Pumpkin french toast = breakfast of champions. Take my word.
Remember my 7-ingredient muesli bread? Well, it’s making another appearance in this pumpkin french toast. Chopped up into cubes, it makes the perfect base for a very fall breakfast.
I’ve always made french toast the traditional route: dip bread into egg batter and fry right when you’re ready to eat. But, making it the day before and baking in the morning is actually a lot easier. Plus, it doesn’t require a griddle and allows the bread plenty of time to soak up the pumpkin-y goodness.
The ‘batter’ consisted of several free range eggs, a healthy dash of milk, a scoop of pumpkin butter and plenty of pumpkin pie spice. Topped with brown sugar and it was good to go.
You guys, it’s possible that I’ve never been so excited to hop up out of bed on a Saturday to preheat my oven. The anticipation nearly stole precious hours of sleep, but it was so, so worth it.
As you can see, it turned out phenomenal. The crusty, raisin-dotted bread soaked up the batter and yielded a custard-like french toast bake that smelled like heaven in the oven.
Topped with a little maple syrup (agave or honey) and it’s phenomenal. Not to mention it could feed your entire family and most of your neighbors. I ended up driving mine around to several friends and sharing a healthy portion. Now they think I’m the “french toast fairy” – not sure that’s a reputation I’m willing – or able – to keep up. Either way, it was fun while it lasted.
If there’s just two of you dining on this breakfast, simply cut the recipe in half or even one-fourth for a more appropriate serving size. Either way, this recipe should be on your fall bucket list. I’m so glad I’ve already crossed it off of mine.
Pumpkin French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 – 7 1/2 cups 1-inch bread cubes (depending on type of bread)*
- 7 large eggs
- 2 cups milk (any kind)*
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 cup pumpkin butter (or sub double the amount of pumpkin puree)*
- 3-4 Tbsp brown sugar (for topping)
- Nuts (like pecan or walnuts // optional)
Instructions
- Cut any kind of bread into 1-inch cubes – I recommend a crusty, whole grain variety, but sandwich bread will work, too. Just use enough slice to fill a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish quite full.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, pumpkin butter and pie spice until well combined. Pour over bread and push down with a spoon or your hands until it's all soaked and mostly covered. Cover with saran wrap or lid and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C), uncover and top with brown sugar, additional pumpkin pie spice and nuts (optional). Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and no longer wet.
- Serve immediately with maple syrup, honey or agave nectar. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for up to a couple days.
Notes
*I used 2%, but use skim or low-fat for a lighter recipe. Alternatively, use non-dairy such as soy or almond.
*I HIGHLY recommend using pumpkin butter, as it has a concentrated pumpkin flavor and is much sweeter than puree. But if using puree instead of butter, it’s important to compensate the flavor by adding a bit more puree, pumpkin pie spice, and a little agave nectar, brown sugar or maple syrup to the batter. Otherwise, it will lack that delicious fall, pumpkin flavor you’re going for.
Nutrition (1 of 10 servings)
* Some commenters have tried this recipe and varied the amount of pumpkin butter or bread they used for a better result. Because different breads can have different levels of sponginess and the pumpkin butter can vary in taste if it’s store bought or homemade, play with this recipe and make it your own! If you need more bread cubes, add more. And do the same with pumpkin butter. Please let me know if you have any questions in the process as I’d be glad to help!
Lia Kulla says
I have made this as our Thanksgiving Day breakfast for many years. It is a favorite. I have never varied it as I find it to be perfect as is.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Lia. We are so glad you enjoy this recipe! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Margaret says
I plan on making this, love pumpkin anything but reading the recipe its almost like an old fashioned bread pudding recipe, which I also love. Lol.
But does sound yummy.
Heidi says
This was absolutely delicious! I had tried this previously letting it sit overnight and it was just way too mushy for us. I baked it immediately, tonight, and the texture ended up being perfect. I also made sure to mix the bread around in the dish to make sure all the bread was evenly coated. I also added 1/3 c maple syrup to the egg mixture, instead of the brown sugar, and it wiñad easily sweet enough to eat plain. Delicious! Thank you!!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Heidi!
