Pumpkin French Toast

The best fall breakfast? Try this pumpkin French toast! It’s fluffy and sweet, scented with warm spices and drizzled with maple syrup.

Craving a special fall breakfast or brunch? Look no further than Pumpkin French Toast! Coat slices of hearty bread in pumpkin puree and warm spices, then fry them until golden on a sizzling skillet. Top with a drizzle of pure maple syrup, and each forkful is heavenly: fluffy, sweet, and perfectly spiced! Try it for Halloween or Thanksgiving entertaining, or any fall day that needs a bright spot.

Ingredients for pumpkin French toast

Pumpkin French toast is ideal for cozy mornings, and it takes just minutes to put together! The pumpkin puree adds an even fluffier texture to this popular breakfast, making each bite irresistibly tender. Combining cinnamon and pumpkin spice spice makes just the right warm-spiced flavor (yes, you’ll need both!). Here’s what you’ll need to whip up this recipe:

Eggs
Milk
Pumpkin puree
Sugar
Vanilla extract
Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice
Salt
Bread: Italian or French loaf, sourdough, challah, or brioche loaf
Butter, for cooking

Tips for the bread

We found in our research on the best French toast recipe: the type of bread can make or break a French toast recipe. In our opinion, a slice of flimsy store-bought sandwich bread loaf just doesn’t compare to artisan-style bread. Here are a few of the best types of bread to use for pumpkin French toast:

Sourdough bread: Sourdough bread has a naturally firm texture and a slight tang to the flavor. It’s our top choice!
Italian or French loaf: Look for an artisan loaf with a firm crust and sturdy texture (grocery stores label them differently). If you like, you can also use a French baguette.
Artisan bread: Or, use any style of artisan bread in the bakery section. We recommend avoiding very seedy whole-grain breads for this recipe because their flavor is too strong.
Challah or brioche: Egg-based breads like challah and brioche make a fluffy, custardy texture to the French toast.

Pumpkin pie spice substitute

Pumpkin pie spice is a nice shortcut for the warming spices in pumpkin pie. You’ll notice this recipe also uses cinnamon, which ups the cozy factor even more (yes, use both!). If you don’t have pie spice, substitute another 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon cloves and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Don’t have cloves or nutmeg? You can use varying amounts or swap in allspice.

How to avoid mushy bread

The best way to have sturdy pieces of pumpkin French toast? Use a great bread. Purchased sandwich bread has a flimsy structure and can become mushy when it’s soaked in the egg mixture. Here’s what to know about avoiding mushy bread here:

Use a bread with texture like a sourdough or Italian or French artisan loaf.
Consider using stale bread or bread that is a few days old, which soaks up the egg mixture more. (This isn’t necessary with sturdier breads like sourdough.)
If you’re using a purchased sandwich bread with a flimsy texture, consider lightly toasting it in the oven or toaster it before soaking.

Toppings for pumpkin French toast

Once your pumpkin French toast is fried into golden perfection, it’s time to talk toppings! We think it’s perfect with pure maple syrup and a pat of butter. But you can get even fancier if you like? Here are some fun fall-centric toppings:

Syrup: Try Brown Sugar Syrup or Pumpkin Spice Syrup
Crushed nuts: Top with pecans or walnuts
Candied nuts: Add a sprinkle of Candied Pecans or Candied Walnuts
Whipped cream: Add a dollop of Homemade Whipped Cream (or go fancy with bourbon-infused whipped cream)

How do you plan to serve your pumpkin French toast? Let us know in the comments below!

More pumpkin recipes

When it’s the season, we’ve got our pumpkin recipes at the ready! Here are a few you’ll love:

Make a stack of Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
Try creamy Pumpkin Ice Cream
Go for Perfect Pumpkin Bars or Best Pumpkin Cookies
Bake up Pumpkin Muffins or Easy Pumpkin Bread
Make a pot of Best Pumpkin Chili

This pumpkin French toast recipe is…

Vegetarian.