I want you all to know that I liked pumpkin way before it was cool to like pumpkin. Like, my middle school friends just looked at me weird when I about passed out at the discovery of a pumpkin spice lip gloss. Long before Pinterest, and some e-cards, and Starbucks decided pumpkin was cool, I knew pumpkin was cool. I just have to get that out there.
Fall is in the air where I live. I busted out my leather boots and long sleeve sweaters this week and have been enjoying cool, sun-shiny days watching the leaves just start to change colors. As soon as the temperatures start dropping, my oven temps start rising. I love cooking more casseroles, soups, and stews, and on cool weekend mornings, I love making special breakfast dishes that we can lounge around and eat in our jammies.
This weekend I took one of my favorites: Our Overnight Baked French Toast, and gave it an autumn-y makeover. It’s got the subtle warmth of pumpkin, and homey spices that scream fall time. I added an improved streusel crumb topping that knocks it out of the park, and when drizzled with melted butter and real maple syrup and topped with a dollop of whipped cream, this is pure heaven.
You’ll need a bunch of eggs- and let’s just remember these are in there during that moment when you realize this is basically dessert for breakfast. It has eggs so it totally counts.
Crack 8 eggs and whisk them up.
Now for the pumpkin. I’m packing a double punch here, first with straight-up pumpkin puree, and then….with this:
You can find pumpkin spice egg nog at most stores right now. If you look at the egg nog, the first 5 ingredients are: milk, cream, sugar, pasteurized egg yolks, and pumpkin puree. Basically everything that goes into a dish like this! The eggs add to the creamy custard, the cream adds richness, and then you get the extra pumpkin spice flavor.
So start by opening up a can of pumpkin puree (or you can use homemade, using this tutorial.)
Whisk some pumpkin into the eggs so it’s a lovely orange color and nice and smooth. We’re using 1 cup of pumpkin, but keep the rest around. I have a recipe coming later this week that uses the exact amount you have left. (Or make a Pumpkin Pie Milkshake!)
Then whisk in the pumpkin egg nog.
Combine it until it’s nice and smooth,
and then we’ll add in some additional flavor.
Whisk in a generous dose of vanilla, some dark brown sugar, and some pumpkin pie spice. Also some cinnamon.
We’re going to pour this over some diced bread. I just grab a loaf of french bread from the grocery store bakery. I try and get it 2-3 days before I’m going to use it, and just leave it bagged and whole until you’re ready to use it. Then dice it up into 1-inch cubes.
Your egg mixture is going to be especially thick, because egg nog is considerably thicker than regular milk. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Now, usually I just pour the mixture right into the pan (like I’m doing here in this photo) but if you have a bowl large enough, I would suggest gently tossing the bread and egg mixture together in a bowl first, letting it sit for a couple of minutes and then tossing again, just to help all of those bread cubes get covered and soaked. Then you can pour it all into a buttered pan.
That pan goes into the fridge overnight so it can have lots of time for the bread to absorb the liquid. When that’s all done, mix up a little topping. It’s a quick blend of brown sugar, white sugar, a touch of flour, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and mozarella cheese.
JK dudes, I just grated my cold butter with a cheese grater. Seriously- don’t put cheese in there. Then just use your fingers to crumble it all up. Place this little bowl in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, pull your pan out while your oven is pre-heating and sprinkle the crumbly topping all over the top. Also, eat some of the crumbly topping, but try not to let anyone see you.
Bake it in the oven for about 45 minutes and it will get puffed and golden on top.
Hello Gorgeous.
The topping gets crispy and crunchy, and the sugary crumbles are such an awesome contrast to the smooth custardy french toast below. Let it cool for a few minutes and then cut it into squares and serve.
I’d definitely recommend drizzling with 100% real maple syrup here.
And just because it probably doesn’t have enough calories yet, I really, really, love some melted butter on there too. I mean, it’s french toast- it’s only natural.
Annnnd since we’re going all out here, top with a little whipped cream (or Cool Whip) and sprinkle on some pumpkin pie spice.
