Pumpkin French Toast Recipe

Course Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword pumpkin-french-toast, pumpkin-french-toast-recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 290kcal

Ingredients

Pumpkin French Toast:
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
10 slices Texas toast or 1-inch thick slices of brioche or challah
4 Tbsp salted or unsalted butter for frying
Maple Pumpkin Butter:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
2 Tbsp pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt (if using salted butter, omit)

Instructions

French Toast: In a shallow baking dish whisk together eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt. Place bread slices into pumpkin mixture and let soak about 60 seconds per side.
In a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Cook 2 slices bread at a time until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Repeat cooking in batches, keep warm. (If using a griddle, you may be able to cook all at one time. Adjust the amount of butter, if needed.)
Maple Pumpkin Butter: In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to whip softened butter with pumpkin puree, maple syrup, powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt until light and fluffy. (Easily doubles for a larger batch)
Serve French toast warm with pumpkin butter, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and drizzled with maple syrup.

Notes

Best Bread for French Toast - Thick cut slices of stale bread make the best french toast. I don’t cut the crusts off for french toast but you could, if preferred. You can also adapt this recipe using gluten free bread.
Bread Variations - You can adapt this recipe using brioche rolls or make french toast pumpkin rolls using sweet hawaiian rolls. To do so, separate the top rolls from the bottom rolls and toast the rolls in the oven on a sheet pan to dry out a bit. You can also leave them on the counter overnight to dry. Soak the tops of the rolls and the bottoms of the rolls in the pumpkin mixture then fry per the recipe in butter. Cut apart and serve french toast rolls with butter and maple syrup.
Pumpkin Pie Spice - You can use a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg in place of prepared pumpkin pie spice.
Sugar - You could use light brown sugar in place of granulated sugar, however, it cooks more quickly and can can burn easily. Don't walk away and adjust the heat, as needed.
Maple Syrup - You could replace the maple syrup with honey.
Nuts - For crunch, sprinkle the french toast with toasted walnuts or pecans.
Allow Ample Time for the Bread to Soak in the Egg Mixture - Be patient when soaking the Texas toast in the pumpkin custard. While it doesn’t have to sit for an extended time, give it just a minute or two on each side to soak in the pumpkin flavor.
Fry in Batches - To speed up preparation time, fry this french toast on a large non stick griddle or have two skillets going at once. When frying in batches, it’s helpful to heat the oven to 200°F and place cooked bread slices in a single layer on a sheet pan, and into the oven to keep warm while you work.
Don't Overcook - Due to the sugar in the pumpkin egg custard, it’s important to keep an eye on the temperature of the pan to prevent over browning the french toast.

Nutrition