Hello Thanksgiving breakfast.
Pumpkin French Toast: A made-from-scratch breakfast casserole with sweet cinnamon and creamy pumpkin in every delicious bite. It’s perfect for feeding a crowd, or for enjoying on a quiet and chilly autumn morning. Simply assemble the night before, and pop it into the oven in the morning for a delicious and comforting breakfast.
If this were a Friends episode, it would be called: The one where she has way too much fun taking “pouring shot” photos.
Pumpkin Baked French Toast
(Serves 4-6)
- 3 1/2 cups cubed bread (I used Ezekiel, but other types are fine. French bread would be really good in this recipe, as would cinnamon-raisin. Depending on the type of bread, you might need more or less than 3.5 cups. You want enough to fill an 8×8 pan.) (175g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or just add a little extra cinnamon)
- sweetener of choice (If you want to top the casserole with syrup post-baking, use 3 nunaturals stevia packs or 3 tbsp sugar. If you’d prefer a sweeter breakfast casserole that needs no topping, increase the amount to 5-6 tbsp)
- 1 1/4 cups milk of choice (300g) (Depending on your choice of bread, you might need to use less. This is a good amount for the Ezekiel bread.)
- optional: 2 tbsp butter-type spread of choice (for a more buttery result) (30g)
- 1 cup MoriNu silken-firm tofu, or 1 cup yogurt of choice (240g)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used canned pumpkin) (120g)
- optional: handful of raisins
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except bread, and stir very well. (If using the tofu, you should blend these ingredients. Otherwise, just stir by hand.) Grease an 8×8-in baking pan, and pour the cubed bread into the pan. Cover evenly with the wet mixture, then cover the entire dish with a lid or saran wrap and fridge overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 400 F and cook about 30-35 minutes. Top with maple syrup or your favorite French toast topping (or eat plain, if you opt to use the extra dry sweetener pre-baking.)
And for everyone who asked:
Can you guess which Gossip Girl character I was?
I didn’t include costume photos in my original post for a few reasons, the main one being it’s not a very elaborate costume. I didn’t think it was worth posting. I also don’t normally take my camera to parties, which was why the post was made up of recycled photos. In retrospect, I probably should’ve skipped posting on Thursday altogether. But one’s mind doesn’t always think straight on two hours of sleep. (Side note: I borrowed the Chanel bag from a friend, and it’s actually a knock-off from Canal Street in NYC. I’m thinking Serena would not approve. Other side note: I wanted to be Blair, but they said I was too blonde. Yet another side note: …I think I’ve written enough side notes. I’ll stop now.)
Link of the Day: Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
I would say a delicious breakfast for thanks giving day.. i will try it soon and will also thank you for sharing a nice recipe..
omg … this looks totally amazing … gotta go make some bread so I can try this one 🙂
This is really good for not many calories and a lot of protein. I just divided the recipe by four for only me and used Fage 0% instead of tofu. I baked for about 20 min in an 8×8. I do need to find a smaller dish because it ended up being kind of flat where I had to layer it up when I got it out of the dish. Good recipe; I will make it again for Thanksgiving weekend!
I made this this morning after doing the prep work last night, it’s so quick and easy – and very delicious.
Mine was a little more soggy in the middle and bottom then I had expected so I would probably have cooked it slower for longer but that’s a texture thing not taste.
Hmmm, it might also depend on the type of bread? I know they always say it’s good to use a thick bread for French toast, or even bread that’s a few days older.
I had the same problem this morning, and I think it was probably the bread. I got bread cubes from the bakery dept thinking they’d be perfect since they were already slightly stale, but even with 4 cups and 45 min. baking time only the very outside edges were cooked through. Maybe when using a less dense bread it’d help to put more cubes (5 C?) and spread it out in a 9×13″ pan to make a thinner layer? The batter flavor and the smell when baking were awesome, so I’m not ready to give up on this recipe yet!
Mine was also very soggy. I used real pumpkin puree, greek yogurt, and milk. Next time I would cut the milk to just 1/3C. Alanna, I think spreading it out is a great idea to try as well!
Hi Jessica,
What bread did you use? I really feel awful that some people are getting soggy results… I’ve made it 4 times (with Ezekiel) and haven’t had that problem. I can’t figure it out :(.
Hi, Katie! I wonder if it has to do with the whole grain content (and I mean big chunks of wheat berries and/or nuts, not just whole wheat flour) of Ezekiel bread vs. breads made entirely with finely milled flour? I used a dense Panera bread, and probably 5C worth of bread cubes.
Or maybe it’s the difference of the tofu vs. yogurt? Yogurt has a lot of water in it, especially the lower-fat ones (and I used 0% Greek).
Love your blog and recipes! Keep them coming. 🙂
I’m one of those that experienced the soggy issue and did attempt the recipe a second time with the same results. The first recipe I used whole wheat bread that I made from scratch along with tofu. The second recipe, I used ezekiel bread and yogurt so I must be doing something wrong. Probably won’t be trying this recipe again 🙁
It’s funny how different peoples’ tastes are different. We use the yogurt version, and it is softer, more like bread pudding, while still being able to cut it. But that is actually our favorite part of this recipe! It’s not dry and stale tasting like french toast can sometimes be.
appreciate your talent & skills, Katie!
the turkey goes in first thing in the a.m. could this be oven-baked the day before and re-heated in the microwave? any suggestions as to how [covered with a damp paper towel or not?] & how long to re-heat ?
It can definitely still be good for a few days in the fridge. I guess re-heating time depends on your microwave wattage and how hot you like it.
That picture is too cute – you’re so pretty!! I’d have to say my favorite fall breakfast is cinnamon swirl pumpkin pancakes 🙂
These! http://wishesndishes.com/cinnamon-swirl-pumpkin-pancakes/
Omigosh this look SO amazing and like it would be so easy to make it with GF bread and nondairy milk! I can’t wait to give it a try!!
Oh my heck this looks awesome Katie! I can not get enough of your recipes! I love em 🙂
This looks amazing! We always strive to eat healthy, but that task becomes daunting as the holidays grow nearer (even if the weather in Texas doesn’t make it feel like the holidays are upon us!) Thanks for proving that you can enjoy delicious holiday food while eating healthy.
That looks like a reallll treat! Doable, tasty, and decadent! My most missed food as a vegan is a good quality french toast. I’ve found vegan ones to be exceptionally soggy or dry. This baked one sounds fun!
My little boys beg me every morning for french toast, but it’s just too much work before school most days! But this is perfect and I love that I can add the tofu for the extra protein…they will never know…especially when I cut it into “fingers” and give them a little maple syrup for dipping! Making it the night before is perfect! I’llhave 2 very happy boys in the morning!
Favorite Fall breakfast has to be a bowl of hot oatmeal with some canned pumkin, pumpkin spice and freshly grated nutmeg – holy yum!
This baked french toast might be second runner up!
this looks amazing Katie… I just made pumpkin pancakes, this looks amazing. loved how you added yogurt to thicken the sauce, very smart!
We had this for breakfast this morning. It was so great to have something already prepared and hot to eat on a busy morning. My son, who barely eats anything!!, asked for seconds. Thank you for the recipe!!!
Thank you for trying it!
I’ve already told my roommates I will make them this breakfast this weekend so I will be held to it, I’m sure! Sounds fab, I hope it works with the yogurt – sounds like an interesting mixture but as always, I will have faith in you as you have yet to let me down!
I am so making these this weekend. I have those giant cans of pumpkin, so if I use one can worth for a recipe I end up with this random amount left over in my fridge. Now I know, THIS is what it is for 🙂 I can’t wait!