This pumpkin French toast casserole combines a few of the fall season’s best baking ingredients like pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Pour a thick pumpkin custard mixture over cubes of challah bread (or your desired loaf), and then top with a brown sugar pecan crumb topping. This unforgettable dish hits the sweet spot in the morning and you can prep it the night before, so it’s convenient for Thanksgiving brunch or any busy fall morning.
The fall baking season is here and we’re making quite the indulgent breakfast! Or should we say breakfast-style dessert? Because, truly, French toast casserole is dessert that we eat when we wake up. Good morning!
Details About Overnight Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- Flavor: Each serving of today’s pumpkin French toast casserole tastes like pumpkin cinnamon rolls with maple syrup on top. And you didn’t even have to mess with yeast (if you use store-bought bread!). Though I have a soft spot for this blueberry French toast casserole, these warm spice, pecan, and pumpkin flavors are especially satisfying and I have a feeling you’ll enjoy it all too.
- Texture: If you crave texture, you’ll fall in love with each sweet and spiced bite of this bread pudding-like breakfast. As instructed in the recipe below, if you let the bread get a little stale before assembling the casserole, it will absorb more of the custard. This means every bite will be thick, soft, and dense rather than flimsy, wet, and soggy—makes a big texture difference!
- Ease: If you’ve never made French toast casserole before, you’ll be delighted to read that the process is very, very simple. In fact, choosing which loaf of bread to use may be the hardest part of the recipe! You don’t have to stand over the stove cooking each individual serving—rather, everything comes together in a casserole dish and you can prep it all the night before. (French toast casserole tastes better if it takes a nap before baking. How convenient because you’ll be sleeping too!)
Best Bread to Use for Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Start With Some Great Bread. Bread is the main ingredient in any baked french toast casserole, so don’t skimp here. Flimsy sliced white bread won’t do the casserole any favors because it’s unable to soak up excess moisture from the custard—the entire dish will taste flat, soggy, and wet. (Same when making breakfast casserole.) I recommend sturdy flavorful bread like challah, French bread, brioche, homemade artisan bread, or even croissant bread. Challah is my #1 recommendation and I usually pick up a loaf from a local bakery. Feel free to use homemade or store-bought.
- Can I Use Sourdough Bread? Yes. Sourdough bread is wonderfully sturdy and flavorful, so it’s an excellent choice for pumpkin French toast casserole.
Somewhat Stale Bread. When you have the quality bread you need, let it sit out for a few hours to get a little stale. Like sausage & herb stuffing and bagel breakfast casserole, French toast casserole is best when the bread is somewhat stale. Slice and cut the bread into 1-inch cubes, then let it sit out uncovered for a few hours or up to 1 day. The less moisture in the bread, the more pumpkin custard it can soak up!
Success Tips for Making the Best Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- Perfect Pumpkin Custard. The fabulously rich and spiced custard comes together with a whisk, mixing bowl, and a few basic ingredients. When testing this recipe, I used a mix of milk and heavy cream (because I love that in pumpkin pie), but the casserole ended up too thick and heavy. You can use lower fat or nondairy milk if needed, but I recommend whole milk for the best taste and texture. And you can use homemade pumpkin pie spice in this!
- Let It Soak. Compared to regular French toast where slices of bread take a quick dip before cooking, baked French toast requires a longer soaking time. In fact, it gets better with age! The more the bread soaks up the custard, the less time the casserole takes to bake (check at 45 minutes as instructed below) and the less soggy the casserole tastes. I recommend at least 3 hours and up to 1 day in the refrigerator.
- Prepare Crumb Topping in Advance & Top Right Before Baking. Prepare the brown sugar pecan topping in advance so it can also chill in the refrigerator. Remember, crumb toppings are butter heavy which means they’ll melt quickly in the oven. The colder the crumb topping is, the less likely it will melt down and disappear in the casserole. To prevent it from getting soggy, sprinkle the crumb topping on top right before baking. The crumb topping requires the only special tool you need for this recipe: a pastry cutter. (In a pinch, use 2 forks or your hands.) If you love the crumb topping here, try this sweet potato casserole (with pecan topping!) next.
Can I Make Pumpkin French Toast Casserole in a Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can make pumpkin french toast casserole in your slow cooker but keep in mind that when cooked in the slow cooker, the bread doesn’t have quite as much texture compared to baking in the oven. See specific slow cooker instructions in the recipe notes below. French toast casserole is done when center appears set and is no longer runny.
Add Cream Cheese!
If you love pumpkin and cream cheese together (think pumpkin cream cheese muffins, pumpkin bars, and pumpkin cake), you’ll enjoy a cream cheese version of this recipe.. It’s the same exact process I use for baked cream cheese French toast casserole and I include those instructions in the recipe notes below. It’s all very easy and results in an even richer breakfast (ahem, dessert) dish.
