This pumpkin french toast recipe is easy to make in 20 minutes! A fall twist on classic french toast, it’s flavored with vanilla and spices and is a delicious fall breakfast!

We love making French toast for breakfast on slow Saturdays, and this pumpkin french toast is an extra-special treat perfect for chilly fall mornings.

This pumpkin french toast recipe is easy to make with simple ingredients. Your favorite bread (like cinnamon swirl bread, or homemade french bread) is dipped in a spiced pumpkin and egg mixture and then cooked to perfection.

It’s crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and loaded with all the best flavors the season has to offer.

Pumpkin French Toast: Ingredients & Substitutions

• Bread. we use cinnamon bread from a local bakery (Kneaders for all my west-coast people). Use your favorite bread – a buttery brioche loaf or a cinnamon swirl bread, hearty sourdough, or french bread are all great choices.
• Light Brown sugar. Dark brown sugar or coconut sugar are both good choices.
• Whole milk. This is what we always have on hand, so it’s our milk of choice for this recipe. Any milk (or half and half) would work well, including non-dairy milk. Just remember that the higher the fat content, the richer and tastier this pumpkin french toast will be!
• Pumpkin puree. you can use canned or homemade puree.
• Pumpkin pie spice. I suggest using this homemade pumpkin pie spice, but store-bought varieties are great too. Or sub the following for the pumpkin pie spice (in addition to the cinnamon):
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon (additional)
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves

How to Make Pumpkin French Toast

We’ll walk through this pumpkin french toast recipe step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.

Begin by slicing the bread into half-inch thick slices. Then, preheat an electric griddle to 350 degrees F. Or, you can heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick fry pan over medium heat.

Make the pumpkin french toast mixture

Next, whisk together eggs and pumpkin in a medium mixing bowl that is wide enough to fit a piece of bread –

Then add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, brown sugar and vanilla and whisk to combine.

Once the mixture in smooth, whisk in the milk, then set it aside while you prepare the griddle to cook the pumpkin french toast.

Cook the Pumpkin French Toast

Before you dip a piece of bread in the wet mixture, melt ½ Tablespoon butter on the preheated electric griddle (or skillet/frying pan). Using your spatula to spread it evenly over the surface of the griddle.

Then, place a slice of bread in the egg mixture and let it soak in the mixture for 5-8 seconds.

Next, flip the bread over and repeat on the other side.

Then, remove the bread from egg/milk mixture and immediately place on the heated, buttered cooking surface.

Cook for 5 minutes on the first side or until golden brown. Note. the pumpkin in the wet mixture increases the cooking time from classic french toast.

Once the bread is golden brown, flip it over and repeat on the second side.

Then, continue dipping/cooking until all the bread has been used.

To keep warm

If you would like to serve all the pumpkin french toast warm at the same time, preheat your oven to “warm” (250 degrees F).

Place each finished piece of French toast on a baking sheet or oven-safe serving dish and put it in the warm oven until you are ready to serve.

Serve

Serve the pumpkin french toast warm with a glug of pure maple syrup, a dollop of homemade whipped cream, a slater of cinnamon honey butter, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

I love serving it alongside some of our breakfast favorites like this frittata recipe, egg casserole and quiche.

Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave, toaster, on the stovetop or in the oven. 

To freeze

This pumpkin french toast freezes well! Here’s how I recommend doing it:

Flash-freeze the leftover pieces on a baking sheet, then put the frozen pumpkin french toast in a freezer-friendly container or ziplock bag and save them for another day!

To reheat simply warm in the microwave for 60-90 seconds per piece (depending on how thick the slices are). Or in the toaster set to “defrost” on level 2.

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