Rachael Ray's Secret To Delicious Savory French Toast

What comes to mind when you picture a plate of French toast? Maybe it's the powdered sugar and whipped cream, or the syrup and fresh fruit toppings. You'll find some combination of these sweet ingredients at most standard restaurants that serve French toast, or in your own home when you make it yourself. But "sweet" isn't the only way to enjoy French toast — this popular food can have a savory flavor, too. Savory French toast? Yes, it's a thing, and you just might love it.

Known for her easy and sometimes out-of-the-box recipes, celebrity chef Rachael Ray shared her savory French toast recipe on her show and it's both delicious and easy to make. And just as with many of her other meals, you can whip it up in under 30 minutes. French toast is typically categorized as a breakfast food, but Ray labels her creation a "BLD meal," so you can enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Rachael Ray provides her savory French toast recipe online for four servings. To start, she cuts day-old Italian bread into one-inch-thick slices. You can use a different bread and thickness if you prefer, but thick bread tends to work best for French toast. Next is the custard, and this is where the magic happens. 

She adds cream and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese, and for the "savory" part, she adds salt, sugar, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg before whisking it all together. And voila! The savory custard is ready.

After coating both sides of the bread with the custard and cooking them until they're golden brown, Ray completes the recipe by drizzling the French toast with warm honey and topping it off with strawberries dipped in balsamic vinegar and topped with basil leaves, but feel free to use whatever condiment and toppings you like. It's the perfect sweet and salty combo that you probably never expected to have with French toast.