Lisa says
First of all, this recipe was SO delicious, and my whole family loved it!! I will definitely make it again, as it’s going on my Pinterest board for breakfast. One note: I didn’t realize until the morning, that this recipe was supposed to be made the night before. (Perhaps this could be highlighted at the outset?) I went ahead and still made it in the morning, hoping it might still work, as long as the bread all looked wet. When it cooked for a bit, one side completely expanded several inches above the edge of the pan, but once it was removed from the oven, it all calmed down, and we all dug in with delight!! I added chopped pecans to one side (kids prefer no nuts), and donned it with warm maple syrup and canned whipped cream. Oh, and thanks for the spice recipe, to boot!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Thank you for sharing your experience and great suggestion, Lisa! We’re so glad everyone ended up enjoying it! xo
carly says
will this work in a convection oven? same amount of time? thanks
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
It should work! Perhaps slightly less time.
sara says
Hello! Just wondering what type of bread you used in this? Thanks!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
This one: https://minimalistbaker.com/7-ingredient-muesli-bread/. Enjoy!
Hillary says
Wow! Used your recipes to make homemade pumpkin purée and from that I made homemade pumpkin butter and from that this delicious baked French toast! Used some leftover bread and some new bread and it turned out amazing! Since I used oat milk, my dairy allergic toddler could even have some! Everyone loved it and I loved that I was able to make it the night before and do very little in the morning. This is the new way we make French toast now for sure!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Hillary!
Diane F Shurtleff says
Have you ever added fruit- maybe bannans or blueberries. What do you think? Thx!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
We haven’t, but that might work! Let us know if you give it a try!
Jillian says
This recipe was a huge hit! I prepped it the night before Thanksgiving (along with a crustless quiche and hashbrown casserole, as we were doing a brunch on Thanksgiving day). I made it dairy-, soy-, and gluten-free (my stepson has allergies) by using one 15 oz package of Canyon Bakehouse Country White sandwich bread and almond milk. I also added golden raisins along with the brown sugar, sprinkled on top of the dish before baking. The whole family enjoyed it, and couldn’t believe it was dairy-free and gluten-free! I will be making it again for Christmas morning, thanks for the wonderful recipe! :)
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it, Jillian! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Cindy says
Made this for Thanksgiving breakfast. Didn’t have pumpkin butter so I used 1 cup of canned pumpkin, bread was Cinnamon Swirl, and almond milk instead of regular milk. Came out delicious. Start of a new tradition!
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Thanks for sharing, Cindy!
Lauriana says
Has anyone tried making this with sourdough? Wondering how it turned out. It’s supposed to be easier to digest for us gluten intolerant folks. I’m planning on making this for a friendsgiving brunch.
AJ says
Could this be made in the morning without soaking overnight??
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
We don’t think so. You might be able to get away with soaking it for 6-8 hours, but overnight is ideal.
ILIANA says
HI, OTHER THEN EGGS WHAT ELSE CAN I USE?
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Perhaps silken tofu blended + a little arrowroot?
Sue says
This recipe is a keeper. I makeThanksgiving Breakfast every year for our friends and family. They loved it!❤️
Wes says
This looks spectacular…I wanna eat my screen! One question: every time I make baked french toast and follow the recipe guidelines, it seems like it becomes to “eggy” with baked egg making up the bottom and other sides of the french toast, which I don’t like. And this recipe calls for 7 eggs. What am I doing wrong, please help!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
It sounds like you may be soaking your bread in the mixture for too long, Wes! Try soaking it for less time and you should have better success.
Emily says
I love this recipe. I have made it multiple times for my parents and four siblings as well as my classmates at school. Anything with pumpkin is so tasty, and this has been one of my go to breakfast recipes. It never disappoints! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Jessica says
This is our go-to recipe when we have people over for breakfast – the only sub we make is to use apple butter instead of pumpkin butter, which could help a lot of reviewers here who had trouble finding pumpkin butter. Also we sometimes use raisin bread – YUM. Thanks for the great recipe – so many of these french toast bakes add so much sugar and cream – this recipe is proof that you don’t need that!!
