This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This easy pumpkin French toast recipe takes classic sweet, syrupy goodness and gives it a cozy fall twist with a delicious pumpkin flavor. It’s the ultimate Fall breakfast—sweet, perfectly spiced, and topped with maple syrup and crunchy pecans. Get ready to enjoy the coziest morning treat, perfect for the season!
Serve it with a London Fog drink for a warm pick-me-up!
This pumpkin french toast is a must-have for fall. I combined my love for sweet, syrupy breakfast classics with that unbeatable fall flavor of pumpkin spice.
In this simple recipe, pumpkin puree is added to the traditional egg custard mixture, along with vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice. Extra cinnamon tops it off for a perfectly warm, cozy breakfast that’ll start your weekend off right. Sometimes I’ll serve a pumpkin spice latte on the side if I want to really amp up the cozy vibes.
Why I Love This Pumpkin French Toast Recipe
- Simple & Easy: Even though we’re talking loads of flavor, this french toast recipe is incredibly easy to make. No fancy techniques or tools needed.
- Buttery Goodness: Cooking the toast in butter prevents sticking and adds a rich buttery flavor that complements the pumpkin and spices perfectly.
- Lots of Fall Flavor: The pumpkin puree adds a delicious and unique twist to traditional French toast. Once you add the pumpkin spice, the autumn vibes go through the roof.
- Customizable Toppings: While this pumpkin French toast is wonderful on its own, you can also top it with powdered sugar, pecans, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Berries and cream are also welcome.
What You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make this pumpkin french toast recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list.
- Eggs: Use large sized eggs.
- Milk: I use 2%, and this recipe is delightfully rich – but if you want something even more indulgent, feel free to go with whole milk or even half and half.
- Pumpkin Puree: Make sure to get real pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, and you can use all that leftover pumpkin puree to make my very popular pumpkin muffins!
- Brown Sugar: Just a little bit of sugar sweetens the egg mixture and helps the French toast caramelize in the pan.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract gives this dish an amazing depth of flavor.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice and Cinnamon: I like to use pre-mixed pie spice and an extra shot of cinnamon.
- Bread: Typically, I like Brioche for making French toast, but you can also use Challah or Texas Toast.
- Butter: For the skillet, and for serving.
- Maple Syrup: For serving.
How to Make Pumpkin French Toast
While making French toast, the two main things you want to watch for are temperature and keeping your pan nicely buttered so that the bread slices don’t stick.
- Preheat Your Skillet (or Griddle) and Make the Custard. To start, get your skillet heating up to medium heat. You can also make this on a griddle if you have one. In a big mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs before adding the milk, pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, and spices.
- Dip & Cook Add butter to the heated skillet. Dip each slice of bread in the custard mixture so that it gets nicely soaked. Then transfer them to the skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown. Set aside the cooked French toast slices and cover with a paper towel. Dip and cook the rest of the slices, working in batches as needed.
- Enjoy! Serve the pumpkin French toast warm, with butter and maple syrup.
What Bread Is Best for French Toast?
You can make tasty French toast with all kinds of different bread, from basic sliced sandwich bread to fancy artisan loaves from your local bakery, so you can choose a bread to suit your tastes. I like to emphasize the buttery richness of French toast by using a buttery, rich bread like brioche or challah. Texas toast is also great. One thing that a lot of cooks swear by is using slightly stale bread because it has had a chance to dry out a little, allowing it to absorb the custard like a sponge.
Helpful Tips
- Mixing: When you whisk the custard ingredients into the eggs, make sure you whisk thoroughly to make a smooth mixture. This way, you won’t get streaky toast with blobs of egg white.
- Heat: The butter should sizzle and maybe even brown a bit as the slices come and go, but you don’t want to burn the butter or scorch the toast. The golden standard here is that you can cook French toast for several minutes per side without burning it.
- Add Cooking Oil: If you are struggling to keep the butter from scorching, you can add a little oil to the skillet with it. A neutral oil like vegetable oil handles heat better and gives you a little more wiggle room, temperature-wise.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this pumpkin French toast recipe with your favorite breakfast or brunch recipes! A few of our favorites include ultra-crispy bacon, which is easy to make with everyone’s favorite appliance, the air fryer! Check out this tutorial for crispy air fryer bacon, and enjoy.
A savory egg-based dish like this easy bacon and spinach frittata is an excellent addition to the menu. These sheet pan eggs or an egg white frittata are also a perfect choice.
A steaming hot cup of coffee or tea is great with French toast, but if you want to dial up the luxury, you’ve got to try this easy and creamy whipped coffee recipe known as dalgona coffee. Or try something simple, like my cortado coffee.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Store in the fridge: Make sure to cool the toasted slices before storing them in airtight containers (or zip-top bags) in your refrigerator. Leftover pumpkin French toast will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- To freeze French toast, place the bread slices on a baking sheet and freeze them for half an hour or until frozen solid. Then transfer them to freezer bags, and store them in the freezer for 1 to 2 months. Reheat directly from frozen.
ENJOY!
More Easy Pumpkin Recipes
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Pumpkin French Toast Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup milk, I use 2%
- ½ cup pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅙ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 10 to 12 slices brioche bread, you can also use Texas toast or sliced challah bread
- 2 tablespoons butter, for the skillet
- powdered sugar, optional, for serving
- finely chopped pecans, optional, for serving
- maple syrup, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat a griddle or a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs just to break up the yolks. To the eggs, add the milk, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg; whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Butter the skillet.
- Dip the bread into the egg mixture and rotate to coat all sides. Let the pumpkin mixture soak into the bread. Allow excess to drip off.
- Transfer the bread slices to the skillet or griddle and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.
- Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate; keep covered while working with the remaining bread slices. Do not forget to add more butter to the skillet as needed.
- Top with powdered sugar and chopped pecans, if using, and serve with maple syrup.
Notes
- Whisking: Ensure a smooth custard by thoroughly whisking all the custard ingredients.
- Butter & Heat: Aim for a sizzle without burning. The toast should be golden brown, not scorched.
- Using Oil: To prevent butter from burning, mix in some vegetable oil for better heat tolerance.
- Bread Choice: Choose day-old or slightly stale bread. It tends to absorb the custard mixture better without getting too soggy. Brioche, challah, or French bread are excellent choices for French toast.
- Pumpkin Puree: Use pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, which has added sweeteners and spices.
- Resting Time: After dipping the bread in the custard, let it sit for a few seconds to a minute to ensure the mixture is well absorbed.
- Nutritional Facts do not include optional ingredients like powdered sugar, pecans, and maple syrup.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Isn’t a review supposed to be what you like or dislike about a recipe after you’ve made it? All these reviews saying ‘it looks good’ (and it does) or ‘I can’t wait to try this’ is not a review of the recipe.
I made it-it was fantastic. Happy now?
I’m very happy you loved it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Just perfect! Can’t wait to start my day with this!
Please enjoy! Thank YOU! 🙂
The addition of pumpkin makes these french toasts so inviting! Must make them for Sunday breakfast!
I hope you’ll enjoy them! Thank YOU! 🙂
Perfect to start a day with this!
Thank YOU! Please enjoy! 🙂
These pumpkin french toast are such a treat! They’re so good!
Thank YOU! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This might be the single best pumpkin recipe I’ve seen so far this year. I can’t wait to make this.
Thank you so much! I hope you’ll love it! 🙂