What better way to start off a fall morning than with an overnight pumpkin french toast casserole? This recipe is the perfect combination of tasty and convenient, which is everything a breakfast should be. It's also an excellent breakfast for holidays like Thanksgiving or Halloween, especially when gathering with family or friends.
How to Make Overnight Pumpkin French Toast
Prepare the Pumpkin French Toast Casserole Base
The night before you plan on baking the casserole, spray a 13x9 glass pan with cooking spray and evenly spread out the cubed bread in the pan. I recommend using brioche bread, but use any kind of sweet bread that you like. Then whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, can sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth.
Pour the pumpkin mixture over the cubed bread and gently toss the bread so that it is mostly coated. This will help the bread soak up the flavor and moisture. You don't want to overmix it; over-squishing the bread will make the casserole dense. I find that it's easiest to mix with my hands, but a rubber spatula works too.
Cover the pumpkin french toast casserole and put it in the refrigerator to sit overnight. If making it the night before isn't an option, make sure that you let it sit for at least a few hours before baking.
Make the Crumble Topping
In a small bowl, stir together the all purpose flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and old fashioned oats. Add the cold cubed butter, and stir it all together until the butter is coated. Then use your hands to manipulate the topping until there aren't any more chunks of butter.
You can make the topping the night before and refrigerate it until morning, or you can make it right before baking.
Bake the Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
When you're ready to bake the pumpkin french toast casserole, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Take the casserole and the topping out of the refrigerator, and break up the topping into small pieces, spreading it over the top of the casserole.
Bake the casserole for about 30-40 minutes, or until the crumble topping starts to brown. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Dairy-Free Substitutions
There are only two dairy ingredients in this pumpkin french toast, and they are easy to replace. Use almond milk to replace the milk, and a dairy-free margarine in place of the butter. I don't recommend using ingredients like soy milk or coconut oil as they won't complement the other flavors in the dish.
How to Serve Pumpkin French Toast
This french toast tastes great all on its own, but buttermilk syrup takes it to another level. Feel free to make your own, or try out my favorite store-bought syrup, Uncle Bob's Butter Country Original Buttermilk Syrup. Their cinnamon buttermilk syrup is delicious too!
If you're wanting to keep this recipe dairy-free, try pairing this recipe with your favorite maple syrup.
Other Delicious Breakfast Recipes
If you're looking for more easy breakfast recipes that aren't fall-themed, check out some of these on my blog:
Brioche French Toast Casserole
Easy Hashbrown Bacon and Egg Muffins
If you try out this overnight pumpkin french toast casserole or any of my other recipes, I’d LOVE to hear about it. You can leave a comment below the recipe. If you post a picture on Instagram, be sure to tag me! Getting any feedback on my recipes is both rewarding AND helpful as I write and edit recipes in the future.
Now get baking, and enjoy!
Ingredients
French Toast
- 1 loaf of brioche bread (about 20 oz), cut in 1 inch squares
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (I like to use Libby's)
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Crumble Topping
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold, sliced in ½ inch cubes
Instructions
- Spray a 13x9 glass pan with cooking spray and evenly spread out the cubed brioche bread in the pan. Set it aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree (1 cup), light brown sugar (½ cup), cane sugar (¼ cup), eggs (6), milk (1 cup), vanilla extract (1 Tbsp), and pumpkin pie spice (2 ½ tsp) until smooth. Evenly pour the pumpkin mixture over the top of the cubed bread.
- Gently toss the cubed bread with either a rubber spatula or your hands to get the majority of the bread covered in the pumpkin mixture. Don't overmix it--squishing the bread too much will make the casserole dense.
- Cover the 13x9 glass pan and put it in the refrigerator to sit overnight, or at least a few hours.
- For the crumble topping, stir together the all purpose flour (½ cup), brown sugar (½ cup), pumpkin pie spice (½ tsp), and old fashioned oats (½ cups) in a small bowl. Add the cubed butter, and stir until the butter is coated. Then use your hands to manipulate the topping until there aren't any more chunks of butter. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- When you are ready to bake the french toast casserole, preheat the oven to 350° F. Take the casserole and the topping out of the refrigerator, and break up the topping into small pieces, spreading it over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the crumble topping starts to brown.
- Serve with your favorite kind of syrup--I recommend buttermilk syrup.Enjoy!
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