Amy says
Hi, I made this for a post-Thanksgiving breakfast because we had lots of leftover parkerhouse rolls and leftover pumpkin pie. So instead of the pumpkin butter, I used the inside filling of the pumpkin pie (about equal to half cup). I used 7 rolls, dinner roll size chopped into 8ths. Everything else I followed exactly. It was amazing! Very good with candied pecans, chocolate shavings and a dollop of vanilla yogurt. Thanks!
Jessica Cal says
I LOVE this recipe. I made it using Udi’s gluten free bread, almond milk, and the pumpkin puree. It is so so good!! I make it every year now around the holidays.
Amy says
Is it possible to make this vegan?
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Amy! We haven’t tried it yet and are not sure without testing! If you give it a go, report back on how it goes :D
Kim says
Used a combination of pumpkin swirl and cinnamon swirl bread for added flavor, and it turned out so flavorful! Will definitely add this to the rotation and will make for visitors on a lazy weekend. So easy, so decadent! Thanks for sharing!
Carla says
Where do u get pumpkin butter? Don’t lol but I never had it?
Denise F. says
Followed the recipe, let it soak overnight etc. Flavor was great, but it takes a LOT longer than 45 minutes to bake. At 50 minutes it was still quite soggy in the middle. Mine took about 1.5 hours. Both my internal temp gauges verified my oven was at 350.
Kelly says
William Sonoma has it and you can order it online
Mary Lee says
This was great. Based on some other reviews, I did almost double the amount of pumpkin butter and pie spice, and would do that again. It was light and fluffy. Yum!
cheri says
I make overnight French toast all the time and one thing I have found it is it better to use day old French bread instead of just bread slices.. That may be why some are saying it is sloppy or has raw egg.. or maybe it tastes eggy.. I use 2 loafs.. cut crust off and then into squares.. The French bread cut into smaller pieces seems to soak up a lot of the mixture. My recipe also calls for 12 eggs and 2 cups milk.. I am sure that also makes a difference.. I bake it covered with foil for 30 minutes and uncovered 30 minutes.. Perfect every time!!
Elizabeth says
Do you think I could sub in some egg whites? 7 is a lot…
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
That should work!
Shauna says
I am concerned that the top will be too dry for my tastes, do you think this would work if you baked it with aluminum foil covering it to keep the top moist? If so, are there any other changes that would need to be made?
Jessie says
I loved this recipe. I made it with gluten free bread and with almond milk. I didn’t have the pumpkin butter so I used the pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. I drizzled a little maple syrup over the top prior to baking and sprinkled with brown sugar. I ended up baking it for 45 minutes. It puffed up a bit when I took it out of the oven and settled fairly quickly. The consistency was great. I know some of the reviews have said it didn’t have a lot of flavor but it was great for me. I probably did use more pumpkin spice than the recipe called for.. =)
Kimi says
Made the pumpkin purée with brown sugar version using pumpkin streusel breakfast bread from Target. Sooooooo delish! Everybody was asking for the recipe! Two thumbs up minimalist baker!!
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Whoop! thanks for sharing!
Kia says
I would love love LOVE to see a vegan version of this, it looks delightful!! The first thing that came to mind was to try it with blended tofu instead of eggs. I might have to try that… :D
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Working on that!
Cat says
Delicious! Absolutely the best breakfast ever! It turned out perfect!
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Cat!
Cat Alsup says
I am making this now. I didn’t have pumpkin butter so I used some canned pumpkin instead. I added sugar and a bit more vanilla. I will let you know tomorrow how it turned out.
Melinda says
I made this a couple weeks ago for my in-laws and they loved it. I accidentally added 3/4 cup of pumpkin butter but it turned out great. I also added some melted butter with the brown sugar and pecans before sprinkling it on top and it was delicious. Thanks for the recipe
Kathleen M. says
Made this last night and cooked this morning. My family really enjoyed it! I only made a half recipe, since there are only three of us. I used Texas toast (leftover from my daughter’s special PSAT breakfast request last week…don’t know if I would have tried it otherwise). I added a tablespoon of sugar, and used about a teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie spice. Making a half recipe, I adjusted the bread to fit my dish and used four eggs. I cooked it for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. I’m really glad I came across this on Pinterest. I’m not much for making special things for breakfast, it was a treat. Thank you.