Oh my gosh, I die.
This makes a perfect weekend breakfast during these cool autumn months, or it would be really fun on Halloween or Thanksgiving morning!
Overnight Baked Pumpkin Spice French Toast
Description
Easy breakfast and brunch dish that’s prepped the night before for easy cooking in the morning! Packed with autumn flavors like pumpkin, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
Ingredients
- 1lb loaf french bread, diced into 1-inch cubes
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 1/2 cups pumpkin spice egg nog
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar (dark brown if you have it)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- butter for greasing pan
- Topping
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (preferably dark brown sugar)
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cold butter
Instructions
- Butter sides and bottom of a 9×13 pan and set aside. Place bread cubes in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs together and add pumpkin puree. Whisk until smooth. Mix in pumpkin spice egg nog. Add brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Pour mixture over bread cubes and very gently toss until covered. Let sit for 2-3 minutes and then toss again, making sure all bread cubes get covered in some of the egg mixture. Place entire mixture in prepared 9×13 inch pan, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, white sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon, Either grate butter with a large-hole cheese grater, or cut it into small chunks, and use fingers to crumble mixture together. Cover, and place crumb topping in fridge overnight.
- In the morning, take french toast pan out and set at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover pan and sprinkle crumb topping evenly over the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until puffed and golden all over. (Mine usually takes closer to 55 minutes). Remove and let cool for 10 minutes or so and then cut into squares and serve.
- Serve with softened or melted butter, 100% real maple syrup, and sweetened whipped cream sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice.
Questions & Reviews
Put this together last night and cooked it tonight – you know – Breakfast for Dinner! Oh. My. Goodness! So much yumminess! Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this, this past weekend for company, we didn’t have the eggnog so did the half and half with extra spices. The only things I did different was used regular whole wheat bread, and because we love a stuffed french toast I added a thin layer of cream cheese. It was a big hit! Thank you!!
Sara, Sara, Sara…you almost had this girl running to the store at 10:30 at night for cheese. LOL. I thought it was weird but was willing to give it a try. Thank goodness I kept reading. The pan is soaking in the fridge. Can’t wait to eat it in the morning! BTW – pumpkin roll pancakes were delish!
I made this today and everyone liked it. I think I will add some chopped pecans to the topping next time. I was missing the pecan crunch from our other favorite overnight blueberry french toast that has pecans. I think it would add to the flavor quite nicely. Will make again.
Hello I think its grated BUTTER not cheese 🙂
I want this now!! Why couldn’t I have seen this earlier in the week? Dagnabbit!
PS I used your butter grating trick my first time making homemade pie crust for your chocolate chip cookie pie and it worked like a charm. You ladies are my kitchen heroes!!!
Is it really suppose to have mozzarella?? It’s not in your printed recipe…only in the pictures.
Read the whole post 🙂
This looks so good! Do you think it would be good with the homemade buttermilk syrup, too, or would that make it over-the-top sweet?
Nothing is over-the-top with our homemade buttermilk syrup 😉 It would be amaaaazing!
Made this for breakfast today. It was so yummy. I never use just white bread so we used whole wheat French bread and it came out wonderful. My hubby and little guys loved it. Another great recipe to add to my rotation.
Yay! So happy you liked it!
This looks and sounds amazing! But I have one concern…I have tried overnight breakfast casseroles in the past with bread soaked in egg mixture, and they ALWAYS turn out mushy and soggy for me–any suggestions, or are they supposed to be that way? If they are supposed to be soggy, then they are not for me, because I am a texture girl and I can’t stand mushy. Bananas? Can’t do it. Oatmeal? Makes me gag. It’s just a texture thing! But this looks soooo yummy….
Leah, there’s nothing soggy about it (unless you think normal french toast is soggy?) If your casseroles usually turn out soggy then my guess is that you’re either not baking them long enough, or not using the right recipes. Mine aren’t ever mushy, so if made correctly, it should be just right!
