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Baked French Toast is about as easy as it gets, and this Pumpkin Pie French Toast Bake, made with sweet Hawaiian Bread, pumpkin pie filling, and pecans, is perfect for a fall brunch or even Thanksgiving breakfast.
It smells absolutely amazing and tastes divine. Even my incredibly picky, pumpkin-hating daughter had seconds!
I could eat breakfast all day long, and French Toast is by far my favorite breakfast to indulge in. I’ve recently started making Baked French Toast, and it’s quickly become my favorite method. Typically you would mix it up and refrigerate overnight, then bake it in the morning. But with this version thankfully it’s not required; besides, I’m not organized enough to plan breakfast the night before! That’s why I love this recipe. You can make it ahead or roll out of bed and get it started. I vote for the latter but that’s just me.
How To Make Pumpkin Pie French Toast Bake
This baked French toast recipe is made a little more special using Hawaiian bread instead of regular French bread. It adds a subtle sweetness to the whole dish. If you can’t find the round loaf at your store, a package of 12 Hawaiian Rolls or a regular sandwich loaf will do the trick.
Cut a whole round loaf into cubes, and coat it with a mixture of pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, and pumpkin pie spices, then put that into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle a crumble of butter, cinnamon, flour, brown sugar, and pecans over the top and bake for 40 minutes. During which time you can take a shower and get ready for all the neighbors who will be knocking on your door wanting to know what smells so amazing.
I added pecans as an optional ingredient because we have nut allergies in our house, so I’m sure others do too. The pecans add a nice texture to this French Toast Bake, but omitting them will not ruin the dish in the least.
This French Toast Bake is not an overnight recipe!
You might find that a lot of French Toast Bake recipes require the casserole to soak in the custard bath in the fridge overnight, and if you’re using regular French bread that is a good practice. However, I have found that Hawaiian Bread is more soft and moist than other breads, so it quickly will soak up the custard, and you’re good to go without a long soak! Time-saver? Check!
More Breakfast Recipes
- Overnight Baked French Toast
- Caramel Apple French Toast Casserole
- French Toast Cinnamon Roll Pull Apart Muffins
- Pumpkin Apple Bread
- Zucchini Carrot Oatmeal Muffins
- Oven Baked Apple Pancake
For all breakfast recipes, go HERE. For all recipes on the site, go HERE.
Pumpkin Pie French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 cup milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1-16 oz. round loaf Hawaiian Bread
- 1/4 cup cold butter cubed
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13″ x 9″ pan with cooking spray.
- Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together canned pumpkin, milk, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.
- Gently stir bread cubes into the pumpkin mixture, just until all of the cubes are coated.
- Pour bread and pumpkin mixture into a 13″ x 9″ pan and spread evenly.
- In a small bowl, mix cold butter, sugars, flour and cinnamon using a fork or even your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbles. Sprinkle over bread mixture.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until top is nicely browned and french toast is set.
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Kristin-love your site! Do you think I dare try to make it the night before, refrigerate it and bake a bit longer in the morning or do you think it would be a mushy mess? Have a house full and it would be so much easier for me, but yet want to make this so desperately!
Hi Marilyn, you can totally prep this ahead of time! Put it together just before you go to bed and pull it out of the fridge while the oven is heating. Keep it covered in the fridge.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!! So thrilled to have found your site!!!
Can I substitute a loaf of French bread?
Sure, that would work well, just wouldn’t be as sweet.
This looks awesome, but I would add chocolate chips to it:)
YUM! We have company coming for the weekend and I know what I am serving Saturday morning now. I know it is sometimes scary to try a new recipe for company, but this one looks easy and soooo good! Then I may just give it another try on Thanksgiving morning to enjoy while we watch the parade. Perfect! Thank you!!!
This sounds divine. I am making it for a Sunday brunch this weekend. Thanks for the post
I love this recipe! There are so many great flavors to try in the fall!
I love this recipe I need to try it! I love everything pumpkin. But I have to ask about about those plates, where did you get them?
Thanks Gabrielle! The plate is part of a set I got at JCPenney about ten years ago. Chris Madden is the brand.
I love all of your recipes!!
Thanks so much Leigh!