Pnk says
Looks awesome. I wonder if a cast iron skillet would work well here.
Susan says
I just found your receipt for the pumpkin butter!
I’ll get it made today!!
Thanks
Susan says
Where do you get or how do you make pumpkin butter?
This French toast looks wonderful and I can’t wait to try it!!!
leah says
can you make this meal vegan as well??? it looks delish :D
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
I have a vegan french toast in our print cookbook coming out soon! Stay tuned!!
Mary says
I’m making this now! A few things that I did differently: I used challah bread because it’s personally my favorite bread to use for French toast – I think it will work well since the outer crust is quite firm (almost like a soft pretzel-texture) and the inside is quite fluffy and sweet. I used extra pumpkin puree and extra pumpkin pie spices since I noticed some comments saying that the pumpkin flavor wasn’t very strong with the original recipe. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the detail about overnight preparation and I am making it for a particular occasion, but I did have a few hours to let it sit and soak. If all goes well, I may make this again with pumpkin eggnog as a partial milk substitute.
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Thanks for sharing, Mary! Hope you loved it!!
Susan says
The pumpkin eggnog sounds like a great idea!!!!!!
Megan says
This looks amazing!!! Just wish it was Vegan… any chance you’d try to convert it?! :)
Fanny says
Any suggestions for an egg free version? Seven eggs is a lot to ask of my usual flax egg replacement.
Brigitte Estelle says
Oh Lord help me ! The smell when you walk in my kitchen is ahhhhhh!
REMINDER: Must leave some for others !!
From Montréal.
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
ha! So glad you enjoyed this, Brigitte! Thanks for sharing!
Himani says
hi – Planning to make this dish soon. can you pls share the contents of the pumpkin pie spice since we do not get it here in India.
Thanks
Johnny Utah's NYC says
Best french toast recipe ever!, I made something similar yesterday.
amy says
ADD more pumpkin butter AND pumpkin pie spice to recipe! I used crusty italian (big loaf) bread.
I came across this recipe and was super delights. I made my first batch for my son’s teachers for their last day of school last week. I found a separate recipe to make homemade pumpkin butter (orange juice, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, etc), which I made and used for this recipe. When making the first batch of this pumpkin french toast, I found the flavor not pumpkin enough …. actually, i didn’t taste much of any pumpkin in the liquid before I poured over the bread. So, I added a bit more pumpkin butter but still not a whole lot of BAM… pumpkin. I went ahead with it just in case the flavor came out overnight with soaking and the added pumpkin spice just before baking. I think it still needed more.
In comes batch #2 a couple of days later for home. I added a total of 3/4 – 1 cup (not 1/4 cup) of pumpkin butter and 2 tsp (not 1 1/2 tsp) of pumpkin pie spice into the liquid mixture. I sprinkled a good amount of pumpkin pie spice on the top the next morning just before baking. Those tweaks did the trick… I got the pumpkin flavor I wanted…. I can tell it’s pumpkin now.
Thanks!!!
Jen says
Hi. Do you think this recipe would work in the slow cooker?
Jenny P says
This recipe is delicious! It was the perfect Christmas morning breakfast!
We did have success trying it GLUTEN FREE… (So we didn’t follow the recipe exactly).. But I’ll share what I did in case someone else would want to try. :-)
We used Udi’s GF white bread (it absorbs better than their whole grain) and just followed the recipe ingredients etc… We did use the Oh She Glows pumpkin butter (so good!)
We also used almond milk, added a little extra pumpkin spice, and topped it with coconut sugar v Brown sugar
I was a little nervous about attempting to let it sit over night (because of the gf bread).. So we made it the morning of and let it soak in the fridge for only 30 mins.
We then baked it as advised but started checking on it around the 25 min mark because gf just doesn’t cook the same way… We prob pulled it out somewhere between the 30-35 min mark and it was nice and toasted on top and custardy inside.
