Baked Pumpkin Cream Cheese French Toast
So easy with the best cream cheese filling! Prep the night before and bake right before serving!
I finally opened my first can of pumpkin this season! Now it definitely doesn’t feel like fall just yet as it is hitting close to 100 degrees F outside here in Southern California but still – this french toast should be made all year long.
It’s pretty much pumpkin pie in french toast form. Except it’s unbelievably easy to make.
You can even prep everything the night before, toss it in the fridge, and throw it in the oven before serving the next morning.
It’s actually better that you make it ahead of time so those little pieces of bread can soak up all that pumpkin goodness.
And those bread cubes up there – those are King’s Hawaiian rolls. AKA – the best rolls in the world. And the only rolls to use when it comes to baked french toast.
Oh and you can’t forget that oozing cream cheese filling right in the middle layer. Imagine it to be a mini cheesecake filling in the middle of your french toast.
Amazing, right? And there’s no need for syrup here. From the sweet, fluffy King Hawaiian rolls to the cream cheese filling and crumbly crumb topping, you’re set.
Just pop this baby out of the oven and serve. It’s even better when eaten right out of the baking dish too. Why waste time plating?
Baked Pumpkin Cream Cheese French Toast
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (12-count) package KING'S HAWAIIAN Original Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls, cubed
For the crumb topping
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
For the cream cheese filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together milk, pumpkin puree, eggs, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla.
- Lightly coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Place a layer of bread cubes evenly into the baking dish. Pour half of the pumpkin puree mixture evenly over the top. Spread cream cheese filling in an even layer. Top with remaining bread cubes and pumpkin puree mixture to completely cover the filling.
- Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- To make the crumb topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add cold butter and toss to coat, using your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the bread cubes.
- Place into oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with pecans and confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by King’s Hawaiian. All opinions expressed are my own.
So, I tried this tonight, but it turned out rather soggy. Followed recipe … I tore the bread, instead of cubing it, should the rolls be a Little dry? Mine weren’t..Also, I think I poured more liquid on the bottom than top…. help!?
What a bummer! But it doesn’t sound like you followed the recipe – the bread should be cubed as indicated in the recipe and the liquid should have been equally distributed to the top and bottom layer. Additionally, you can certainly reduce the amount of liquid if you prefer more of a “dry” french toast.
I’m thinking of making this as a dessert. What do you think? Would you change anything? Sounds wonderful and looks like it would be almost a bread pudding.
It’s already sweet as it is so I wouldn’t change a thing!
Could this lovely pumpkin cream cheese french toast be made in a slow cooker? If so, how long and would the recipe need to be tweaked?
Pat, please understand that it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional oven recipe to the slow cooker method without further recipe testing. I recommend using your own judgement to convert this recipe to utilize a slow cooker.
What can I use if I can’t find the Kings Hawiaan’s rolls, not sure what these are? And is the pumpkin puree just the regular can of pumpkin you would buy to make pumpkin pie? Live in a small town…Walmart is our grocery store.
Yes, Cindy, you can use canned pumpkin puree. And I’m sure you will be able to find King’s Hawaiian rolls at Walmart. It’s a very popular item.
Thanks, will be making this this weekend for sure!!!!
I’m Canadian and they are not sold here. Is there a difference between this brand and regular dinner rolls? Are the sweetened or something?
Yes, they are sweetened!
Sometimes the King’s Hawaiian Bread and Rolls are with other bread products in the grocery store. Some stores have a display for it in their bakery area. I’ve seen it at Wal Mart in their Bakery/Deli area sometimes. It depends on the store. Just ask someone who works there. Most stores carry it in my area.
This is a brilliant idea! And I like that you can make it ahead of time. It’ll be perfect for when our family gets together for Thanksgiving! I can’t wait to try this…it’s making me drool!
Yum! Making tonight to enjoy tomorrow morning. So excited to see a new pumpkin recipe and this will be my first of the season! For the sake of using what I already have on hand- I have two loaves of French bread and I’m wondering how much of it do you think I will need to substitute for the rolls? Do you know approx how many cups of cubed roll went into this? I’ll use those next time…I’m sure there will be a next time. Looks fab!
I’d say about 5-8 cups. The less bread, the more “custardy” it becomes.
OMG, I love Fall and of course anything Pumpkin! No problem with feeling like Fall here in New England!
Breakfast perfection, love the easy prep!
Mercy! That looks and sounds fabulous. I will definitely try this one. THX.
Literally nothing else to say, except SINFUL and AH-MAZING.
This is definitely on my MUST MAKE list soon! Looks delicious and your photos are beautiful, as always! 🙂
My husband has been our French Bread chef since the day we met. But, I think this Pumpkin Cream Cheese french toast will top anything he has ever created. Can’t wait to prepare it. I was going to prepare it for Thanksgiving morning but I don’t think I’ll be able to wait that long. THANK YOU for ALL the recipes you post, Chungah. I have tried many of them and ALL of them have been very good OR delicious. Would love to know your secret on how you can remain so slim when your cooking is wonderful!
This recipes sounds amazing! Would be perfect for a fall brunch!
So much YUM. Love the pumpkin-cream cheese combo!
I LOVE the idea of pumpkin french toast, it sounds amazing! Plus a make ahead weekend breakfast is always a huge bonus. : )
My husband is not allowed to eat anything pumpkin – too much potassium for his kidneys. Can you suggest something else beside pumpkin? I would love to make this. Thank you.
Patty, as the pumpkin is the star of this dish, I recommend trying a different recipe. Here is another baked french toast recipe using fresh blueberries and lemon, and of course, King’s Hawaiian! https://damndelicious.net/2014/05/05/baked-blueberry-lemon-french-toast/
You can substitute blueberries for the pumpkin and is fantastic. Try it
I bet applesauce would be an amazing sub, with maybe some fresh chopped apples added throughout.
I started making this late tonight and found I had used my last can of pumpkin on a pie. I substituted mashed sweet potatoes. It is chilling in the fridge waiting to be baked in the morning. I’ll let you know.
Hellooooo fall!! <3
This looks and sounds delicious! New pumpkin recipe to try! Yay!
Looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
This look like the Queen of all breakfasts! Seems like today was the official day of pumpkin recipes popping up in the feed, and I am glad it was, this looks beyond amazing! x