Freezing and Reheating French Toast Instructions

French toast, also known as ‘eggy bread’ in the UK, is one of those dishes that is easy to put together, quick to whip up, and can be mixed with a wide range of other ingredients to make a wide range of dinners, breakfasts, lunches, and even desserts. (Freezing and reheating French toast is super simple, too!)

In fact, French toast might just be the best thing you learn how to make this year – and when you do, you’ll learn how to use up a few of those kitchen ingredients that you always seem to throw away, such as eggs and bread.

Shall we investigate?

Freezing and Reheating French Toast – Can You Do It?

Yes, you absolutely can freeze French toast.

In order to do so safely and properly, you will need the following things:

• Freezer bags or airtight containers
• Aluminium foil
• Greaseproof paper (optional)
• Permanent marker

How to Freeze French Toast

French toast is best frozen once it has been cooked. So, if you have some eggs and bread to use up, you could make a batch load of French toast and then freeze whatever doesn’t get eaten, for consumption later on. You can remove them from the freezer and serve them to hungry stomachs in just a few minutes.

Once the French toast has been cooked, place it on a wire rack on the counter-top, preferably with a cover. You should let the toast cool down to room temperature before you pop it in the freezer.

Do not put anything on top of the cooked French toast as it cools, including icing (or other types of) sugar.

Image by annaj from Pixabay

Once cool enough, move the French toast into whatever containers or bags you have chosen. It is better to freeze the toast in individual portion sizes so that you only get out what you want to eat and keep wastage to a minimum.

You can add multiple pieces of French toast to a single bag or container, but you will want to make sure they are separated in some way. You could wrap each piece in foil, then put multiple pieces into a Tupperware tub, for example.

If you are adding two pieces for one portion size, it is still recommended to have them not touching as they freeze. If you can’t individually wrap them, you could always use something like greaseproof paper to keep them separated.

At the very minimum, wrap French toast in enough foil to keep it properly covered. Two wrappings of foil are preferred. You will want to protect the toast from the elements as well as making its foil container airtight.

Before you throw that French toast in the freezer, write what it is on plus a couple of dates on the front of it – the date of freezing, plus the date you should decide to eat it up or throw it away. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bunch of unknown stuff in bags in the freezer and you won’t know whether or not they are safe to eat.

How Long Does French Toast Last in the Freezer?

You should aim to eat French toast within 2 months (8 weeks) of putting it in the freezer.

After that, the quality of the dish will decrease.

As it says on Healthline:

“Cooked egg dishes should be thawed and reheated within 2-3 months.”

Should You Defrost French Toast Before You Reheat It?

No, you should not defrost or thaw out French toast before you reheat it.

If you do that, your toast is likely to turn to mush before it even hits the pan.

French toast is best taken from the freezer and placed straight into the toaster, oven, or however else you plan to reheat it.

How to Reheat Frozen French Toast

When you get your French toast out of the freezer, remove it from whatever container or wrapping you put it in.

You can reheat frozen French toast in a number of ways, including:

• in the toaster
• in the a pre-heated oven
• in the microwave
• using a skillet-style pan on the hob

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

The quickest way to reheat frozen French toast is…

…in the microwave.

In just a few seconds, your toast will be steaming hot and ready to garnish and eat. Start by microwaving it for 15 to 20 seconds, then do another round of 15-20 seconds if it isn’t quite hot enough the first time.

Microwaving French toast will not be crispy, but it will be very hot, soft, and ready in a flash.

The easiest way to reheat frozen French toast to make it crispy is…

…in the oven.

But you will need to pre-heat it to gas mark 4 (350 F / 175 C) for around 10 to 15 minutes before you put the French toast in.

Because of this, I recommend turning the oven on, pre-heating it, then getting the French toast out of the freezer. You’d be surprised just how mushy it can go in the few minutes you’re waiting for the oven to pre-heat.

When the oven is pre-heated, place your frozen French toast pieces in a single layer on an oven tray. To start with, you will want to make sure the toast is covered in foil.

Put the tray in the middle of the oven for around 8 to 10 minutes, then remove the foil and give the French toast another quick flash of 3 to 5 minutes. The last part, without the foil, is what will give you the crispy finish.

The riskiest way to reheat frozen French toast is…

…in the toaster.

It can be a rather messy job when you use the toaster, especially if the toast starts to fall apart. You can’t use the toaster if you’ve put any kind of extra ingredient on the toast either, such as icing (or other types of) sugar.

The good news about using the toaster to reheat frozen French toast is that you can keep your eye on the toast, and have it cooked to exact crispiness in just a couple of minutes.

The best way to reheat frozen French toast (in my experience) is in a skillet-style pan. In exactly the same way you made the French toast in the first place, you should reheat it.

You will want to start by getting the pan and starting up the stove. Throw some butter, oil, or whatever it is you like to cook your French toast in, in the pan. Let it get hot enough to melt and start to sizzle, then add your frozen French toast.

It is best to reheat the toast over a low-to-medium heat, so that they get a chance to properly defrost and heat up all the way through. If you have a lid you can safely use over the skillet, add it at the beginning of cooking and then take it off about two-thirds of the way in. This will enable it to cook in the middle (and soften up) while allowing the outside to get just the right amount of crispy (and not burnt).

Photo by Crystal Jo on Unsplash

Easy French Toast Extras

When you have finished reheating your French toast and it is hot all the way through, transfer it to a plate and then get creative with your toppings.

You could eat the toast as-is, of course, but I personally like mine with a sprinkling or icing sugar. You could also use caster sugar or granulated sugar, or even brown sugar. I recommend experimenting with different types of sugar and seeing which one is your favourite.

I also really enjoy eating French toast with strawberries and other fruits, cream, ice cream, chocolate ice cream topping, chocolate spread, peanut butter, and much more.

You can even have your French toast savoury rather than sweet. That’s the beauty of what we always called “eggy bread” in my household, growing up: it’s such a versatile dish that can be easily built upon.

In fact, here are some of my favourite French toast and toppings recipes, if you want to try them out for yourself: