Pumpkin Brioche Overnight French Toast Bake

Our coveted, most popular overnight French toast bake has a friend for the fall season.  Head on over to Trader Joe’s for the best pumpkin brioche bread and pumpkin butter to make this perfect breakfast dish.  Great for a long weekend, brunch or make ahead for the school week.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 loaf pumpkin brioche bread (we love Trader Joe’s); substitute regular brioche, Texas toast or Challah bread , cut into 1” cubes (see note)

8 eggs

1 cup regular or almond milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/3 cup favorite pumpkin butter (we love Trader Joe’s)

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed

3 Tbsp brown sugar

To Serve:

Maple syrup

Powdered sugar

Fresh fruit

Note: If you have time, leave bread cubes spread out on a baking sheet for several hours or overnight to dry out.  They will better absorb the egg mixture this way, but if you don’t have time for this step, simply bake a few extra minutes.

Directions:

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and place in bread cubes, spreading out evenly to coat the bottom. Crack eggs into a medium bowl and add milk through pumpkin butter. Whisk well to combine. Pour mixture evenly over bread, trying hard to coat all pieces. Using clean hands, gently press bread down into baking dish so it absorbs as much liquid as possible. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove foil and top casserole with cubes of butter and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Cover again with foil.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until nicely golden brown.  Remove foil for the last 5 minutes to nicely brown top of casserole.

Top with syrup, powdered sugar, or fruit to serve.