Hi Friends! Do you remember the recipe for Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice I posted last week? Well, I want to share with you one of our favorite recipes that I use that seasoning in.
Pumpkin Spice Baked French Toast Casserole is a slightly spiced, warm, yet creamy breakfast dish. With the use of my homemade pumpkin pie seasoning, this casserole dish tastes more than delicious on these brisk cold fall mornings.
My favorite part about this casserole is that you can prepare it the night before or the morning of and it will taste delicious either way. This warm delicacy is a special breakfast casserole that we make in this house frequently throughout the fall months. If you ask my family, when a loaf of fresh bread starts to go stale, there is no better way to use it than to make a pumpkin French toast casserole.
Ingredients
- Bread – I recommend using French bread, but you can use any bread that you have on hand. The bread should be a day old. If you do not have day-old bread, you can let the bread sit on the counter for a few hours, until it becomes a stale bread, and then use it. It is easiest to cut the bread into bread cubes when it is not super fresh.
- Eggs – Eggs are a must in French toast bake. It doesn’t matter if the eggs are cold or room temperature.
- Milk – Whole milk or 2% milk is what I recommend using. If you only have skim milk, you can mix it with heavy cream so that it is half milk, half heavy cream.
- Vanilla – Let’s talk vanilla. What is a baked recipe without vanilla? Vanilla is a great way to make a dish less bland. It also can create moisture in a French toast casserole.
- Salt – We add salt to many recipes because it helps to enhance other flavors in the casserole. If needed the salt can be omitted.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – If you want your casserole to be boasting in pumpkin flavor all you need is some pumpkin pie spice. This recipe is not made using pumpkin pie filling.
- Cream Cheese – The cream cheese will be your favorite part of this casserole. There is nothing like taking a bite of extra creamy French toast.
- Sugar – If you do not want to use refined sugar, you can use a natural sugar such as maple syrup or honey.
- Butter – Butter serves as a great pan greasing agent. If you would rather not use butter, you can use oil, lard, or tallow.
- Maple Syrup – What is French toast without maple syrup?!
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Either tear the bread into bite size pieces or cut it into 1-inch cubes.
4. Using a stick of butter or non-stick agent of your choice, grease a 9×13 casserole dish, then lay the egg coated bread in the bottom of it.
5. In a small bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix until smooth and well blended.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla, salt, and pumpkin pie spice with a whisk. Once the egg mixture is well blended, add the bread to it. Toss the bread until well coated.
6. Using a spoon place dollops of the cream cheese mixture evenly on top of the casserole.
7. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the French toast is set and golden brown on top.
Pumpkin Spice Baked French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French Bread or any bread you have on hand.
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup milk whole or 2%
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- maple syrup for topping (optional)
- whipped cream for topping (optional)
Cream Cheese Mixture
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 cup sugar
- butter to grease the baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Prepare the bread by tearing it apart into bite sized pieces.
- In a large bowl mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, salt and 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice.
- Add the bread to the egg mixture and gently toss to ensure all pieces are coated.
- Grease a 9x13 dish with butter. The layer the soaked bread in the dish.
- Whip together the softened cream cheese, sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until French toast is set and golden brown on top.
- Serve warm with maple syrup and a dollop of whipped cream.
Variations
You can make this casserole as a plain baked French toast casserole by simply not adding pumpkin pie spice.
This pumpkin spice baked French toast casserole can also be made as an overnight breakfast bake, as many of the other French toast casseroles are known as make-ahead breakfast casseroles. Prep the casserole the night before, cover with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning remove the casserole 30 minutes prior to baking it.
Troubleshooting the Recipe
- Why does my casserole fall apart?
This is most likely due to the bread being too fresh. Dry bread is the best way to get the perfectly made casserole. When the bread is too fresh, it is already soft. Therefore, when it absorbs the egg mixture it will be extremely soft and mushy. If it is too mushy prior to baking, baking will not dry it out enough to keep it from falling apart. - My casserole is browned on top but has raw egg in the bottom still. What should I do?
I would recommend covering the casserole with aluminum foil and baking it for longer. Adding the aluminum foil will prevent the top from browning more while it continues to cook. I am not a pumpkin lover, can I make it without pumpkin pie spice?
You can omit the pumpkin pie spice and it will taste like traditional French toast.
