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Home Recipes All Breakfast & Brunch
Posted:5/5/2015
Updated:1/27/2019

Dairy Free Basil and Nutella French Toast with Strawberry Black Pepper Compote

30 mins
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If you like Sundays and if you like breakfast, I’m sure you’ve met French toast before. From its humble beginnings during the Roman empire (apparently there’s not much that’s French about French toast), many centuries ago (more or less, who knows for sure, I wasn’t around at the time), French toast has traveled the world and made acquaintances with many. Stale bread, soaked in a mixture of beaten eggs and milk and then toasted in a frying pan with some butter… that’s what breakfast on weekends is supposed to be! But try telling that to someone who is severely lactose intolerant though…

In this third and final installment of my Mother’s day inspired post, I’ve got Dairy Free Basil & Nutella French Toast with Strawberry and Black Pepper Compote, that I KNOW my lactose-intolerant mum (and sister) would go absolutely nuts over! This follows my Dairy Free Nutella (Mocha Hazelnut Spread) and Dairy Free Brioche Bread recipes from last week, and here I bring them together for the ultimate weekend breakfast that everyone can enjoy, those with lactose intolerance included!

French toast made with Dairy Free Brioche stuffed with Dairy Free "Nutella" and dipped in a Basil Egg custard to make the perfect brunch! Delicious Dairy Free or Not!

But please don’t let that stop you from enjoying this with regular Nutella and Brioche bread (or any type of bread you like). The awesome flavour combinations here will hold true regardless. My mum on the other hand hasn’t been able to eat Nutella or brioche bread for a while now (since she was diagnosed with lactose intolerance), and she’s most certainly not alone in that regard. But hey, don’t let those milk proteins hold you back. Where there’s a will, there’s a dairy free version of your favourite foods.

Dairy Free Basil and Nutella French Toast with Strawberry Black Pepper Compote - French toast made with Dairy Free Brioche stuffed with Dairy Free "Nutella" and dipped in a Basil Egg custard to make the perfect brunch! Delicious Dairy Free or Not!

Dairy Free Nutella Stuffed Basil French Toast with Brioche

My family loves french toast. Growing up, we used to eat it fairly often. But, it was never sweet! We never ate it with syrup or icing sugar, but always with salt and black pepper, chilli sauce and sausages if we were lucky!! So it was always savoury to some extent. The idea of sweet french toast was alien to us for a long time, but once we made that discovery, we soon grew to love it!

The idea for this recipe came about a few months ago, when Mr K and I had french toast with regular Nutella and brioche bread. I was talking about it with my mum and my sister and they loved the sound of it so much that they kept asking me for ways to replicate it without the dreaded dairy for them. Fast forward a few months, and their prayers to the dairy free godmother have been answered with this Dairy Free Nutella French Toast recipe!

Dairy Free Basil and Nutella French Toast with Strawberry Black Pepper Compote
It’s delicious just like this

That delicious hazelnutty/chocolatey center, beautifully soaked toast that taste like custard, the freshness of the basil… that combination is so good, you can eat this just like that, with nothing else. But why settle for great, when you can shoot for exceptional? The tangy sweet strawberry compote with a hint of heat/spice coming from the black pepper gives it that extra zing that will make you come back to this time and again.

I cannot think of a better Mother’s day gift than a breakfast this good!

Dairy Free Basil and Nutella French Toast with Strawberry Black Pepper Compote
Even better like this

A few notes on the recipe –

If you use my dairy free brioche; this bread is super soft and it will soak up the egg mixture like a sponge. So don’t keep it in the egg mixture for too long. In and out.

If you use regular bread that is denser; leave it in the egg mixture for a little longer to soak up the egg mixture. Typically bread that’s a little stale and have firmed up, hold up well after soaking up the egg mixture and works better for french toast.

I used a generous amount of my dairy free Nutella, but when I make this with regular Nutella I use less. My DF Nutella has a thinner consistency than the regular one and gets absorbed by the bread a little too. So I used more of it to get a generous coating on the bread.

Dairy Free Basil and Nutella French Toast with Strawberry Black Pepper Compote

The basil, strawberry and black pepper combination here is fantastic! It’s a flavour combo that you cannot go wrong with and I hope you try it too! The bread is infused with the beautiful basil flavour, and the hint of black pepper brings out the sweetness of the strawberry fruit compote really well too. And then some whipped cream (dairy free, see recipe) and a dusting of icing sugar on top to make it a truly indulgent weekend breakfast.

 

Dairy Free Basil and Nutella French Toast with Strawberry Black Pepper Compote
Make it rain!!

