make a secret pocket to place berries or other toppings.
- Great for brunch: Whether you like to serve a special breakfast on Valentine’s morning or want to share a little love for Mother’s Day, this easy breakfast recipe is great for any special occasion!
Ingredient Notes
- Bread: Use either whole grain or sub in your favorite bread. Stale bread will give you the best texture!
- Eggs: These give you that classic French toast crust and keep the bread from becoming too soft.
- Milk: Choose your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk to saturate the slices of bread.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a cozy scent and flavor that’s extra delicious.
- Vanilla extract: Add a little vanilla or almond extract to make this Valentine French toast recipe smell amazing.
- Heart shaped cookie cutter: This isn’t an ingredient, but you’ll need this to make this heart French toast!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare Heart French Toast
- Lay the bread on a flat surface and cut a large heart out of the center of each piece with a cookie cutter.
- In a wide, shallow dish, whisk together the eggs with the milk, cinnamon, vanilla and salt until combined.
- Dip each bread heart into the egg mixture and allow it to absorb for a minute, using a fork to gently prick each slice. Flip the hearts and repeat with the remaining side.
- Lightly grease a large griddle or skillet with butter or cooking spray and heat over medium low heat, 350 degrees F if using a griddle. Add the bread hearts to the pan or griddle and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the bread develops a golden, brown crust. Flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes until the opposite side is golden brown. If it’s browning too quickly on the outside, turn the heat down and continue cooking until cooked through.
Step 2: Soak and Cook Remaining Bread Slices
- Soak the remaining bread slices that you removed the heart from in the egg mixture until coated. Cook on each side until golden brown.
Step 3: Serve and Enjoy!
- Remove from heat and serve with desired toppings.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Recipe Tips:
- If the egg mixture starts to drift from the bread when you place it in the pan to cook, just push it back into the edge of the bread with a spatula to maintain the shape of the heart.
- Use two hands to hold the soaked bread with the cutout when transferring to the pan to prevent it from breaking since it will be delicate after absorbing the egg mixture.
- For a nice presentation, I like to serve this French toast with mixed berries inside the heart cut out, with the heart slice of French toast on the side. You can also just serve the French toast hearts if desired.
- If preferred, you can soak the whole piece of bread in the egg mixture, cook it and then use the cookie cutter to cut out the heart after it’s cooked.
- For this recipe, we used whole grain Texas toast, since it’s thicker and sturdier than regular sandwich bread.
- Don’t soak the bread for too long or it may turn out soggy. Instead, soak it for about 30 seconds on each side.
- Old bread is best for French toast! Although it may seem a little dried out, it will soften back up in the milk mixture and have the perfect texture without becoming too soft.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend using slightly stale whole grain bread because it contains extra fiber and typically less sugar. This means it will stick with you longer without giving you as much of a blood sugar spike. Technically, you can use any sliced bread. Sourdough, French bread, Texas toast, challah, and regular white bread will all work!
You definitely can make French toast ahead of time if you need to! Freshly cooked French toast has a slightly different texture, and it can be a little softer after reheating. For best results, reheat it in a large skillet or griddle to make it taste fresh.
French toast is known for being a decadent breakfast option, not necessarily a healthy one, and for good reason. It’s usually made with white bread, which doesn’t have much fiber to keep you full, and we tend to slather it with lots of syrup and other sweet toppings. It tends to be high in carbohydrates, fat, and sugar without nearly enough protein or fiber.
However, not every recipe has to be that way! You can easily make a few simple switches to make your French toast more nutritious. For example, use a high fiber whole grain bread and serve it with lots of fresh berries with just a little bit of maple syrup. To make it healthier, skip the extra butter on top and avoid the powdered sugar. Of course, everything is good in moderation! It’s okay to enjoy it just the way you like it every once in a while.
Storage Guidelines
Allow any leftover French toast to cool to room temperature for up to 2 hours, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat, either microwave it for 1-2 minutes or rewarm it in a hot pan for 2-3 minutes.
Optional Toppings
There are so many delicious toppings for French toast! From fresh fruits and berries to saucy syrups, French toast pairs very well with sweet and fruity flavors. These are some of my favorite toppings for a healthy breakfast!
- Lots of fresh strawberries and blueberries
- Drizzle of maple syrup
- Lightly sweetened yogurt
- Strawberry cream cheese crepe filling
- Warm berry sauces
- Strawberry chia jam
- Peanut butter and honey
- Whipped cream
- A sprinkle of cinnamon
- Fresh fruits
Serving Suggestions
To make this heart-shaped French toast part of a balanced meal, consider pairing it with recipes high in fiber or protein!
This Raspberry Banana Protein Smoothie has both fruit and protein, and the pink color would look great with your French toast! Homemade Fruit On the Bottom Yogurt or Valentine’s Fruit Kabobs, would be a great option too!
For even more protein, try these easy egg recipes:
Recipe Variations
- Add extra protein: Use your cookie cutters to make hearts out of this high protein French toast!
- Try different shapes: You can follow this same recipe using different cookie cutters! Try making flowers, stars, or any other bread shapes.
- Make stuffed French toast: Add a mixture of whipped cream cheese, fresh strawberries, and a little honey between two of the little French toast hearts for a creamy, flavorful treat!
More Similar Recipes
- Healthy Valentine’s Day Snacks
- How to Make Strawberry Hearts
- Jam Heart Thumbprint Cookies
- Raspberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Heart Egg Toast
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Heart-Shaped French Toast – Perfect for Valentine’s!
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick whole grain or preferred bread
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk or milk alternative
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Heart shaped cookie cutter
Instructions
- Lay the bread on a flat surface and cut a large heart out of the center of each piece with a cookie cutter.
- In a wide, shallow dish, whisk together the eggs with the milk, cinnamon, vanilla and salt until combined.
- Dip each bread heart into the egg mixture and allow it to absorb for about 30 seconds, using a fork to gently prick each slice. Flip the hearts and repeat with the remaining side.
- Lightly grease a large griddle or skillet with coconut oil, butter or cooking spray and heat over medium low heat, 350 degrees F if using a griddle. Add the bread hearts to the pan or griddle and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the bread develops a golden, brown crust. Flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes until the opposite side is golden brown. If it's browning too quickly on the outside, turn the heat down and continue cooking until cooked through.
- Soak the remaining bread slices that you removed the heart from in the egg mixture until coated. Cook on each side until golden brown.
- Remove from heat and serve with desired toppings.
Notes
- If the egg mixture starts to drift from the bread when you place it in the pan to cook, just push it back into the edge of the bread with a spatula to maintain the shape of the heart.
- Use two hands to hold the soaked bread with the cutout when transferring to the pan to prevent it from breaking since it will be delicate after absorbing the egg mixture.
- For a nice presentation, I like to serve this French toast with mixed berries inside the heart cut out, with the heart slice of French toast on the side. You can also just serve the French toast hearts if desired.
- If preferred, you can soak the whole piece of bread in the egg mixture, cook it and then use the cookie cutter to cut out the heart after it’s cooked.
- For this recipe, we used whole grain Texas toast, since it’s thicker and sturdier than regular sandwich bread.
- Don’t soak the bread for too long or it may turn out soggy. Instead, soak it for about 30 seconds on each side.
- Old bread is best for French toast! Although it may seem a little dried out, it will soften back up in the milk mixture and have the perfect texture without becoming too soft.
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