We all have that experience of having leftover food that can go for two-three more sittings. Perhaps a couple of good slices of French toast.
It’s one of those dishes that tastes just as good—if not better—when you eat it the second time. But can you reheat French toast? One might ask.
Well, Yes. Or should I say, Bien sûr! However, reheating French toast relies on the fact that you’ve prepared and stored it correctly.
How to Reheat French Toast
French toast is a popular food for breakfast. Not only because it’s easy to make but because you can prepare a good portion that you can keep for many more breakfasts throughout the week.
But how exactly do you reheat French toast? There are many ways to choose. Below is a list of popular methods to recook this tasty meal.
1 – Through the Microwave
For those who are living life in the fast lane, the microwave is the way to go. With a microwavable plate, set a slice of French toast on it.
Covered with a moderately wet paper towel on top, place it inside the microwave. Set the timer to 20–30 seconds, and wait for the ding.
Once done, carefully take your food out and enjoy your carbohydrate-rich meal (don’t forget to throw the damp paper towel first, it surely won’t add to the tastiness).
When you add multiple slices together, make sure that they don’t overlap to avoid creating uneven reheating of your toast.
2 – Using the Air Fryer
If you want your French toast to have a bit of crispiness, reheating your delicious bread using an air fryer is a perfect choice. It’s easy to use and fast too.
Prepare some slices of the French toast you want to reheat. Place them neatly on the fryer’s basket (once again, no overlap).
Air fryers usually have preset settings for different dishes. You can, however, manually set the time and temperature for the best result.
Set the heat to 185°C (365°F) for 2–3 minutes. Give it a go, and you’ll have your French toast in no time.
Depending on your palate, adding a little butter to each slice before putting them in the fryer can make a difference.
3 – Using a Toaster Oven
Reheating using a toaster oven is another excellent way to have crispy French toast. Plus, it’s convenient and quick.
Prepare your sliced French toast by wrapping it with parchment paper—the heat-proof and non-stick paper commonly used in baking.
Place it on the toaster tray and set it on intense heat for a minimum of 90 seconds. You can add another 20 seconds if, in your estimation, it needs more time.
Be mindful, though, and don’t overheat, or your French toast might have a charcoal flavor.
4 – Using a Frypan on a Stove
Perhaps the most generic and traditional way of reheating French toast is using a frypan on a stove.
Unlike the previous methods, where there’s the convenience of using a timer, a frypan on a stovetop is like a granny’s classic.
Warm up the pan to medium heat (375°F) to reheat your French toast in this timeless style.
Dissolve some butter (you can also use olive oil) on the heated pan and gently place a sliced French toast for a minute or two.
Turn over the other side and spend another minute. Watch until the sides turn brown. Take your delectable French toast from the skillet, and enjoy it.
How to Reheat Frozen French Toast
There are many reasons why freezing your French toast is an excellent way of preserving it. A frozen French toast can last up to two months and still be tasty afterward when reheated.
Yet how do you reheat a frozen French toast?
It’s not that complicated, actually. You don’t even need to thaw your bread, unlike meat.
French toast is easy to reheat, whatever way you choose to heat it, given the options mentioned above.
If you’re going to use the oven, preheat it to 350°F before you put in the French toast. When it’s ready, place the bread inside and heat it for 10–12 minutes.
If you’re going to use the air fryer, preheat it to 180°C (356°F). Once the fryer is ready, put the French toast inside it and air fry for 4–5 minutes.
Using the stovetop, preheat the frypan to low heat. Once the pan is ready, place the frozen French toast and let the low heat do the job.
It’s important to note that you shouldn’t directly use high heat with a stovetop. The frozen French toast will burn on the outside and still be cold inside.
How to Keep the French Toast Warm and Crispy
Reheating your French toast is one thing. Keeping it warm and crispy is quite another. Consequently, how do you keep your French toast warm and crisp?
- One way to achieve this is to use a preheated pan and let your toast sit on it.
- The same idea is applicable to using a toaster oven. Preheat the oven and store your toast inside it.
- You can also use aluminum foil to wrap your toast with it, and then shroud it with a towel.
- Simply employ an insulation bag.
How to Store French Toast for Future Reheating
Here’s how to store French toast properly so it still tastes great when you reheat it:
Save by Batch
After you bake your French toast, let it cool down (don’t store freshly cooked toast in the fridge while it’s still hot).
Lay a batch on a baking pan. Once you reckon the number of the first batch, cover them with parchment paper.
Stack a different set on top of the first batch. Then cover it also with parchment paper. Finally, use another baking pan to cover all the French toast.
Wrap the whole group of French toast tightly using heavy-duty aluminum foil, and place it inside an insulation bag.
Keep it inside the freezer. Avoid storing it with other stuff that could potentially give it an odor.
Save by Portion Using a Vacuum Sealer
Put a portion (1 meal size) of French toast inside a plastic bag.
Using a vacuum sealer, take the air out of the bag. This seals and protects the French toast from freezer burn and contaminants.
Repeat the process until you have all your French toast packed. Use aluminum foil to wrap each portion. Lastly, store them neatly inside the freezer.
This arrangement is a lot easier as you only have to get one part at a time to reheat without unpacking an entire bag.
You also won’t have to worry about your slice of toast incurring odor as each one is vacuum-sealed.
Storing french toast using a vacuum sealer is much preferable compared to the methods.
Batter-Soaked and Frozen
This type of storing French toast is unique from the first two. You’re not going to freeze the baked toast. Instead, you are going to keep batter-soaked bread.
Soak a batch of bread into the mix and neatly arrange them into a baking pan brushed with oil. Rapid freeze them for an hour then place the batch into an airtight container.
If you plan to have French toast for breakfast the next morning, take a toast from the batch and leave it in the fridge overnight to defrost.
This process also protects your toast from contamination in contrast when defrosting it outside the fridge.
You can use a microwave or oven to cook the French toast. Or you can do it the old way using a frying pan with melted butter. It’ll only take 4–5 minutes.
Final Thoughts
Can you reheat French toast? Of course!
It’s one of those dishes that taste just as good—if not better—when you eat them the second time, especially if you know how to reheat them right. But that primarily requires that you know how to store them well.
Bon appétit!
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.