Pumpkin Pecan Baked French Toast
Cozy Fall Breakfast at its Best
Just the Recipe | 8 Servings
350°
Ingredients
6-7 C Whole or Multi-Grain Bread Cubes (1 to 1 1/2 loaves)
7 large eggs
2 C Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 C Pumpkin Butter
1 1/2 + 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
4 TBS Brown Sugar
1/2 C Chopped Pecans
Steps
Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.
Cube the bread into large cubes. About 1 1/2 inches will do but don’t sweat it, it can be rough and they don’t have to be perfectly even. To be honest, I don’t really measure the cubes. Rather, I cut them until I have enough to fill a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, very full. This is usually 1 to 1 1/2 loaves of bread.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, pumpkin butter and 1 1/2 tsp of the pie spice well to combine.
Separately, combine the 1 tsp of pie spice, pecans and brown sugar in a jar and seal. You’ll use this in the morning before baking.
Pour over the bread cubes in the lightly greased baking dash.
Stir carefully until the bread cubes are coated, using a spoon to push them down into the batter.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Or, add the topping and go right to baking.)
In the morning, preheat the oven to 350° and pull the dish out of the refrigerator.
If any bread cubes are dry, stir them so they make it to the bottom of the dish.
Shake up the topping and spread evenly over the top of the french toast.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the french toast is golden brown, no longer wet, and set in the middle.
Serve warm with maple syrup or honey and extra pumpkin butter. Pairs well with breakfast sausage.
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or a toaster oven.
Meal Block Plan | 8 Breakfasts
Store in a container (or divide into six single serving containers) and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds on high, or warm in a toaster oven on toast.
#Kitchen Acumen Tips:
Use several day old bread. Fresh bread will create a mushy mess. You want a little bit of stale-ness to the bread so it soaks up the eggs and milk.
I usually buy a whole grain or seeded bread for this dish. If it’s going to be more than 5 days before I make the dish, I’ll store the bread in the refrigerator until I’m ready to make the dish.
If you bought fresh bread, cube it up and spread out on a sheet pan. Leave on the counter overnight, or for several hours, before mixing with the batter in order to allow the bread cubes to dry out a bit.
I have made this the morning of, without soaking overnight, on occasion. Mixing the night before tastes better for sure but it is still yummy made the morning of. This works better if the bread is only 1-2 days old. You’ll also want to make sure all bread cubes are well coated in batter or they will get very toasty.
You can use any milk (almond, oat, coconut, whole, skim, etc) in this recipe. We use whole milk unless we need to be dairy free, then we opt for almond milk.
Pumpkin butter is not the same as pumpkin puree. Rather it is a concentrated jam-like spread that is highly spiced. You can use pumpkin puree but it will be much more mild. When doing so, use about double the pie spice, and add 1/4 cup of brown sugar or maple syrup to the batter. Trader Joe’s has a really nice pumpkin butter if you have access to one.
This is a fantastic option for Halloween or Thanksgiving breakfast. It’s also great for a weekend away in a cabin. We’ve been enjoy this for years and our friends and family always request it. I hope yours will too!
You can swap pecans for walnuts or almonds. Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are also fun in the topping of this dish.