You will need my Dairy Free Mocha Hazelnut Spread Recipe
and 6 slices of my Dairy Free Brioche Bread Recipe for this.
If you want to veganise this recipe – you can adapt the recipe by substituting the egg custard according to the notes at the bottom of the recipe (source from Minimalist Baker)

Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.

5 from 1 vote

Dairy Free Basil and Nutella French Toast with Strawberry Black Pepper Compote

Total Time 30 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Print Rate

Ingredients:

Basil Egg Custard (See notes for Vegan option from Minimalist Baker)

  • 10 g basil leaves and some stems
  • 3 eggs
  • ⅓ cup of coconut milk or soy milk, almond milk or any other lactose free milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt

Strawberry and Black Pepper Compote

  • 8 oz strawberry fresh or frozen (but thawed), washed
  • 3 tbsp sgar
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp black pepper or 1 tsp if you prefer extra heat

French Toast

  • 6 slices of Dairy Free Brioche Bread Link at the top of the recipe (Vegan Bread for vegan option or any other kind of bread you prefer, one day old bread is better but not required)
  • Dairy Free Mocha and Hazelnut Spread Dairy Free Nutella - Recipe Link just below the Recipe
  • Vegetable oil for pan frying

To serve

  • Coconut cream the solid fat part that gets collected at the top in a coconut milk can, whipped to make it lighter OR soy whipped cream
  • Black Pepper optional
  • Icing sugar confectioner’s sugar

Instructions:

Strawberry and Black Pepper Compote

  • Place the strawberry, sugar, pepper and lemon juice in a small saucepan on medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring it to a simmer. Simmer till you have a compote to your desired thickness (I wanted it extra thick, so I let it simmer for a few minutes).
  • Set aside to cool to room temperature and store in a jar in the fridge.

Basil and Nutella French Toast

  • In a small processor, place the basil leaves, eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt and coconut milk and process to chop the basil and mix it through the egg mixture well.
  • Place the egg mixture in a shallow dish.
  • Heat a non-stick pan with oil to medium-high heat. On one slice of bread, spread the chocolate hazelnut (Nutella) paste generously and cover with another slice of bread. Repeat with the other slices.
  • When the oil is hot, dip the bread (one side at a time) into the basil egg mixture and then place the sandwich on the non stick pan.
  • Fry the french toast, one side at a time until it turns golden brown (about 2 -3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your bread slices).
  • Cut the sandwich in half, top with strawberry compote, coconut cream, an extra sprinkling of black pepper and a dusting of icing sugar.

Tips & Tricks

Vegan Option (from Minimalist Baker)
For the Custard instead of the eggs and milk, substitute with
1 1/2 cups of Soy milk or Almond milk
1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds ground to a fine powder
and proceed with the recipe as in the steps above.
Did you make this?Tag me on Instagram!I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @TheFlavorBender or leave me a comment & rating below.

Dairy Free Nutella Stuffed Basil French Toast with Brioche

 

Mr K isn’t as big a fan of Nutella as I am, but he couldn’t keep away from this one! The fact that my DF nutella isn’t as sweet and indulgent as the regular one may have had something to do with it, but also, this recipe used just the right amount of nutella that paired really well with the basil infused bread that’s silky and custard-like once it has been dipped in the egg mixture. The basil gives the bread a lovely green coloration which doesn’t hurt appearances one bit either.

The strawberry compote is truly the “chberry” on top, if you will. The fruity tartness and sweetness brings all the flavours together and the hint of black pepper accentuates that strawberry flavour even more. It’s really no surprise that we have had this many times for brunch on Sundays over the last few months.

Dairy Free Nutella Stuffed Basil French Toast with Brioche

Here are a few more awesome ideas for a french toast and nutella combination.

Nutella and Banana French toast from Girl and the Kitchen. This I have had, and I love!

Nutella and Strawberry French toast Roll ups (yes… roll ups!) from Recipe Tin Eats. This takes french toast to a whole new level.

Nutella French toast roll ups from The not so creative cook.

And Nutella stuffed Churro French toast from Cafe Delites.

With options like these, you shouldn’t have to wonder how to jazz up your breakfast/brunch this Mothers Day or any weekend! Plus, if your mum/wife is lactose intolerant, you cannot go wrong with this for Mother’s day breakfast! 🙂

(Plus you can use my Dairy Free Mocha Hazelnut Spread as a substitute and turn any of these recipes into Dairy Free Nutella French Toast breakfasts!)

