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Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein French Toast (Without Protein Powder)

If you told me I could only eat breakfast for the rest of my life and nothing else, I’d be perfectly content.

While waffles are generally my go-to breakfast, sometimes you just need to switch things up.

This past weekend I was really in the mood for something decadent, so I figured… why not try some Stuffed French Toast?

This Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein French Toast did NOT disappoint.

Not only is it insanely decadent, but it was very filling, too!

I happened to eat both plates because my stomach is an endless pit for breakfast food, but this entire plate you see here is only 335 calories and packs 23 grams of protein!

Sure, I could have easily bumped the protein content up in these by mixing in some protein powder, but I wanted this to be easily made by anybody without needing to invest in protein powder.

 

How to make the chocolate & peanut butter filling

The star of stuffed French toast is obviously what you decide to stuff it with.

I made my own peanut butter & chocolate spread here to keep the calories low, but the beauty of stuffed French Toast is that you can customize it however you’d like.

If calories aren’t a concern, you can use Nutella and Peanut Butter as your filling! It will obviously be much higher in calories, but I can’t argue with the fact that it would be insanely delicious.

For the chocolate spread, you could very easily just melt down chocolate, but again, I wanted to keep this lower calorie.

I mixed together cocoa powder, syrup, sugar substitute, and a little bit of powdered peanut butter, and it made a delicious spread! The great thing about this is that you can adjust the amount of sweetener you use depending on how dark (ie bitter) you like your chocolate.

If you want to use a chocolate protein powder here, you definitely can. You just need it to be spreadable, so you may need to add some additional syrup or water/milk to thin it out.

For the peanut butter spread, I knew I wanted to keep the calories lower, so I went with powdered peanut butter.

If you’ve never had powdered peanut butter before, it’s simply peanuts (sometimes a little added sugar, depending on the brand) that have had most of the fat removed, resulting in a dry powder. We can easily turn this into a spread by mixing it with some syrup!

By the looks of it, you couldn’t even tell that this isn’t “real” peanut butter.

I’ll be honest: you can 100% taste the difference between this and regular peanut butter.

I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s the same thing, because peanut butter is just TOO good, and removing the fat definitely takes away from the flavor. I don’t like powdered peanut butter on its own as a peanut butter replacement, but when used as an ingredient (like in my edible brownie batter) it works very well.

If you have a peanut allergy, you can also get a similar result by using powdered almond butter (or different nut butter).

We have our two spreads for our protein French toast, but we also need some toppings to take these to the next level.

If nothing else, it’s going to make your Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein French Toast more Instagram-worthy.

I used Lite Hershey’s Chocolate syrup for my chocolate topping and used one more tablespoon of powdered peanut butter mixed with syrup until it became a nice liquidy consistency.

Now, here is where I’m going to hit you with a little customization tip:

  • If you’re a chocolate lover: Top with only chocolate syrup (and leave the extra peanut butter drizzle off), or level up and add some chocolate chips on top alongside your syrup.
  • If you’re a peanut butter lover: Leave off the chocolate syrup topping and add some additional peanut butter drizzle. You can even sprinkle some of the peanut butter right on top at the end, too!

Just like the spreads, you can get fancy with your toppings, so feel free to experiment.

 

Making the Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein French Toast

When it comes to stuffed French toast, you have two options:

  1. Make French toast as you normally would, then add your spreads to make sandwiches
  2. Make the sandwiches, then go through the process of turning the entire thing into French toast

I went with option 2.

When you add the spreads first, they get nice and melty inside, which makes this anabolic French toast recipe 100x better.

All we have to do is add the spreads to each slice of bread, leaving some room around the edges to make sure it doesn’t ooze out while cooking.

If you add your spreads to your bread and feel like it is not enough filling, feel free to whip up more. As you can see by the final photos of this recipe, this makes plenty, but it also depends on the thickness of your bread (more on that in a minute).

Once you form these into 3 sandwiches, we need to let them bathe in the French toast liquid mixture.

Let it soak for 30 seconds on each side (make sure to get the sides wet, too), then it’s into the pan for cooking!

About 3-4 minutes on each side should be all you need to get this French toast perfectly golden brown.

I cooked one at a time to make things easy, but depending on the size of your pan, you can definitely cook multiple to speed things along.

Once all 3 are done, it’s time to slice…

The diagonal slice is the way to go for the best filling reveal, of course.

At this point, you can certainly enjoy the anabolic French toast as-is, but there’s no denying that these look next-level with the toppings:

 

What bread should you use for Protein French Toast?

When it comes to true French toast, you typically want something thick and eggy, like a nice Challah or Brioche.

If you go out to breakfast and order French toast, that’s the type of bread that you’ll typically get, as they hold up very well.

For this recipe, I wanted to keep the calories low, but I also wanted the stuffing to be the star. Because of this, I went out to the store to find some thin-sliced bread.

There are lots of brands out there, so do some shopping around. This particular brand is only 40 calories per slice (mainly because the bread is sliced thinly) which worked out absolutely perfectly for this recipe.

