Overnight Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Recipes that don't tie me to the kitchen—that’s what I’m all about. I make this luscious dish the night before breakfast or brunch with guests. —Patricia Harmon, Baden, Pennsylvania
Ingredients
- 1 loaf (1 pound) cinnamon-raisin bread
- 1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 8 large eggs
- 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup fat-free milk
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- Confectioners' sugar, optional
- Maple syrup, warmed, optional
Reviews
Used all ingredients as written except sliced the cream cheese for fuller coverage. Flavor was not bold enough to go to all this trouble again.
I thought this was excellent. The recipe was very easy to put together. The only change I made was using Buttermilk bread and adding extra seasoning.
I changed the recipe a bit, blended condensed milk, eggs cream cheese, added pumpkin, brown sugar and spices, left out milk. I added pecans and cinnamon sugar for the top. I don't care for the chunks of cream cheese in the recipe, but blended it in, turned out perfect. Husband and Grand kids loved it. Will be making it again. Thanks for the recipe.
So disappointed. I followed recipe exactly (using a whole can of pumpkin) & it just tasted blah.- Theresa
This was easy to make, and absolutely delicious. I made it exactly as directed. I would recommend not changing any part of the recipe. Honestly, I don't think using a different type of bread,as some reviewers indicated they did, will produce the same result,either in taste or presentation. I think you could switch from cinnamon raisin to cinnamon bread, but that would bethe only change I would make.
I thought this was easy to put together and the end result was fantastic! I loved the spice blend in this dish. I will be making this again.
I really should have listened to the other reviews. This was just ok. For the amount of effort and forethought that had to go into it, it was pretty bland. I could barely taste the cream cheese or the pumpkin. Like another person suggested I used more of the pumpkin puree than was called for, yet I still barely tasted the pumpkin. I also used a normal loaf of Italian bread. I now wonder if it would have had more flavor with a cinnamon raisin bread. The addition of chopped pecans was nice. I also did the right amount of spices and yet I didn't taste any of them. I don't think I'd try making this again.
I have made this quite a few times now and have (I think) found the best "recipe". First, I use pre-sliced Italian bread (approx. 10 pieces), instead of the cinnamon raisin. Then, instead of just 1 cup of pumpkin, I use a whole 15 oz can. No other changes to the ingredients, except I don't use the extra spices; just cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. Also, when you pour the pumpkin mixture over the bread and cream cheese, do it slowly and make sure the bread is thoroughly saturated with the pumpkin mixture. Then, after refrigerating overnight, I bake it, uncovered, for 40-45 min. It comes out great everytime!
We had this today for brunch. Yummy!! The only thing my husband said he would change would be to spread the cream cheese out a little better. I thought the blend of spices was perfect. Look forward to enjoying the leftovers!
I thought this would be great, especially for my 3 year old who loves pumpkin, but it was very disappointing. Especially for how long it takes to prep, cook, and cool. I thought there was just too much going on....I won't make this again but would cut pumpkin in half and do fewer eggs. Would also spread the cream cheese instead of doing chunks. Had a lot of leftovers but threw it all out.