We found the recipe easy to follow and easy to make slight preference adjustments. This recipe is a keeper and just may become a christmas tradition. Thank you!
Tina says
I made this for Christmas morning and people loved it! Easy to make and tasted delicious❤️❤️❤️
Lucy says
Just made this for the first time for Christmas Morning for a tough crowd – my kids. It was quite a success with my daughter (10 y.0.) not my son (7 y.o. – he is tougher by far with different food options). I enjoyed it! I read all the reviews and made changes as necessary. – I used cinnamon raison bagels (about 4-5) I had left over in the freezer, they held up well to the liquid mixture and I fluffed up a little. I used pumpkin puree and added the pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup to the liquid and shook some on top before baking – it was good but I would have liked even more pumpkin – minor adjustment for next time. It was crispy on top and not soggy on the inside – baked for 30 min and added an extra 6-8 minutes after I checked it, not sure it needed it but it wasn’t dry. Only 4 stars because of the adjustments and the need for even more pumpkin flavor. Definitely need a bread that can absorb the liquid or cut back. Also, made it the night before, stirred it all and added brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and pecans to the top before baking – so easy!
tanya says
Making this for the third year in a row! Best french toast recipe ever!!
Cara says
I have plans to make use of our leftovers with this!
We have leftover homemade white poppy seed bread and a package of raisin bread. Then I’m going to scrape out the filling of a homemade pumpkin pie (from a pumpkin) that wasn’t eaten because it wasn’t sweet enough. I’ll add honey, cinnomon, sugar and enough extras to that mix to make it sweet and then add to the rest of the ingredients.
I might try to add in some pumpkin coffee creamer in place of some of the milk. And plenty of maple syrup!
Thanks! Now I know what to do with that sad pumpkin pie our aunt left at our house!
Kathy says
My husband loves this breakfast. Luckily, this time of year I found pumpkin bread made by Pepperidge Farm. I mix that and some other grainy bread and its Delicious. Thanks for making me popular with my family!
Michelle says
I made this dish for a brunch today. I bought one loaf of french bread, but should have used 1.5 loaves. I had to add 4 slices of white bread to soak up the rest of the egg mixture.
The French toast was delicious! Only change I would make was maybe upping the amount of pumpkin butter or adding pumpkin purée. The pumpkin wasn’t quite as strong as I would have liked. Everyone absolutely loved it though!
Renee says
I made my own pumpkin butter just for this and it is now a thanksgiving traditional breakfast in my house and even the children love it. Thank you its so yummy and worth the extra calories!
Melissa says
I have tried and LOVED Lee Drummond’s Recipe “The Pioneer Woman” for Baked French Toast and it is great! I was intrigued by the “Pumpkin” version. I am thinking the best way to make it less SOGGY and more French toast like is to consider adding in a tbsp. or two of flour. I eat gluten free so I subbed gluten free bread and used GF All purpose flour. Turns out like a dream everytime! With this great recipe idea I believe it is possible!
Sally Morris says
I made this with pumpkin spice egg nog for the milk. I think it’s the best food I’ve ever eaten!
tanya says
Brilliant!
Bastelschaf says
Heya!
Your recipe looks SO delicious, I just HAVE to recommend your post on my blog. I’m gonna use one of your pictures for that – should you mind, just send me an email…
Thanks for sharing!!
Conny
Christine says
Would this work with pumpkin bread?
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
I would think so, but because pumpkin bread can be a little moist, it might get too soggy. But if you give it a try, let me know!
Marie says
Absolutely amazing recipe. I made it for a Halloween brunch for 10 yesterday, and it was a massive success. Used French bread. I added sweetened and condensed milk to the milk mixture for added sweetness. Thanks for the warning :-)
I also used almost three time as much pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin purée. This made it a bit more soupy, but I was careful not to use 100% of the mixture, letting some go to waste, instead of pouring it all on the bread. I also baked for a bit longer…was also cooking bacon in the oven at the same time, so it was tricky opening and closing the oven frequently.
This was a show stopper, many ppl loved it. Thank you!
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Great! Thanks for sharing, Marie!