If you liked this recipe don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes and updates by entering your email address below (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing.

You can find me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and GOOGLE-PLUS too. I share pictures of  recipes to come on the blog plus other awesome recipes I find out there that I want to try. So I hope you do stop by and say hi! 🙂

 

 

 

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  1. Ksenia @ At the Immigrant's Table says

    June 29, 2016 at 06:10

    5 stars
    Hey there! What an amazing recipe. The black pepper and basil combination here makes my head spin! I’ve featured it in my round-up of the best strawberry dishes (with a twist), give it a look 🙂

    Reply
  2. Ganu says

    May 9, 2015 at 17:32

    And also i love the make it rain gif!

    Reply
  3. Ganu says

    May 9, 2015 at 17:31

    !OMG!!!!! I cannot wait to try this at home! Thank you so much for thinking of us lactose intolerant people hehe

    Reply
  4. Margy@lapetitecasserole says

    May 9, 2015 at 08:52

    Gorgeous Dini!

    Reply
  5. Sarah says

    May 9, 2015 at 02:15

    This looks so delicious, Dini!

    Reply
  6. Caroline says

    May 8, 2015 at 12:43

    This looks fantastic! Brioche or Portuguese sweet bread are definitely the best for French toast and black pepper with strawberries is always good too. So many good things together, must try!

    Reply
  7. Kaila (GF Life 24/7) says

    May 8, 2015 at 08:16

    I never thought of savory french toast, since I’m from a syrup loving family. (It’s a being-so-close-to-Vermont thing.) I loved the clip where you let the powdered sugar rain down. This looks absolutely scrumptious. Happy FF, and have a wonderful weekend!

    Reply
  8. Florian @ContentednessCooking says

    May 7, 2015 at 14:37

    I love the strawberry black pepper compote! You perfectly combined sweet and savory flavors!

    Reply
    • Dini says

      May 7, 2015 at 19:48

      Thank you Florian! Strawberry and black pepper are one of my favourite combos too 🙂

      Reply
  9. Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake says

    May 6, 2015 at 14:44

    I looooove this recipe so much, I need to try it! I rarely make French toast and I’m not sure why, there’s no excuse for it!! I love strawberry and black pepper together, it’s one of my favourite flavour combos – add in the basil and it’s just awesome!

    I’m sure you’re mum and sister are very, very happy ladies haha

    Reply
    • Dini says

      May 7, 2015 at 19:45

      Thank you Michelle! Anything with Nutella is bound to be good right?? 😀 I absolutely love Strawberry and black pepper too!

      Reply
  10. Denise Wright says

    May 6, 2015 at 12:37

    Your flavor combinations are outstanding! Separately each component of this dish sounds extremely tasty and I bet together it’s even better. Where do you come up with these crazy good ideas?! 😉

    Reply
    • Dini says

      May 7, 2015 at 19:39

      Thank you so much Denise! 😀 I will be having your chickpea lemony kale rice this weekend! You wouldn’t believe how excited I am about it!

      Reply
  11. Winnie says

    May 6, 2015 at 12:30

    My mouth is simply watering at the moment. It looks soooooooooooooo DELICIOUS !!

    Reply
    • Dini says

      May 7, 2015 at 19:38

      Thank you so much Winnie! 😀

      Reply
  12. Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook says

    May 6, 2015 at 05:15

    This is insanely delicious, Dini. And yeesss!! Make it raiiiin!!! 😀
    Thanks for the mention, btw. I appreciate it a lot. xx

    Reply
    • Dini says

      May 7, 2015 at 19:37

      Thank you Jhuls! 🙂 I love Nutella french toasts and had to include yours!

      Reply
  13. Nagi@RecipeTinEats says

    May 5, 2015 at 15:40

    5 stars
    I was so curious how to make french toast without dairy! This is so clever. Wow! Pinning to vegan boards! 🙂

    Reply
    • Dini says

      May 5, 2015 at 16:11

      Thank you so much Nagi!
      This particular recipe I made isn’t Vegan, but I have included a Vegan option for those who don’t eat eggs from Minimalist Baker, so that they can substitute instead of the egg based custard! 🙂 (Although I made it only as a dairy free dessert!)

      Reply
  14. mila furman says

    May 5, 2015 at 10:01

    Thank you so much for the call out! Dini…this looks FLUCKING fantastic!!! Love your GIF”s!

    Reply
    • Dini says

      May 5, 2015 at 10:14

      Thank you Mila! 😀
      Your Nutella series is flucking fantastic!! 😉 So delicious and inspiring! 🙂

      Reply

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