Enjoy the flavors of Fall in this easy make-ahead Pumpkin French Toast. French bread, pure pumpkin, pumpkin spice, eggs, and milk combine to make this easy breakfast treat. Sprinkle the cinnamon streusel topping on and put it into the oven the next day. It’s a delicious fall french toast to warm you up on a cool, crisp morning.
HAPPY FALL, Y’ALL!
It’s finally here; the cooler weather, changing leaves, crisp breezes and tastes of the season.
Have you been inundated with pumpkin recipes? I’ve been seeing them ALL. OVER. the interweb.
My blogger friends have been sharing them left and right and I have to say that I’ve shared a few as well.
I’m here to give you one more today. Pumpkin Spice French Toast Bake!
SAVE THIS PUMPKIN BAKED FRENCH TOAST RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
And can I be honest with you? Shhh…, don’t tell anyone. I really don’t like pumpkin.
Seriously.
This might lose me big fall food blogging points but it’s just not my favorite. I don’t especially look forward to the onslaught of pumpkin flavored everything from September to January every year.
Ok, well, it’s not like I can’t stand it, like shrimp or lobster.
I’ll eat something made with pumpkin, like my No Bake Pumpkin Dream Bars, and I especially like munching on pumpkin seeds, but it’s not one of the Fall flavors that I’m absolutely in love with. I really could take it or leave it.
You won’t see me eating a pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. If anything, I’ll choose maybe the thinnest of all slices because it’s tradition and I feel like I have to have it, but I will ALWAYS go for this Apple Cream Pie before I opt for any Thanksgiving dessert.
But because I know there are plenty of pumpkin lovers out there, I made this easy pumpkin spice French toast, and it really did smell amazing as it baked. If you’ve read here for very long you know I enjoy a good french toast recipe any time of year.
What do I need to make this pumpkin French toast casserole?
- Your favorite kind of bread
- Cream cheese – room temperature
- Pumpkin purée NOT pumpkin pie filling
- Granulated sugar (white sugar)
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice
- Eggs
- Whole milk
- Heavy cream
- Pure vanilla extract
Streusel Topping (can be used for any French toast casserole recipe, too!)
- All-Purpose flour
- Light brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – chilled
- Pecan pieces
How do I make this Pumpkin French Toast?
- Place the bread cubes into a large bowl.
- Mix the cream cheese and pumpkin together in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and pumpkin spice, and combine. Add the eggs, two at a time, and mix well.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk, heavy cream and vanilla. Gently pour into the mixing bowl while on low, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the bread cubes and mix until completely covered. Put everything into the prepared baking dish, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
- To make the crumb topping, mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse meal. Mix in the pecan pieces.
- Place topping into a Ziploc bag or airtight container and refrigerate overnight. This can also be made in the morning before placing the casserole dish into the oven.
- When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350°F, and sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the breakfast casserole.
- Bake uncovered for 60-65 minutes.
- Serve with maple syrup, and or dollops of fresh whipped cream and a sprinkling of some pumpkin pie spice.
Is a 9 X 13-inch dish the same as a 13 X 9-inch dish?
Absolutely it is!
They’re both the same exact size, but just different ways of referring to the same baking pan.
I highly recommend using a 9 X 13-inch baking dish for this recipe as well as for all of my other baked French toasts because it really is the perfect size.
Tips for making this pumpkin baked French toast casserole –
- I think the best bread to use is either a loaf of French bread, Challah bread, brioche bread or Italian bread.
- You want to make sure that it’s stale bread as opposed to fresh bread. Even day-old bread is better than fresh because a dry bread will absorb the pumpkin custard better.
- I find it easiest to cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. Alternatively, you can enlist the kids to help and have them rip the bread into pieces.
Pumpkin Recipes
I used my Homemade Pumpkin Spice to make this recipe.
With the amount of pumpkin spice recipes around this rime of year, I find it’s so much better having a jar of the homemade stuff on hand. It’s convenient AND I know exactly what’s in it!
While I’m not the biggest enthusiast about pumpkin flavor itself, I do enjoy the spices that go INTO pumpkin pie. All that nutmeg and cinnamon smells like autumn to me.
Okay, okay, I might not be the world’s biggest pumpkin fan but I bake for pumpkin lovers all the time! Over the years I’ve found dozens of desserts and baked goods that the pumpkin people I love heartily recommend.
Dairy-Free Pumpkin Muffins have been one of my most popular muffins since I first posted them. They’re full of pumpkin flavor, fall spices and, best of all, dairy free so that my non-dairy friends can enjoy them too!
In my opinion, chocolate and pumpkin is a highly underrated flavor combo. I enjoy them together in Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cake.