If it’s soggy, try using a stiffer bread. Regular sandwich bread will be too soggy, but a hardier bread like a French loaf from a bakery (I like sourdough in my baked french toasts!!) will be much better.
I know it’s Summer, but we eat pumpkin all year round! 🙂 Just a little question, does this have to soak overnight or can it be baked immediately?
I just made this and the top is great and the bottom is soggy and I can’t handle it. I’m with the above comment on the textures and it was hard for me to eat. We cooked it for 55 minutes. The bread didn’t soak up all the mixture. Should I have dumped some out? Would that have made a difference?
I would cover the dish so the top doesn’t burn and just bake it a little longer. All bread is going to be slightly different and possibly soak it up differently. You could try drying out the bread next time before soaking and that helps!
I have made overnight French toast before and mine always turned mushy also and I feel the same way you do (makes me want to gag thinking about it). I did make this and only used 1/2 the mixture. It did not turn out soggy and had the texture of French toast.
Looks delish – I’m going to try some GF bread that I need to use up. Thanks for a great recipe! 🙂
OH WOW! this looks amazing!!! i CAN NOT wait to try it!!!! THANKS SO MUCH for all of your wonderful, inspiring, mouth watering creations! 🙂
I think I would totally serve this for a company dessert, it looks that good. Yum!
And I would call it Pumpkin Bread Pudding, of course, LOL. (To continue my comment just above…)
Ross’ work bake off is this Thursday and the theme is pumpkin. I already bought the stuff for something else, but I think there will be a change of plans cause this looks and sounds heavenly.
I loved pumpkin before it was cool too. Geez. We are such hipsters 😉
You had me nervous with that mozzarella! Can’t believe I fell for it.
This looks DELICIOUS! The only problem is that I’m allergic to egg nog 🙁 Do you have any ideas for a substitute that would yield similar results? Thanks!
p.s. I tried the pumpkin roll pancakes last week and they were to die for! I LOVE you ladies 🙂
No problem Olivia. I would recommend subbing half-and-half for the egg nog, and increasing the brown sugar (in the french toast, not the topping) by 2 tablespoons. I’d also add a little extra pumpkin pie spice to make up for a little flavor there. It should turn out just fine!
Thanks Sara! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Looks so yum! Almost as good as making french toast with pumpkin chocolate chip bread!
My oldest son recently made a breakfast recipe, and I suggested your butter-grating trick. His brothers were quite concerned about the cheese in the mixing bowl…
I think my husband may actually eat this! Sounds delicious and easy! You girls have THE BEST food blog out there….and there are tons! Your site is easy to navigate and makes sense:) I’ve been following your blog for a few years now and I’ve never been disappointed, thanks for all the great recipes!
Your sweet comment made my day; thanks Melanie!
Yum. Yum. Yum. And your signature does show on my page at the very end … like after the cute little instagram blurb … and love following you on instagram too. Thanks for this treat 🙂
ooh, good to know, Thanks! It’s been so weird lately!
I cannot wait to try this out! It looks fantastic!
Mozzarella cheese! I’m dying!
Where do you see mozzarella cheese?
It’s a joke- I grated cold butter with a cheese grater and it looks like cheese 🙂
WOW! This looks SOOO GOOODDD!!! I can’t wait to try it!
That looks so flippin good! Yum. My kind of fall breakfast for sure!
Dessert for breakfast. Yesssssss.
Looks absolutely delicious!! And I thought you had totally gone and lost your mind adding cheese to the top. HA! Good one!
Pumpkin spice eggnog?! AWESOME!!
There is pumpkin spice egg nog. I had no clue. This looks amazing 🙂
I woke up starving at midnight, so just now finished off a bowl of Cheerios. I wish I had this instead 🙂 I see it in my future anyway!
Your recipes have never failed me, so when I read mozzerella cheese, I was on board! I totally believed you! The non-cheese version does look like the most fantastic thing ever. 🙂 Can’t wait to try it!