Waste Not, Want Not French Toast (And How To Freeze It)
Waste Not, Want Not French Toast: Learn how to make the BEST French Toast from leftover Hot Dog Buns or Hamburger Buns!
I hate to waste food. Now for those of you who have been reading Southern Plate for a while, I am likely sounding like a broken record on this point but I can’t help it, wasting food bothers me. Besides being delicious, that is why I love thisWaste Not, Want Not French Toast!
I’ve heard too many stories from my family about how scarce food has been in the past and children going hungry (in my family) to be able to take it for granted. I’ve mentioned a few times before but it bears repeating as it is a point which has impacted my life: I am the first generation in my family never to have known hunger.
This did not come easily, there were many times growing up when my parents would pretend they were busy while my brother, sister, and I ate so they could be sure we got enough, then they’d eat whatever was left. People have sacrificed so that I would never know hunger and I’m not about to go willy nilly tossing food in the trash when I can recycle it into something yummilicious with just a few added ingredients.
With all of the holidays and cookouts this summer, we’re all liable to have leftover buns. Rather than let them sit on the counter until they finally get thrown away, we’re going to turn them into a WOW dish. I’m not kidding on the wow part, either. This Waste Not, Want Not French Toast is TO DIE FOR. It’s so good, in fact, that I sometimes go and buy buns just to make it.
Now the ingredients are surprising but not nearly as surprising as the fact that this will likely make the best french toast you’ve ever had. The texture and flavor are absolutely perfect. This is a recipe I love to make. I take whatever hamburger or hot dog buns are going bad and whip up french toast out of all of them. What we don’t eat that day, I place on waxed paper lined baking sheets and put in the freezer until hard. Once hard, I take them off and slip them into gallon sized zipper seal bags and return to the freezer. To reheat, just place a slice in the toaster on two cycles, turning after the first one (this may vary for your toaster).
Make your own toaster french toast out of left-over Waste Not, Want Not French Toast at a fraction of the price with flavor that blows the rest out of the water. If you’d like to read how I got started (and got my family firmly addicted) with making this, check out my old post on Depression Bread Pudding, another recipe using leftover buns.
Your favorite french toast batter can work here but I’m gonna show you mine as a starting point.
I like to keep things simple. Life is complicated enough.
To make Waste Not, Want Not French Toast you’ll need: Milk, eggs, cinnamon, and two hamburger or hot dog buns.
Place eggs, milk, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Beat it ’til it cries uncle.
dip each side of your bread into the batter.
Like so.
Make sure you just dip the slices and then take them out. If you leave them sitting in there it’ll get all soggified. 🙂
Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat it to medium heat. You can also just toss some butter in it if you’d rather do that instead of the cooking spray. It depends on my level of laziness on any given day. Today, I went with the spray. I was craving a Diet Dr Pepper and didn’t want to delay that gratification any longer than necessary.
I keep my Diet Dr Peppers in my old fridge in the garage. I have to walk through the house and down a flight of steps to get to them. It is better this way. Were they nearer or more convenient, y’all wouldn’t ever hear from me as I’d be sloshed over in a corner with a straw all day.
Note: I know I am going to get a few emails (at least) today about how unhealthy Diet Dr Pepper is and all that. Y’all are so sweet and I love you for it! Its my vice, though, and I’m stickin’ with it. I don’t curse, I don’t drink, and I don’t smoke. I don’t rob banks and I’m not a terrorist. I have never done anything illegal. I don’t even litter. I always vote and I drive the speed limit. I stand up for the pledge of allegiance. I don’t wear blouses that are too low or skirts that are too high. I feed wild birds and I let squirrels sunbathe on my back porch (see below). I don’t pick flowers from public landscaping and I don’t put sugar in my cornbread (but if you do it’s fine by me). So what DO I do? I drink Diet Dr Pepper. I’m cool with that.
This is the dangdest thing I ever saw
It wasn’t dead. It was sunnin’. Flat on it’s belly, all sprawled out.
I think old Bountiful has been sharin’ a few too many pecans with old Henry.
(Henry is the name of all of our squirrels)
Wait, I had a point somewhere. Oh, yeah..
Here’s a recap.
You got:
Bank Robbers..
Litterers…
and people who curse excessively (there used to be a picture of Gordan Ramsay here).
