Bourbon Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

5 from 1 vote

Bourbon Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

One-Pot, Nut-Free, Vegetarian

This challah French toast gets its pumpkin fall vibe from a top layer of egg, pumpkin pie spice, and fresh pumpkin. Of course, you could hand dip and pan-fry individual slices of bread, but that takes time and, in my experience, means the cook is the last to eat. So, if you want hands-free French toast that you get to sit down and enjoy hot along with everyone else, French toast casserole is the way to go.

Prep Time15

Cook Time50

Total Time1 5

Servings: people

Calories: 201kcal

Author: Chef Sara Furcini

Ingredients

1 ½ cups diced pumpkin see step 1
¼ cup water
Unsalted butter for preparing the Dutch oven
1 1-pound day-old loaf challah bread, sliced
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups half-and-half
⅓ cup pure maple syrup plus more for serving (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

Prepare the pumpkin. Peel, seed, and chop the pumpkin into roughly equal ½-inch pieces. Combine the pumpkin with the water in a Dutch oven. Simmer over medium-high heat to partially cook, about 3 minutes. Transfer the pumpkin to a bowl--add a drizzle of maple syrup to the pumpkin so that when it cooks, it caramelizes. Pour any remaining water out of the Dutch oven.
Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease the inside of the Dutch oven generously with butter.
Assemble and bake the casserole. Slice the bread and put in the Dutch oven, overlapping the slices. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, maple syrup, salt, bourbon, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to combine. Add the partially cooked pumpkin. Pour the mixture over the bread, making sure to get the liquid between the slices. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until golden. Serve with maple syrup or whipped cream.

Video

Notes

Variation Tips:

Add crunch with walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts. You can add up to ½ cup during step 3. Make sure to use raw, roughly chopped nuts.
If you have my homemade apple butter on hand, you could also incorporate this into the casserole during step 3 for even more Fall flavor.
Instead of bourbon, try rum or almond liqueur.

Nutrition