Pumpkin French Toast

This Pumpkin French Toast recipe is so easy to pull off with just 8 simple ingredients! It’s the perfect fall breakfast for chilly, cozy mornings.

If you’re looking for an easy way to squeeze more pumpkin flavor into your daily routine during the fall season, this recipe is for you.

It’s simple enough to whip up a batch on a random Sunday morning, but special enough to serve for Thanksgiving or Christmas breakfast!

Let’s dive in and I’ll show you how to make it in your own kitchen:

Video Demonstration:

Here’s a video demonstration of the process in case you like to watch an overview of the recipe. The written tutorial is below, along with the printable recipe!

Ingredient Notes:

You’ll only need 8 simple ingredients:

• Pumpkin Puree: Please don’t use pumpkin pie filling: make sure your pumpkin puree only contains one ingredient! You can use homemade pumpkin puree or store bought.
• Eggs: I like to use organic or pasture raised eggs when possible, but any eggs will do!
• Pumpkin Spice: Again, you can use my homemade pumpkin pie spice substitute, or a premade one from the grocery store. You can also substitute cinnamon in a pinch (ha!).
• Vanilla Extract: Please use pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavoring.
• Milk: I use whole milk, but I’m sure you could substitute low-fat milk if you prefer. I have not personally tried it, but I’m sure you could use a plant based milk (such as almond milk or oat milk) for a dairy free option.
• Maple Syrup: I love the flavor of pure maple syrup, but you can substitute brown sugar, honey, granulated sugar, or a sweetener of choice if you prefer.
• Salt: I like to add a good pinch of salt to enhance all the other flavors of the custard.
• Thick Slices of Bread: This recipe will work with many different types of bread, but the end result will vary as a result. Your first choice should be a thick cut, somewhat soft bread. I used my Sourdough Sandwich Bread here, but I think my Sourdough Brioche Bread or Soft Sourdough French Bread would also be lovely. This is the perfect time to use up day-old or stale bread!

Making the Spiced Pumpkin Custard:

Begin by whisking together the eggs, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice in a 13×9-inch pan (I like to go ahead and whisk everything in a large baking dish instead of a large bowl since it saves on dishes!).

It works better to mix these ingredients by themselves first. Otherwise you’ll have a hard time getting the pumpkin pie spice to mix into the rest of the ingredients.

Trust.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely smooth.

Preheat a cast iron or non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat.

Add a few slices of bread to the custard and allow to soak for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

How Long Should You Soak the Bread?

The amount of time you soak your bread is determined by 2 factors: How soft you like your French toast, and what type of bread you use.

If you’re using a soft, fluffy, fresh bread (most store-bought bread will fall into this category), you’ll probably only need to soak the bread for 30 seconds per side. If you go much longer than that, the bread can start to fall apart.

But if you opt for a more dense, sturdy bread (most homemade sourdough bread will fall into this category), you may need to increase that time to 2 minutes. This will allow the custard to soak into the bread adequately.

Important Note: If you’re using a really soft bread, you’ll only want to dip 1 slice of bread at a time, otherwise the slices might start to disintegrate before you can get them to the griddle!

Frying the French Toast

After your griddle or skillet has preheated over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, add a generous amount of butter.

Fry the soaked bread slices for 2-3 minutes per side, or until they’re golden brown.

If the toast starts to brown too quickly, you can turn the heat down to medium-low.

Repeat with the remaining slices of bread.

Serving:

Serve immediately with grass-fed butter and a little maple syrup.

Or you can leave off the maple syrup and dust with powdered sugar. A caramel sauce would also be lovely.

Storing and Reheating:

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You could also place the cooled slices in a freezer safe bag and store in the freezer for up to a month.

To reheat, you can either use a toaster, toaster oven, or conventional oven.

I do not own a microwave, so I can’t comment on the effectiveness of that for reheating French toast.

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