Baked Pumpkin French Toast

This baked pumpkin french toast is the perfect make-ahead breakfast for fall! It’s so rich and delicious, and so easy to make!

Hey friends! It has been a little while since I posted here! My beautiful daughter Beatrice was born on October 23, and I’ve just been soaking in all of her baby sweetness and staying out of the kitchen and off my laptop for the last three weeks. Before she was born, I made and photographed a little stockpile of recipes to share with you, and then by the end of my pregnancy I was too exhausted to sit down and write out all of the posts. I’m still in a bit of a sleep-deprived haze at the moment, but some of these recipes are so good that they need to be shared post haste!

This baked pumpkin french toast is one of my family’s favorite recipes, and I made a batch a few weeks ago before the baby was born so I could freeze it and have it on hand for another day. The pumpkin flavor is subtle but delicious, and it’s totally fantastic in combination with the brown sugar streusel on top. I love using homemade french bread for the base, but store-bought will work well if you don’t have time to bake a loaf. It’s best if you can let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, but I’ve baked it straight after pouring the egg mixture on top, and it still turned out well. The recipe makes enough for one 9 x 13 pan, or two 9 inch pie dishes, but it’s pretty easy to double or half the recipe depending on how big of a crowd you are feeding.

This baked french toast is pretty sweet on its own, but if you want to make it over-the-top delicious, you can add some homemade buttermilk syrup on top, or (even better!) some totally decadent cinnamon buttermilk syrup! I’ll be sharing the recipe for that on Monday (assuming the baby will nap long enough for me to write up the recipe) and it is a great one. The combination of tender, pumpkin-y French toast with crunchy and sweet streusel, and a little splash of cinnamon syrup is heavenly!

Baked Pumpkin French Toast

Print Recipe

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:45 minutes mins

Chill Time:12 hours hrs

Total Time:13 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Ingredients

for the french toast:

• 1 loaf french bread cut into one inch cubes
• 6 large eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

for the streusel:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter cut into pieces

Instructions

• Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside. Cut the french bread into 1 inch cubes and place in the prepared baking dish. In a large bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, half and half, pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour the mixture over the bread pieces. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the french toast. Bake 45-55 minutes, or until the french toast only jiggles slightly when shaken and is golden brown on top. Let cool slightly before serving.

Servings: 12