Simple swaps with easy-to-find ingredients make this cozy Pumpkin French Toast recipe healthy, delicious, and perfect for a last-minute breakfast!
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Pumpkin French toast is made for lazy fall mornings!
Pumpkin French toast is a recipe for a crisp morning when the only place you need to be is exactly where you are.
- It’s a multitasker perfect for a casual weekend at home with your family, an impromptu brunch with friends, or a breakfast you are serving to out-of-town guests.
- The flavor is cozy and familiar, but the extra warm spices make it feel special and authentically autumn. (For a summertime-inspired French toast, you’ll love overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole!)
- This version is lightened up, without sacrificing the feeling of indulgence that leads me to crave French toast in the first place. It’s made with extra pumpkin puree, whole wheat bread, sweetened with maple syrup, and made with Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream.
5 Star Review
“This recipe is a total winner. I made it this morning and we both enjoyed it greatly. Definitely a keeper recipe.”
— Susan —
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Texas Toast. Thick and delicious, wheat Texas toast is my go-to bread for this French toast recipe. It soaks up the custard nicely and has a wonderful texture.
- Eggs. Adds must-have richness, flavor, and structure to the French toast.
- Maple Syrup. A more natural way to add sweetness, and maple is a lovely, classic pairing with all things pumpkin and fall.
- Greek Yogurt. Nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt makes the custard incredibly rich and decadent without an ounce of extra fat, and it adds more protein too. Win!
- Spices. Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg take this from a boring pumpkin French toast to a warm and cozy pumpkin spice French toast.
- Milk. I used nonfat milk, but you can use any milk you have on hand.
How to Make Pumpkin French Toast
Make the Custard. Whisk the custard ingredients together in a wide baking dish.
Prep for Cooking. Melt butter in a skillet or on a griddle.
Cook the First Batch. Dunk each slice of bread into the pumpkin custard, coating both sides. Cook the bread on the pan or griddle for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes.
Finish. Repeat with the remaining bread. Add your desired toppings and ENJOY!
What to Serve With Pumpkin French Toast
- Toppings. Pumpkin French toast is delicious topped with Slow Cooker Apple Butter, chopped nuts, pumpkin butter, cinnamon sugar, whipped cream, peanut butter, almond butter, and anything else your heart desires!
- Savory Sides. Like Baked Bacon, Turkey Sausage, or Cottage Cheese Eggs.
- Fruit. Baked Apple Slices or Crockpot Applesauce are both perfect on a plate with pumpkin French toast.
Pumpkin French Toast
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Video
This lightened up pumpkin French toast recipe is easy, packed with pumpkin flavor and warm spices, and delightfully fluffy. It's the best!
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Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup nonfat milk or any milk you like
- 12 slices Texas toast or other thickly sliced bread, whole wheat if possible*
- Butter canola oil, or nonstick spray, for cooking the French toast
- For serving: Pure maple syrup butter, powered sugar (I also love apple butter and/or peanut butter on mine…in combination with maple syrup)
Instructions
- To keep the French toast warm between batches, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Set a large, rimmed baking sheet inside the oven.
- In a large, wide baking dish, gently whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Once smooth and combined, whisk in the Greek yogurt and milk, being careful not to slosh the mixture up and over the sides of the pan. The custard will be very thick.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium. To keep the French toast from sticking, melt butter in the pan, swirling to coat, lightly brush the pan with canola oil, or coat with nonstick spray.
- Place 4 slices of the bread in the pumpkin mixture and turn them over and over a few times so that both sides are well coated and the bread absorbs some the custard. Once the pan is hot, gently transfer the 4 slices of the bread to the pan and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until the other side is golden, about 2 additional minutes. Adjust the skillet’s heat as needed so that the French toast browns nicely but does not burn. Remove to the baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
- Repeat with the remaining bread slices, wiping the skillet clean and recoating it as needed to prevent sticking. Enjoy warm with desired toppings.