Jessica says
I made this for breakfast this morning for my husband and I and it was soooo good! I used an 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 pan since it’s just the two of us and cut the recipe in half. I still had to cook for about 45min but I think I had to much egg not enough bread but now I know for next time! I would definitely make this again.
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Jessica!
Beth says
Love your recipes, but the non-stop super annoying Verizon ads playing randomly while on any page of your blog are a huge, huge turn off:(((
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Oh no! Do they turn on and play without any prompting or hovering? We’ll look into that. Sorry, Beth!
Tee Hill says
The biggest key to this recipe is the type of bread you use. If you skip the spices and pumpkin butter it will be bland. If you use regular bread it will be soggy. I went to the market and bought a loaf of homemade sour dough, something hearty and crusty like a rustic bread with raisin etc. is amazing in this dish and will soak up the batter.
Debbie says
Can you veganize this recipe?
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
I’ll add it to my list! Not sure at this moment without testing.
Emily says
Hi,
This look great! Just wanted to let you know I’ve featured your recipe in a must make breakfast list on my blog, The Handmade Experiment. Check it out!
Kelly P says
Can I make this with gluten-free bread? Will it get too soggy?
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Not sure! Haven’t tried it. But it should work as long as it’s not soft bread to begin with. The heartier, day old the better. Hope that helps!
Elena says
This is a simple and delicious recipe that I will definitely make again! I halved the recipe, and it was the perfect amount to feed 2 people (with leftovers). I used Maple Pumpkin butter from Wegman’s and Challah bread from Trader Joe’s. The Challah bread worked perfectly to soak up all of the liquid overnight. I also added raisins and walnuts to the top, which went nicely with the pumpkin flavors. One recommendation I have is to leave a lid/tinfoil on your baking dish for the first 20 minutes – this helped to keep the casserole from drying out. I did bake for the 45 minutes, as I was worried that the bread was still too “wet” and wanted to make sure it was cooked through.
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed this, Elena. I’ll have to try the Challah bread from Trader’s. Love that store!
Anna says
I made this for a meeting this past weekend and it was AMAZING! I took the extra time to make your muesli bread (two loaves, delish) and the pumpkin butter. Homemade really made the difference here and it was very good. The pumpkin butter recipe yielded quite a bit so I shared a small jar with my sister-in-law:) The muesli bread base is adaptable for any kind of filling (dried fruit, nuts, etc). You really could put anything in there and it would still be amazing. Next time I might add some diced apples and cinnamon to the base recipe. Thank you for sharing!!
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
So glad you all enjoyed it! Your modifications for next time sound perfect. Thanks for sharing, Anna!
Michelle says
I made this today for brunch with my family. It was a hit and even my 2 picky boys LOVED it!! I forgot about the brown sugar on top but sprinkled it on after 30 min of baking. It tasted perfectly crunchy and delicious!! I did have to add about 15-20 min of baking time. Maybe because I used sandwich bread and it wasn’t quite done in the middle. I will be adding this to our family favorite recipes :). Thank you!!
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Yay! So glad to hear it, Michelle!
Cathy says
Made this this morning for Christmas and it was very good! I used cinnamon bread (just regular stuff you buy in the bread isle), a little extra pumpkin butter but still didn’t taste very pumpkinny, dots of cream cheese and I made a streusel topping that I put on right before going in to the oven. I made it at 8:30 last night and pulled it out of the fridge at 8:15 this morning. Put tin foil on it for first half hour then uncovered for 15 more minutes. It was yummy! Will definitely make this again! Used a 9×13 pan, there were 4 adults and half a pan left.
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Glad it turned out so well for you, Cathy! And glad your family enjoyed it, too. Cheers and Happy New Year!
Melindamari says
This was amazing! I served this at Thanksgiving brunch and everyone loved it.
I use brioche which I think would make a big difference in how this would come out. The bread being super fluffy, soaked up all the ingredients and came out perfect- soft in the middle and toasty in top. I did not use the pumpkin butter so I used more of the other ingredients like suggested. Topped it with sliced almonds and warm maple syrup.
