How To Make Mama’s Banana French Toast with Pecans

A Special Treat 😋

When you were little, were there special dishes that someone made just for you as a special treat? Mama’s Banana French Toast with pecans is one of those for me. Mama used to make it to surprise me on mornings when I had a special day ahead. The tradition held throughout my life. I remember the first day of my job as a bank teller when I was 18, waking up and putting on my shiny new business clothes, walking into the kitchen, and finding Mama plating up Banana French Toast with pecans with of course, a big grin.

It’s such a treat to make special things for your family. Little things like that remind them that they are treasured, important, and the act itself brings us just as much (if not more) joy to us as it does to them.

Mama, I know you’re going to read this and I have it on good authority that we will find ourselves in a cabin in the smokies together before the year is out. I’m not saying you have to make this or anything but if you wanted to, I sure wouldn’t mind.

Ingredients for Mama’s Banana French Toast with Pecans

To make Mama’s Banana Pecan French Toast, you’ll need:

A few slices of a thicker bread such as egg or potato bread*,
2 sliced bananas
Half and half
Eggs
Confectioner’s sugar
Vanilla
Salt
Chopped pecans
Some oil for cooking it in
Your favorite syrup

Note *I definitely don’t recommend trying this with your standard white or wheat bread. You really need a sturdier bread for the deliciously toasted outcome we want with this recipe.

In in large shallow bowl, mix half and half, eggs, salt, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla together well.
Dip only one side of one piece of bread into the batter.
Place the dipped slice, batter side down, on waxed paper.
Layer banana slices on top of the bread.
Dip *both* sides of the remaining piece of bread and place this on top of the bananas.
Place some chopped pecans on a saucer and lay the sandwich on top of them and press lightly with your hand to smoosh the pecans down in the bread a bit.
Flip the sandwich over and press into the pecans again to get them on the other side.

Like this.

Place a tablespoon or so of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Put sandwich in skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides.

Oh. My. Goodness. Are you ready?

If you like, you can sprinkle more confectioner’s sugar over it before serving but I like it just like this. Top with your favorite syrup.

And enjoy your special treat of Banana French Toast with Pecans!

Mama's Banana Pecan French Toast

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Servings: servings (3 sandwiches)

Author: Christy Jordan

Ingredients

1 cup half and half or milk
4 eggs
pinch of salt
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 thick slices egg or potato bread
2 bananas sliced
1 cup chopped pecans
oil for cooking
maple syrup for serving

Instructions

In a large shallow bowl, mix half and half, eggs, salt, confectioner's sugar, ad vanilla together well.
Dip only one side of one piece of bread into the batter. Place the dipped slice, batter side down, onto waxed paper. Layer the top of that slice wtih bananas.
Dip a second slice of bread into the batter on *both* sides. Place on top of the banana layer, making a sandwich.
Place pecans onto a sauce or small plate. Remove sandwich from waxed paper and place on top of the pecans, pressing down lightly to help stick them into the bread. Flip sandwich over and repeat.
Heat 1 tablespoon or so of oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. Place sandwich in skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides. Repeat with remaining slices to make two more servings.
Serve with maple syrup.

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Tips to Make Your French Toast Unforgettable

Use full-fat dairy (whole milk, half-and-half, or equal parts milk and heavy cream). If you have used almond or coconut milk because you prefer non dairy, let me know how it went in the comments.

I find it’s best when you have equal parts egg and dairy, so aim for ¼ cup dairy for each whole egg. 4 eggs, one cup of milk.

Try combining butter and oil

Once the bread has soaked up the mixture, you’ll need some fat and in a hot pan to transform this into French toast. A cooking oil like coconut oil (unrefined if you don’t want the coconut taste) has a high smoke point, but no flavor if unrefined is used. If you like the taste of coconut used the unrefined version and you will get a hint of coconut in your meal. But if you aren’t a fan a coconut, butter sure does have flavor but will burn even at lower temperatures. I have added these two fats together at times—for a tastier outcome. You wind up with golden French toast with crispy edges and an unforgettable treat.