Notes
- *If your bread is very soft, I recommend letting the pieces sit out for several hours or even overnight to stale slightly. This will help it better absorb the delicious pumpkin custard.
- If you can’t find Texas toast, look for a loaf of unsliced sandwich bread in the bakery section of your grocery store and slice it yourself (or see if the bakery can do it for you). You can also substitute regular sandwich bread, brioche, challah, or any other bread you enjoy.
- TO STORE: This French toast is best enjoyed the day it is made, but it can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a toaster oven or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze French toast in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice, without toppingsCalories: 194kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 7gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 42mgPotassium: 105mgFiber: 2gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 2485IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 6mg
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I keep wanting to like pumpkin anything, but rarely find I do. This French toast does sound excellent – I especially like having the vanilla Greek yogurt in it. Since I’m looking for cool weather breakfasts (açai bowls leave me chilled even in summer, as do smoothies), I’ll put this on my list of recipes to try.
This definitely is a great cool-weather breakfast, Susan! I hope you enjoy the recipe if you give it a try!
Erin, this recipe is a total winner. I made it this morning and we both enjoyed it greatly. My husband even commented that it is tasty, which is a huge compliment to you. My bread choices were somewhat limited, so I went with Challah, which worked very nicely. I served the French Toast with more vanilla Greek yogurt and maple syrup. I also decided to cook the leftover custard, so I could serve it over our later helpings of the French Toast (we have two more days of it to look forward to). I sprayed a small, nonstick saucepan with cooking spray, added the custard, and cooked it over a very low flame on our smallest burner, stirring fairly frequently, until a spoon drawn across the bottom left a clear path. I think it will be a nice topping that emphasizes the pumpkin flavors. I was also pleased that the recipe was very easy to put together (I managed to not slop the custard over the edges of my baking pan, and if you’d seen the mess I’ve made of at least a couple of recipes this week, you’d realize that was miraculous) and didn’t take forever. Definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you.
Susan, I’m so glad to hear the recipe was a hit for you and your husband! Thanks for giving it a try and sharing how it went, and for your tip about the extra custard!
I really appreciate, Erin, when you explain (like you did so well in this recipe) why you are exchanging ingredients and what to use instead. I would not know how to “mix and match” and still turn out nicely! Thank You. This recipe looks so delicious; I am eager to try it!
You’re welcome, Cordelia! I’m so glad you find it useful, and I hope you enjoy the recipe if you give it a try!
Nice Erin! Might just make that my Halloween breakfast ;)
THIS SOUND GREAT, WILL MAKE THIS SOON.
I hope you enjoy, Barbara!
So good ! Perfect timing ! Thank you so much Erin !
hey girl- this looks so tasty!
Thanks so much!
This looks delicious! Love all your tips/suggestions/substitutions! Do you recommend any canned brands of pumpkin puree that would be organic and free of any artificial additives? I live in Chicago. Can bread that’s been left in the fridge work with this or just buy a new loaf and let it sit out??
Hi Lauren! I like the Simple Truth Organic Pumpkin found at Kroger-affiliated grocery stores. The bread you have in your fridge will probably be fine! If it’s extra soft, see the notes below the recipe. I hope you enjoy!
This came out really tasty for a fun breakfast! Might try to see if we can adjust the recipe to not include the greek yogurt next time, maybe adding more pumpkin puree and vanilla extract instead? Definitely a keeper!
YAY Jessi, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to share this review!
Highly recommend this recipe! Truth be told I had been craving French toast for weeks! It’s just one of those comfort foods that’s one of a kind. I love pumpkin anything so was excited to try this! It turned out even better than expected. What a great way to kick off the Fall season. If you’re making French toast, try this recipe ☝️ 5stars ? ?
Jenn, thank you so much for the wonderful review! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
So delicious! Not overly sweet and the perfect amount of pumpkin! My family loved this and asked immediately to make more!
Great to hear! Thank you Megan!