This cozy gluten-free pumpkin French toast casserole recipe is the PERFECT special breakfast for the holidays or pumpkin season. The warm flavors & easy preparation make it a crowd pleaser!

Drizzling maple syrup over gluten-free pumpkin french toast casserole

This Cozy Breakfast Bake Is Perfect For Cold Weather

Don’t be put off by the word “casserole!” This pumpkin French toast bake is a GREAT recipe for a cozy weekend brunch or a holiday breakfast. Every time I serve it, it’s a huge it! There’s so much to love:

🥣 EASE: This easy recipe is made from simple ingredients & can even be made the night before. As for technique…dicing up some bread, whisking a pumpkin custard, mixing streusel, and sprinkling are the only skills you need!

🥧 FLAVORS: The pumpkin custard carries plenty of rich pumpkin flavor, paired with warm spices, and a kiss of maple and vanilla that’s DELICIOUS. Add the brown sugar pecan streusel, and you’re in fall flavors heaven.

🍞 TOP TIPS: Make sure to use stale bread for best results! The casserole will have a much better texture!

Happy breakfasting! xo, Emily

Gather Your Ingredients

Ingredients for gluten-free pumpkin french toast casserole

Gluten-Free Bread. To start, you’ll need a whole loaf (12-15 ounces!) of gluten-free bread. We’ve made this gluten-free breakfast casserole with Canyon Bakehouse, Three Bakers, and Trader Joe’s gluten-free breads, but I’m sure other brands should work, too!
Pumpkin Puree. Unsweetened pumpkin puree adds the perfect pumpkin flavor and bright orange color. Don’t buy a can of pumpkin pie filling by mistake!
Whole Milk. While you *can* make this easy pumpkin french toast casserole with low fat milk or unsweetened almond milk, I really prefer the richness of whole milk.
Eggs. You’ll need 5 large eggs to help fill out the custard base. This recipe does not work well with egg substitutes, like flax eggs or chia eggs.
Butter. A little melted butter goes into the casserole base, then the rest of the butter helps make our brown sugar streusel. Yum!
Vanilla Extract.
Pumpkin Spice. Some pumpkin pie spice (a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves) adds a delicious warm note that’ll make your house smell like HEAVEN.
Brown Sugar. Light brown sugar is the star of the streusel crumb topping. It’s sweet and complements the flavor of this breakfast bake beautifully.
Gluten-Free Flour. A little measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend helps bind the crumble topping so you get those lovely clusters!
Cinnamon & Salt. Ground cinnamon adds warmth to the brown sugar crumble topping, while a pinch of salt in the custard helps enhance and balance the flavors.

How To Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin French Toast Casserole, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

making pumpkin french toast casserole step by step

Prepare The Bread. If you have time, let the bread sit out at least a few hours up to a day in advance to get a little hard and stale. This helps the bread hold its shape! Dice the bread into 1-inch cubes. Transfer to a greased 9×13 pan and set aside. (I prefer a glass or ceramic casserole dish for this recipe.)
Make The Custard. In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin puree, milk, maple syrup, eggs, butter, vanilla, pumpkin spice, and salt. Whisk until well combined. The pumpkin spice may clump slightly, but you really want to make sure the eggs are smooth! (You can also use an immersion blender to get the egg mixture totally smooth, if you prefer.)
Pour the pumpkin custard mixture over the bread cubes, doing your best to coat the bread evenly. Use a flexible spatula to gently tuck any dry bread cubes into the custard.

Make The Streusel. If making the streusel topping, prepare it now. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, gluten-free flour, cinnamon, and cubes of butter. Use clean hands, a pastry blender, or two forks to work the butter into the dry ingredients until clusters form and no dry spots remain.
Rest. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and let the custard soak into the bread for at least 1 hour, or cover the pan and chill several hours, up to overnight. Store the streusel separately until you’re ready to bake.
Assemble & Bake. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Break the streusel into clusters and sprinkle over the French toast casserole. Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes, or until the top is deep golden brown and the custard is just set. (Around the 30 minute mark, check on the casserole. If your streusel is browning too quickly, you can loosely tent the pan with foil to prevent burning!)
Serve & Store. Sprinkle the casserole with powdered sugar, or drizzle with pure maple syrup and enjoy! Cover leftovers and store in the fridge 2-3 days.