I don’t love light bread, and I would never prefer this to a heartier bread if I were just eating it as-is, but it works well when cooked.

If you want to bump the protein content up higher for your “anabolic French toast,” you can even grab a high-protein bread for this recipe.

You can use any bread you’d like, even one that isn’t light, and it will work great. Just be sure to calculate your own nutrition as it will vary depending on the bread you choose.

And if you’re intimidated by stuffed French Toast (don’t be-it’s very easy to make) you can always make my French Toast Casserole instead!

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Stuffed French Toast

Stuffed High Protein French Toast (Without Protein Powder)

Yield: 2 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Delicious French Toast stuffed with chocolate and peanut butter (and topped with extra)! It's like a decadent dessert you can enjoy for breakfast and nobody can judge you for it.

Ingredients

Chocolate Spread

  • 20g Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 20g Sugar Substitute
  • 3 Tbsp Sugar-Free Syrup
  • 7g (1 Tbsp) Powdered Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter Spread

  • 26g (4 Tbsp) Powdered Peanut Butter
  • 3 Tbsp Sugar-Free Syrup

French Toast Ingredients

  • 6 Slices of Light Bread (I used Aunt Millie's brand)
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/4 Cup Almond Milk (or any milk of choice)
  • 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
  • 10g Sugar Substitute
  • Few Dashes of Cinnamon

Toppings

  • 7g (1 Tbsp) Powdered Peanut Butter
  • 1 Tbsp Lite Chocolate Syrup (or melted chocolate)
  • Sugar-Free Syrup

Instructions

  1. Prep your two spreads (these are what we will stuff the French Toast with). Combine the powdered peanut butter with syrup in one bowl and mix until smooth, and in another bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the chocolate spread until smooth. Taste the chocolate mixture and add more sweetener if you enjoy more of a milk chocolate and want it to be less bitter.
  2. In a wide bowl, whisk together all of the French Toast ingredients to make your egg mixture (excluding the bread, of course).
  3. Heat a large pan on the stove over low-medium heat. While it heats up, take your 6 slices of bread and spread the peanut butter on 3 of them, and spread the chocolate on the other 3. Don't go completely to the edges or else the stuffing might ooze out as it cooks and melts. Combine into 3 sandwiches.
  4. Take one of your sandwiches and put it into the French Toast egg mixture. Let it soak for 30 seconds, then flip it over and let it soak for another 30 seconds.
  5. Spray your pan with nonstick spray and add your stuffed French Toast. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes, then flip over and let the other side cook for another 3-4 minutes. You can adjust the time so the French Toast is cooked to your liking. Repeat for the remaining 2 sandwiches.
  6. Once all are done, slice your Stuffed French Toast diagonally. Stack 3 of the halves on separate plates, then add your toppings. I mixed one tablespoon of powdered peanut butter with some syrup to make a peanut butter syrup to drizzle over the top, along with some Hershey's Lite chocolate syrup.

Notes

  • Chocolate is generally a stronger flavor than peanut butter. If you want these to be more peanut butter flavored, leave the chocolate topping off and just top with additional peanut butter.
  • I purposely didn't use any protein powder in this recipe to make it accessible for everyone. You can very easily add some protein powder to your chocolate and/or peanut butter spreads, just be sure to add additional liquid to make it spreadable. Since the filling doesn't require any kind of baking, adding protein won't negatively affect it, assuming you actually enjoy the taste of your protein powder.
  • This recipe is very easily customizable depending on how generous you'd like to be with your calories. You can use regular peanut butter and melted chocolate or Nutella as your spread if you want to make things easier, but of course, that will come with extra calories! Same with the bread- you can use a thick sliced bread, but it will obviously change the nutrition a bit.
  • I added some additional syrup over the top, along with my peanut butter and chocolate, because I love the flavor of syrup with the French Toast. That is totally optional, but wanted to throw that suggestion out there for ya.
  • If you want to save some calories or fat, you can replace the eggs with egg whites.

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Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Servings Serving Size Half Recipe (3 slices)
Amount Per Serving Calories 335Total Fat 10gCarbohydrates 49gFiber 16gSugar 7gProtein 23g

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Share The Love

Christa

Wednesday 31st of March 2021

Made this for breakfast yesterday and WOW! I added bananas on top and then did my pb2/chocolate drizzle - magic!! I will for sure be making this one again.

About Matt Rosenman

With over 15 years of experience in health and fitness, Matt Rosenman is the expert voice behind Cheatdaydesign.com. Matt’s philosophy is simple: no foods are off-limits, and a healthy lifestyle shouldn't be complicated or restrictive. As a former certified personal trainer with a bachelor’s degree in Health Behavioral Sciences, Matt brings well-rounded expertise to his blog. From revamping classic recipes with a nutritious twist to breaking down fast food menus, his goal is make healthy living less confusing for everyone. Featured in major publications and with a strong following on social media, Matt is committed to making “healthy” uncomplicated—no matter where you are in your health journey. Join Matt on his mission to simplify health without sacrificing flavor. Learn More

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