Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
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This overnight French toast casserole uses a thick and creamy pumpkin custard and a brown sugar pecan streusel topping to bring all the texture and flavor you love about a sweet fall-inspired breakfast casserole. The make-ahead aspect makes this a great dish for Thanksgiving or any time you’re looking to save time in the morning.
MY READER FAVORITE FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE– PUMPKIN STYLE
Believe it or not, one of the most popular recipes on my entire site, which is loaded with mostly dessert recipes, is my make ahead French toast casserole. That recipe is simple, easy, customizable, and always gets a giant boost at major holidays, especially Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!
In fact, I have had readers:
• call it “the best French toast I’ve ever had.”
• mention that it is a “wonderful way to have French toast without having to man the griddle.”
• and report that “my whole family decovoured this.”
A few small changes like reducing the amount of eggs to account for the addition of pumpkin and adding a brown sugar pecan streusel topping, and this pumpkin French toast bake was born and devoured entirely by my family and taste-testers in one afternoon (true story).
PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE DETAILS
There are many reasons to love this dish, but here are some of my favorites.
PACKED WITH FLAVOR: think about your favorite pumpkin cinnamon rolls but no rolling of dough or wondering if your yeast is still good. The pumpkin and added spices get into every nook and cranny of the bread pieces, absolutely saturating them with moisture and flavor.
SO MUCH TEXTURE: there was no question that the pumpkin version of my French toast casserole needed a streusel topping. You can leave the nuts out if you prefer, or change up the nuts completely. Personally, I love the added crunch, and you can always serve the nuts on the side if you have both nut lovers and non-nut lovers enjoying this dish.
SO SIMPLE: if you can mix ingredients together, you can make this dish. The hardest part about this recipe is making sure your bread is stale, which can take a little bit of planning ahead. But really, only a little bit. See the next section about the bread for tips on this part.
OVERNIGHT– FRIDGE OR FREEZER: whether you plan to make this ahead for the next morning or a holiday down the road a few weeks from now, you have storage options. You’ll want this casserole to sit in the fridge to “marinate” for at least 3 hours, but if you want to throw it in the freezer, it can stay there for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator and that part counts as your “soaking.” Bonus!
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN PECAN FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE: OVERVIEW
While the casserole will need to sit in the refrigerator, the hands-on time is actually quite minimal.
PREPARE THE BREAD: depending on how much you need to stale your bread, it may be ready to go, or it may need a few hours to sit out. If you need to stale your bread, cut it into cubes before letting it sit out so the inside of the loaf is exposed to air.
MAKE THE CUSTARD: making the custard is just a matter of whisking ingredients together. So simple!
SOAK THE BREAD: once your bread is stale and in the baking dish, pour the custard over everything, making sure all pieces are covered and soaking. Use your hands to move and flip pieces around so they all have some custard on them. Allow to soak at least 3 hours or, ideally, overnight.
ADD THE TOPPING: you’ll want to add the streusel topping right before the casserole goes into the oven. The colder the topping, the better the butter will stay in chunks for an epically lumpy (in a good way!) topping.
BAKE: you’ll need about 1 hour of baking time, so if you’re planning to serve this at a specific time, be sure you’re accounting for the long bake and a bit of cooling time before serving.
HOW TO SERVE PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST BAKE
Personally, I love my pumpkin French toast as is with a drizzle of pure maple syrup, but you can also consider salted caramel sauce, bourbon caramel sauce (no judging!) fresh whipped cream, or pumpkin spice whipped cream.
WHAT KIND OF BREAD SHOULD I USED FOR PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE?
When it comes to the type of bread, you want to make sure you’re choosing a hardy, craggy bread. I usually prefer French bread or challah, as those are dense, eggy, and crusty. Other options are brioche, croissants, or sourdough.
Do not use a white bread or a sandwich bread, as these are not thick or dry enough to soak up all of the custard.
You’ll also want to make sure your bread is stale. You can let it stale by letting it sit out for a few hours (or even overnight!) or drying it out in the oven. The less moisture, the better. Of course, you don’t want it to be totally rock hard, but hard enough that you wouldn’t want to eat it anymore. I promise, it will be perfect for this baked pumpkin French toast.
CAN I MAKE THE STREUSEL AHEAD OF TIME?
While I prefer to make the streusel while the oven is preheating, you can, in theory, make the streusel up to 3 days in advance if you keep it covered in the refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing streusel, so if you want to freeze the unbaked casserole, wait until at least 2-3 days before thawing it to prepare the topping.
Pumpkin French Toast Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
FRENCH TOAST
- 10 to 12 ounces (283-340g) stale bread1 cut into large cubes (about 8-9 cups of bread)
- ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter melted
- ⅔ cup (132g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin purée2
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups (480mL) milk any, but I prefer whole cow
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
STREUSEL TOPPING
- ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (40g) chopped pecans
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter cold and cut into small pieces
Instructions
FRENCH TOAST
- Spray a 2 quart casserole or 9" x 13" baking dish3 with non-stick spray. Place the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish.10 to 12 ounces (283-340g) stale bread1
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, pumpkin, milk, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, and whisk again until everything is completely combined.¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, ⅔ cup (132g) firmly packed brown sugar, 6 large eggs, 2 cups (480mL) milk, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 cup pumpkin purée2
- Pour the egg/pumpkin mixture over the bread, cover with a lid or foil, and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
STREUSEL TOPPING
- When you are ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and make the streusel.
- Place flour, brown sugar, chopped pecans, and pumpkin pie spice into a small bowl. Toss together with a fork until combined.½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar, ⅓ cup (40g) chopped pecans, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- Add the butter to the bowl, then use a fork to smash the pieces of butter into the mixture.½ cup (113g) unsalted butter
- Use your fingers to press the ingredients together until butter is in small chunks. I like to pick up chunks of butter and gently pinch them between my thumb and pointer and middle fingers to flatten slightly. I then drop the flattened pieces of butter back into the mixture so they pick up the dry mixture, then go through the whole bowl again with all of my fingers to "fluff" the mixture and turn the flattened pieces back into larger chunks. You are aiming for mostly medium-size chunks and some smaller and larger chunks.
- Scatter the streusel over the French toast casserole, then bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the egg mixture looks set. Baked casserole freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and reheat portions as needed. You can also freeze unbaked casserole unbaked, up to 3 months– freeze after adding the custard mix. Do not add streusel topping, thaw in the refrigerator, add topping, and bake as directed.
Notes
- Stale bread: the reason for stale bread is because you want the bread to soak up all of the liquid ingredients. Stale bread has far less moisture in it, allowing for intake of the custard. I usually cut up my bread and let it sit out during the day or even overnight an extra night, if I have that much advance planning. I prefer to use challah, brioche, or other crusty bread.
- Pumpkin: I always measure pumpkin purée with measuring cups as the moisture content can wildly change the weight measurements, depending on the brand.
- Baking dish: you can easily halve this recipe and put it in a smaller casserole dish or 8″ square baking pan. Bake time is 50-55 minutes.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
What can i substitute on pumpkin Ms.Lynn…we do not have pumpkin pie spice here in my country…pls advise…thank you ver much
Hi, Cora! You can just use cinnamon, if you prefer! I also add in a bit of ginger and nutmeg, too, when I’m making a substitute. Hope that helps!