Pumpkin French Toast
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With only 4 main ingredients and a few pantry seasonings, Pumpkin French Toast is an easy yet nutritious and hearty way to start your day. You can even prep this recipe ahead as a freezer meal to have on hand for busy mornings. All the flavors of fall in one simple breakfast!
“This is such a great recipe and my picky 3-year-old loves it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – Samantha
Ingredients
Pumpkin French Toast is made of simple ingredients you likely have in your home. Here’s what you’ll need on hand:
Tips for Making Great French Toast
- Use stale bread if you can: French toast is traditionally made with slightly stale bread because it absorbs the egg mixture better without becoming too soggy.
- Whisk the egg mixture well: You want the wet ingredients to be well combined.
- Soak the bread adequately: Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, making sure both sides are coated. Allow the bread to soak for a few seconds on each side, but don’t leave it in the mixture for too long, as it may become overly saturated and difficult to cook.
- Preheat the skillet or griddle: Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat and add a small amount of butter or cooking oil. Allow it to melt and coat the surface evenly.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan: Cook the French toast in batches, if necessary, to ensure that each slice has enough space to cook evenly. Overcrowding the pan can lead to uneven browning.
How to Serve Pumpkin French Toast
After you’ve cooked up your french toast (instructions below), serve it warm alongside other brunch or breakfast favorites like:
- Cheddar Chive Egg Bites or Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
- Bacon (try our Oven Baked Bacon)
- Fresh fruit or Classic Fruit Salad
French toast is often served with maple syrup, but you can also try other toppings such as our Maple Whipped Cream (yum!), fresh fruits, powdered sugar, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, or finely chopped or sliced nuts (i.e. pecans, pistachios, or almonds).
Get creative and experiment with different flavors!
Can You Freeze French Toast?
Absolutely! I know I say this all the time, but if you’re going to make a mess and make french toast…double the recipe and freeze the extras.
Making freezer meals is a huge time saver in the long run. Here is how to freeze a french toast recipe like this one:
To Freeze:
Make french toast as instructed in the recipe. Let it cool completely, and store in a tightly sealed freezer bag or container. Use parchment paper in between layers if necessary
To Prepare:
I prefer to use my toaster oven (or toaster or air fryer) so the french toast doesn’t get soggy. If you have a toaster oven, first microwave the frozen french toast for about 20 seconds. Then transfer it to the toaster oven and cook on the regular setting until warmed through. You can also microwave it from frozen until warmed though. It might be a bit softer this way but it will still be tasty!
You can customize your pumpkin French toast by adding ingredients like cinnamon, nutmeg, almond extract, or brown sugar to the batter. Or top it with things like maple syrup, powdered sugar, Maple Whipped Cream, mini chocolate chips, and/or chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts, or pistachios.
Yes, you can make a batch of pumpkin French toast ahead of time and reheat it when you’re ready to eat. Just store the cooked slices in the refrigerator and reheat them in the oven or toaster.
Any kind of slightly stale and/or sturdy bread great. I usually use a whole grain bread because it’s healthier. But, breads like challah, brioche, or French bread are especially good for pumpkin French toast because they can absorb the pumpkin mixture without becoming too soggy.
More Pumpkin Breakfast Recipes
With YEARS worth of content and recipes on Thriving Home, it can be easy to forget about some amazing pumpkin recipes that we have shared.
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Pumpkin French Toast
Whip up a bit of fall into your french toast batter and enjoy some extra nutrition at the same time. This recipe is a family favorite in our house!
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk (any kind will work)
- 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (here’s how to make vanilla extract)
- a pinch of salt
- 8 bread slices (slightly stale is preferred)
- Oil or butter, for greasing the pan
- Serving suggestion: butter, real maple syrup, and/or Maple Whipped Cream
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Preheat a large pan or griddle over medium low heat.
- Whisk egg, milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a shallow dish.
- Grease the pan using butter, coconut oil, or avocado oil. When a few water drops sizzle in the pan, it is hot enough to begin.
- Dip bread slices, one at a time, in the batter, turning them over to get them completely soaked. Give them a minute to really soak in the goodness!
- Cook the battered bread slices for about 2 minutes on each side. The french toast is done when both sides are golden brown and there is no more visible raw egg.
- Serve with butter, maple syrup, and/or Maple Whipped Cream.
Freeze For Later: Make french toast, let cool completely, and freeze in single layers (divided by parchment paper) in a tightly-sealed freezer bag or container.
Prepare From Frozen: I like to microwave my pieces for 10-20 seconds and then toast them using the regular toaster setting. Or, you can toast frozen pieces on the “defrost” setting until warmed through.
Notes/Tips
- Sub for pumpkin: You can replace the pumpkin with sweet potato puree or butternut squash puree.
- Use stale bread: It’s best to use stale bread because it absorbs the egg mixture better without becoming too soggy.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan: Cook the French toast in batches, if necessary, to ensure that each slice has enough space to cook evenly. Overcrowding the pan can lead to uneven browning.
This looks so delicious. I’m putting it on the dinner rotation for this week! What do you recommend serving with this to balance out the meal? Thank you!!!
Hi Kristin! Depends on your family, but I usually serve some sort of eggs and then either bacon or sausage with it. Enjoy!
This is perfect for using up that last bit of pumpkin from the can.
Can I use Vanilla Extract? Im new to this whole healthy mom thing.
Yes. I just always check the ingredients. Some vanilla products have artificial colors and other additives. I always look for the one with vanilla, alcohol, and water. That’s pretty much the basics.
This is such a great recipe and my picky 3-year-old loves it! Do you mind if I share it on my mom blog at learningthemomlife.com?
We’d be honored if you shared a link to our recipe and an image from this post on your blog, Samantha. But we do kindly ask that you don’t copy and paste the entire post/recipe to your site, as that will ding both of us on Google searches. Thank you and so glad your little one enjoys it!
Have you made these in advance and then frozen them for a future quick breakfast? I’m thinking of making a big batch and freezing them so I can pull some out and pop them in the toaster to rewarm them.
Yep, sure have and it’s worked fine. To defrost and warm, I usually nuke them a little (about 20 seconds) and then toast them. You can also store in the fridge for several days and warm in the toaster. Great idea to make a big batch!
Love that! Glad it was a hit, Ashley!
it must have been meant to be this morning. Couldn’t sleep in… had exactly 1/2 cup pumpkin puree in my fridge, so I got up and made the family hot breakfast 🙂 it was yummy – thanks!