A plate of pumpkin french toast casserole drizzled with maple syrup

Toppings To Try

This gluten-free pumpkin french toast casserole definitely stands on its own, but since I’m usually serving it for a special occasion, like a nice weekend brunch, or holiday breakfast, I like to adds a few extras. Here are a few different ways to take this recipe to the next level:

Maple Syrup. A drizzle of maple syrup over the whole casserole or individual servings looks elegant and tastes delicious!
Powdered Sugar. Or, you can dust the casserole with powdered sugar right before serving for a pretty finish. It’s an easy way to add a little elegance!
Whipped Cream. Take this pumpkin breakfast casserole in a pie direction by serving it with dollops of vanilla whipped cream. It’s decadent, but delicious!

gluten-free pumpkin french toast casserole with brown sugar pecan streusel

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

Stale Bread Works Best! For best results, I recommend using slightly stale bread, or bread that you’ve set out to dry for at least a few hours (up to 1 day in advance!) for this recipe. The bread will soak up the custard better and maintain its shape during baking. Fresh bread can sometimes get soggy or mushy. As for the type of bread, gluten-free bread usually doesn’t have as many readily available options as traditional bread, so I use sandwich bread rather than trying to find gluten-free challah bread, brioche bread, or French bread.

Make-Ahead Tips. We LOVE to mix this easy breakfast casserole up the night before for holidays, like Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. It works GREAT as an overnight casserole! If you’re mixing this french toast casserole up the night before, I recommend storing the casserole and the streusel topping separately to avoid the topping dissolving or getting soggy. Crumble the topping on top of the casserole the next morning right before baking!

Don’t Have Pumpkin Spice? Use This Instead! If you don’t have any pumpkin spice handy, you can substitute 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon cloves. This mix of fall spices will be remarkably close!

Not A Fan of Nuts? No problem! You can skip them!

More Cozy Breakfast Recipes To Try

Gluten-Free Eggnog French Toast Casserole

Gluten-Free Belgian Waffles

gluten-free blueberry muffin cut in half to reveal a fluffy texture

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

SOFT Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

🌟 Did You Make This Recipe?

Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our gluten-free Pumpkin French Toast Casserole recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

5 from 1 vote

Author: Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

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Ingredients

For Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

1 loaf gluten-free bread cut into 1-inch cubes* (12-15oz.)
1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling!
1 ½ cups whole milk or dairy-free milk
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
5 large eggs
2 Tablespoons butter melted
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
⅛ teaspoon salt

For Optional Brown Sugar Streusel

½ cup brown sugar 100 grams
½ cup chopped pecans
⅓ cup gluten-free measure-for-measure flour 40 grams
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons butter cut into small cubes (57 grams)

To Serve:

Pure Maple Syrup (optional)
Powdered Sugar (optional)
Whipped Cream (optional)

Instructions

Prepare The Bread. If you have time, let the bread sit out at least a few hours up to a day in advance to get a little hard and stale. This helps the bread hold its shape! Dice the bread into 1-inch cubes. Transfer to a greased 9×13 pan and set aside. (I prefer a glass or ceramic pan for this recipe.)
Make The Custard. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, milk, maple syrup, eggs, butter, vanilla, pumpkin spice, and salt. Whisk until well combined. The pumpkin spice may clump slightly, but you really want to make sure the eggs are smooth! (You can also use an immersion blender to get the mixture totally smooth, if you prefer.)
Pour the pumpkin custard mixture over the bread cubes, doing your best to coat the bread evenly. Use a flexible spatula to gently tuck any dry bread cubes into the custard.
Make The Streusel. If making the streusel topping, prepare it now. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, gluten-free flour, cinnamon, and cubes of butter. Use clean hands, a pastry blender, or two forks to work the butter into the dry ingredients until clusters form and no dry spots remain.
Rest. Cover the pan and let the custard soak into the bread for at least 1 hour, or cover the pan and chill several hours, up to overnight. Store the streusel separately until you're ready to bake.
Assemble & Bake. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Break the streusel into clusters and sprinkle over the French toast casserole. Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes, or until the top is deep golden brown and the custard is just set. (Around the 30 minute mark, check on the casserole. If your streusel is browning too quickly, you can loosely tent the pan with foil to prevent burning!)
Serve & Store. Sprinkle the casserole with powdered sugar, or drizzle with pure maple syrup and enjoy! Cover leftovers and store in the fridge 2-3 days.

Notes

Stale Bread Works Best! For best results, I recommend using slightly stale bread, or bread that you’ve set out to dry for at least a few hours (up to 1 day in advance!) for this recipe. The bread will soak up the custard better and maintain its shape during baking. Fresh bread can sometimes get soggy or mushy.
Make-Ahead Tips. If you’re mixing this casserole up the night before, I recommend storing the casserole and the streusel topping separately to avoid the topping dissolving or getting soggy. Crumble the topping on the next morning right before baking!