Looking for a special breakfast dish? Wondering what to serve for that holiday breakfast? May I suggest my Gluten Free and Dairy Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Raisin French Toast Casserole? Full of pumpkin spice and everything nice.

As a child, french toast was a real treat.  My mother always made sure to steer clear of ordinary white bread when making french toast.  Instead she always opted for flavorful bread such as Challah, cinnamon bread, or raisin bread.  That small extra step of purchasing special bread, made a simple french toast breakfast, memorable.

Today, I follow mom’s example and always try to use my family’s favorite cinnamon raisin bread when making french toast.

With my focus on pumpkin this month, I wanted to create a baked french toast recipe that featured pumpkin and all of those beloved pumpkin spices.  I selected our favorite bread, cubed the slices, and placed them into a baking dish.  I then placed all of my custard ingredients, including pumpkin puree, into my blender.  In no time flat I had a perfectly blended, frothy, pumpkin filled custard.

I then poured the custard over the bread cubes and popped the casserole dish into the oven.  Can I tell you how good my kitchen smelled within 15 minutes?

When the finished casserole emerged from the oven, it was greeted with many “oohs and ahhs”.  Despite the protests and calls to serve up the yumminess immediately, I allowed the casserole to rest for ten minutes.  I then drizzled a maple syrup glaze over the top.  It was ready to serve.

Two words for you:  gobbled up.

My family devoured this french toast casserole, and they have already asked me to make it again.  They loved the pumpkin flavor and the little pops of raisin throughout.  However, their favorite part was the contrast in textures.  They loved the custard filled bottom portion of the casserole.  The bread cubes absorbed all of the pumpkin and spices.  They also enjoyed the perfectly toasted bread cubes on top. I believe that we have a new breakfast dish to add to our repertoire.

I hope that you’ll give this fuss free, easy to make dish a try.  It is sure to make breakfast memorable (and delicious too).

Gluten Free Dairy Free Cinnamon Raisin Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
serves 6-8

8 cups cubed, gluten free cinnamon raisin bread (do not use frozen bread)
6 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Drizzle:
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon unsweetened vanilla almond milk
4-5 tablespoons sifted powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray an 8″ x 11″ rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Remove the slices of bread from the package.  Set aside the top and bottom end pieces as they will not be needed in this recipe.  Cut the remaining pieces of bread into cubes.   Each slice of bread should yield 12-16 cubes.  This will vary depending on the brand of bread you use.  Place the cubed bread loosely into the baking dish.

 Place the eggs, pumpkin, 1/2 cup almond milk, 2 tablespoons syrup, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt into a blender.  Blend until smooth.

Pour the egg and pumpkin mixture over the bread cubes.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow the french toast casserole to sit for 10 minutes.  This will allow the custard to set.

Just prior to serving make the maple drizzle.  Stir together 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened almond milk, and 4-5 tablespoons of powdered sugar.  I would begin by stirring 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar into the mix first.  Only add the additional tablespoon of powdered sugar if your glaze is too thin.

Place the glaze into a small resealable baggie.  Snip a small piece off one corner of the bottom of the bag.  Gently squeeze and drizzle the glaze over the french toast in a back and forth motion.

Serve.

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