It was much easier than doing individual peices of French toast and tastes delish:)
Thanks for sharing
Sue says
Made this dish for Thanksgiving breakfast. I used your basic 100% whole wheat sandwich bread, and pumpkin puree (adjusting spices, as suggested). Toasted pecans, and put them, along with brown sugar, on the top before baking. I like the flavor. Will do it again with a bit of tweaking to bring it around to just how I, and my family, like it. (Possibly adding some crumbled bacon – delish.) Thanks for the recipe.
Melissa says
not a fan of this dish. I love pumpkin more than any other flavor and i felt like this was to eggy for me. I added extra pumpkin pie spice and all i could taste was the eggs! Will not be making this again..
Heather @ Beyond the Aisle says
Hi Dana,
I made this recipe yesterday for us to have for breakfast while watching the Thanksgiving Day parade – it was perfect. Thank you!
J Ann says
I made this with challah bread for Thanksgiving breakfast and everyone loved it.
Pamela Rhea Davis says
I just made this for Thanksgiving and made a couple of substitutions. For the bread, I used Pepperidge Farms pumpkin bread, I used Kroger brand vanilla Carbmaster milk (60 calories per cup and 11 grams of protein), I used 3 whole eggs and the rest egg whites with a big spoonful of pumpkin pie filling since I forget the pumpkin butter. It was really good although I think I cooked it about 5 minutes too long-it was a little dry but some Torani’s pumpkin pie sauce fixed that! Thank you for this idea. I’m toying with a cranberry-orange version for Christmas.
Brandi says
I read some of the other reviews as I was making this. I used a very dense 10 grain bread from the best bakery in the city…the kind you have to wait in line for at the farmer’s market outside in 25 degrees :) I used pumpkin butter that I made from allrecipes.com. I did soak it overnight, but drained some of the excess that did not get soaked up by the bread. I baked at 375 for 40 minutes. I also sprinkled brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice on top before baking.
Next time I will increase the pumpkin butter and pumpkin pie spice. I will also cover the top with foil for the first 1/2 of baking and then remove for the last part to prevent the top from over browning. I may also try adding the cream cheese as someone suggested as a future variation.
Kel says
Can someone explain ((about)) how wet this should be before baking? The bread cubes were all moist this morning when taking it out of the fridge but there was no extra liquid, so I made added a little more. I followed the recipe but split it in half and used a smaller pan. How much liquid should you see before baking?
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
Kel, you really shouldn’t see much. It should be mostly absorbed if you soak it overnight. Hope that helps!
Aida says
I’ve made this today for the first time, it was really good. I had to use pumpkin puree, and although I used more pumpkin spice and sugar, there was not much pumpkin flavor. Nex time maybe I will use more puree, or I’ll try to do my own pumpkin butter! I used Challah bread, and bake it for 45 minutes, and the texture was excellent.
Here’s a little tip: if using nuts (I’ve used pecans) toast them in a pan really quick (they get burn very easily) and put them in the bread, then bake. It reaaaaaally enhances their flavor!
Ellen says
I used Challah Bread last time and my family loved it. Making it again for company tomorrow.
Aida says
I used Challah bread too, and it was really good.
Alicia says
Could you add apples to this? What would the ratio be?
Christina says
Can this receipe be made in muffin tins or must it be a casserole dish? Just thinking outside the box…
Dana @ Minimalist Baker says
You could do muffin tins – it would work the same. Just reduce your cooking time to compensate :D
Lisa says
My daughter is allergic to eggs …any suggestions????
Katrina says
Tried it this morning but didn’t notice that I should have made it last night and then put it in the oven this morning. It was crunchy on top and soggy in the middle. My kids and I loved the smell but no one finished even eating what I put on their plate. Dissapointed for sure! Maybe I’ll try it once more but I’m not holding my breath.
Kaye J. says
You HAVE to let bread pudding sit over night. Not really right to rate so low when you didn’t follow directions.
Nicholle C. says
Why are you giving it a low rating because you didn’t follow the directions?
Jennifer says
I made this and did let it sit overnight and got the same soggy inside crunchy outside disaster. It was a complete waste of bread and eggs. :(