Then there is me drinking my Diet Dr Pepper (A one a day habit by the way).
I think I’m pretty good here.
Anyone tells you otherwise, tell ’em I said to get off m’tractor.
Dude, your Waste Not, Want Not French Toast is almost done….
(I don’t really say things like “Dude” but it worked here)
Cook over medium heat until browned on both sides. This will just take a few minutes on each side.
This is awful. It tastes bad, its horrible. Tell everyone in your house that as they salivate so you can keep it all to yourself!
~grins with a mischievous twinkle in her eye~
OOh, this is so bad!
You don’t wanna eat it!
~whimpers~
Oh…alright.
~slides the plate over to you as her face softens~
Have at it, I’ll fix ya some coffee to go with your delicious Waste Not, Want Not French Toast.
Ingredients
- 2 hamburger or hot dog buns
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Beat together all ingredients except buns with a fork until well blended. Dip in each side of bun.
- Place buns in skillet which has been sprayed with cooking spray and heated over medium heat.
- Cook a few minutes on each side, until browned.
- Serve warm with syrup.
Notes
When ready to serve, put each slice in toaster and run for two cycles, or until heated through and crispy again.
Nutrition
Click here to see my other favorite recipe for leftover buns!
“May you be the kind of person your dog thinks you are.”
Submitted by Southern Plate reader, Don. Submit your quote here!
I love my diet Dr. Pepper too…….if that’s the worst vice I have ,I can live with it :c)
What a great way to use buns!
I just tried this morning…powdered sugar dusted on top is a must!! And a couple of drops of vanilla mixed with the eggs,milk, cinnamon …adds even more flavor.
YUMMM!!!
Yummy!! So glad you liked them Beverly!
This is so good! I used whole wheat bread. Next time, I will put some powdered sugar on top.
Mmmm, so glad you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas!
If drinking diet Dr.Pepper is the worst thing we ever do,(I say we because I am guilty as well) we will be o.k.. And as for the french toast, my great granny used to make it for us using leftover biscuits. She would split them open and soak them in the egg mixture and sizzle them right up. She did not use the cinnamon, I don’t know why but it was sooooo good. Wish I had some right now but I guess I’ll just have to settle for a diet Dr. Pepper!!!!
New to your website & love it 🙂 I do have a question, though, on the bun french toast. Do you slice off the ‘crust’ from the other side? I only saw what looked like one side of the french toast which was the slice side. I have grand children who won’t eat the crust! My favorite part! I don’t know where they got that from because their mother never heard of not eating the crust. Anyway, I’m making some to freeze & take with us on a little vacation with the grands & don’t want any drama. I will keep the crusts & freeze for stuffing but was wondering how you did it as I don’t see the egg mix sticking to that bun crust. Thanks for the site, it’s very nice.
Oh, before I forget, I don’t drink sodas anymore due to a weight problem in old age as well as an allergic reaction to nutrasweet, but Dr. Pepper was my all time favorite! Born & raised in Lynchburg, VA & on Dr. Pepper! 🙂 Glad you can still enjoy it.
Hey! I leave the bun as is, lots of yummy egg mixture soaks in still and I serve it to my picky kids crust side down so they’ve never complained!
Hope this helps and have a WONDERFUL trip!!
This is how I’ve always made french toast! The only difference is I add a bit of sugar (it kind of caramelizes when cooked). I even made french toast with leftover hamburger buns last week. Love that we had the same idea!
I know this is weird, but I didn’t like french toast until I was 15 years old and living in Austria (I was a foreign exchange student). I went to visit an American friend and her host family, and she made us french toast like this for breakfast. I became an immediate french toast convert! Went back home to my host family and made them all french toast, which they renamed “American toast.” I made them french toast many times during the rest of my stay and showed them how to make it. 10 years later, my host mom still makes french toast and their kids, who have grown up and moved out (one of them even has their own kid now) make it too 🙂 How nice is that? My fiance loves my french toast and I once made it for over 100 people, using 2 griddles and making 16 pieces at a time!
I love french toast 🙂
I love this, and i think my hubby will too, if nothing other than for the simple fact, he can have burgers on burger buns 🙂 I had quit buying them since we rarely used more than half a pack.
Thank you!!!