Chai Spiced Pumpkin Cake might be the ultimate fall cake, especially if you like spice!
For fun party ready desserts, check out Pumpkin Spice Meringue Pumpkins and my always popular No-Bake Pumpkin Nutella Cheesecake.
Breakfast Casseroles and French Toast Recipes
My daughter and I both agreed that this baked french toast recipe is ideal for a fall or winter brunch or breakfast, especially when you have guests visiting for the holidays.
You can assemble the pumpkin french toast bake at night then just pop it in the oven the next morning and have a homemade breakfast that every pumpkin lover will go nuts over!
I can never have enough overnight french toast casserole recipes. After you try this pumpkin french toast, also be sure to give Almond Berry French Toast Casserole and this Baked Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast recipe a try.
If you like peaches, you’ll love this Easy Peaches and Cream French Toast Bake Recipe. You can even substitute fresh peaches for canned so you can enjoy it all year long.
And who says you can’t have chocolate for breakfast? Certainly not me! My whole family loves this Easy Chocolate Croissant Baked French Toast Recipe. It’s a keeper for sure, and has become a Christmas morning favorite! You could even serve it as a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and call it bread pudding.
This easy Mexican Casserole is a delicious breakfast and a huge hit with everyone who loves a hearty, savory breakfast. With tortillas, chorizo, cheese, an egg mixture, and more, it’s another easy way to feed a hungry crowd. And the best part? It’s another great breakfast you make ahead of time!
This easy breakfast casserole with the addition of pumpkin puree, and a brown sugar pecan crumble topping is the perfect breakfast for Thanksgiving morning.
Make Ahead Pumpkin French Toast Casserole | 365 Days of Baking
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French Bread cut into 1-inch cubes
- 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 15 ounces pure pumpkin “not” pie pilling
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Homemade Pumpkin Spice
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Streusel Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- ½ cup chopped pecan pieces
Instructions
- Spray an 9 X 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place all of the bread cubes into a large bowl.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin together until fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Beat in the sugar and homemade pumpkin spice.
- Add eggs, two at a time with the mixer on low until each is fully incorporated, again scraping the sides as needed.
- In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, heavy cream and vanilla.
- Gently pour the milk mixture into the bowl while mixing on low. Make sure everything has been mixed together well.
- Gently pour the entire egg mixture over the bread cubes and mix to thoroughly coat.
- Carefully pour everything into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To make the Streusel Topping
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix thoroughly.
- Cut butter into small pieces and with a pastry cutter or two forks, blend butter into mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Mix in the pecan pieces.
- Place mixture into a plastic bag. Seal and refrigerate overnight. This step can also be done in the morning before placing baking dish into the oven.
- When ready to bake the next morning…
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Uncover the baking dish and sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly around the top.
- Bake uncovered for 60 – 65 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
I scooped a helping of this baked french toast onto my plate, tried it, took two bites and put the plate down.
I was done.
My daughter ate some at the same time and said she really liked it. I said I thought it was just blah and wasn’t blog worthy.
She said that it was for sure worthy of a post on the blog.
“You don’t like it because you’re not a pumpkin lover. There are people out there who are nuts for pumpkin and would really like this.”
So, I hope my daughter is right and I hope you’re one of those pumpkin loving people. 🙂
This recipe has been edited in format and with pictures on 10/7/22. It was originally published 9/23/16.
And the first time I made it, someone wanted in on the action as you can see below.
Comments & Reviews
OH Lynn, you are sooooo amazing. I can’t wait to try this!!!! You might have my second favorite food website ever!!!!!
Thanks so much, Jake! I really appreciate that.
But your second?? What by chance would your first be?? Just because you’re married to a rock star blogger doesn’t mean hers has to be your favorite. I won’t tell. 😉
Place half the bread cubes? Do I ever add the other half? ?
Oh, dear. Lucy, thank you SO much for catching that! I’ve corrected the recipe. Put ALL of the bread cubes into a large bowl. Then you’ll pour the milk and egg mixture over the bread to coat. If the bowl isn’t large enough to do all of the bread at once, mix half of the bread cubes with half of the wet ingredients and gently pour into the baking dish. Then do the same with the remaining ingredients. Thank you!
Hi Lynne!
I made this following your recipe yesterday, and it turned out amazing. Even those who don’t like pumpkin loved this. I’m so happy my grandma who had come to stay with us enjoyed this too. I’m gonna share this with our neighbors tomorrow. I should say that this baked french toast tastes like heaven even on day 2. Hope it’ll be as amazing tomorrow.
Lynne, thank you so much for inspiring me. I really appreciate it.
p.s. Can’t wait to give your other pumpkin recipes a try!