Enjoy the flavors of fall with this overnight whole wheat pumpkin French toast bake recipe! A delicious breakfast addition for anyone, and a great way to incorporate nutrient-rich eggs for toddlers and babies! Pin it here.
Disclosures: This Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast recipe was created in partnership with Egg Nutrition Center and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are genuine and my own. Thanks for supporting this blog!
The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) released their Scientific Report this July with brand new additions, including nutrition recommendations for the birth to 24 months, and pregnancy and lactation lifestages. In this blog post I’ll share how eggs can play an important role in meeting nutrients underconsumed by toddlers, and a simple way to include them with this pumpkin whole wheat French Toast bake!
More nerdy nutrition news: Read my post on how eggs meet nutrients of public health concern here.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast Bake
Think whole wheat bread coated in fall flavors of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and a pure pumpkin puree custard, soaked overnight and then baked for a warm nutrient-rich breakfast! I love using this Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast Bake to offer eggs to my kiddos.
I’ve written before about how my daughter had an egg allergy as a baby, which she’s since outgrown (read more about introducing eggs to babies early and often to reduce the risk of developing an egg allergy + a yummy soft veggie egg casserole here). Since she couldn’t have eggs for so long, it’s since been challenging to provide opportunities for her to eat eggs that she’ll actually take me up on! Unfortunately, she’s developed a bit of an aversion. I’ve found my most successful way of adding eggs to my toddler’s diet is with French toast or a French toast bake! And since it’s fall, ya know… pumpkin all things!
This Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast Bake doubles as a very fun way to get toddlers in the kitchen! She loves cracking eggs (I have her do this in a separate bowl so I can help with shell bits!), stirring, moving bread slices into the casserole dish and pouring ingredients.
French Toast Bake Vs. Regular French Toast
Typically French toast is made by dipping bread in an egg, milk and cinnamon base before preparing via stovetop or griddle. After making a lot of French toast in this house, I’ve found that the consistency and flavor of French toast turns out significantly better using a higher ratio of eggs to bread (I do ~4-5 eggs to 6 slices of bread).
For the purposes of this Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast recipe, I made it into a French toast bake, in which the bread is soaked overnight in an egg batter topped with a lighter-than-most crumble, and then baked in the oven. I would not recommend adding pumpkin to a regular French toast batter; it simply will not turn out well! It’s hard to get the bread to pick up on the pumpkin flavor, and the pumpkin tends to stick to the griddle, changing the consistency of the French toast.
Both French toast and French toast bakes are great ways to weave more eggs into your kiddos’ diets!
Why Are Eggs Important for Toddlers?
Eggs are naturally nutrient-dense with all the essential nutrients the American Academy of Pediatrics lists as important for brain growth and development, including choline, which most Americans, including toddlers, do not consume enough of. Plus, eggs are one of the only natural food sources of vitamin D, which along with calcium, is important for building strong bones.
Eggs have one of the highest amounts of choline of any food eaten in American diets, with one large egg providing 150 mg of choline. One egg provides the daily choline needs for babies or toddlers, and two eggs a day provide half the recommended amount of choline adults need. Choline plays important roles in cognitive development and overall brain health. And for any of my pregnant mamas, choline is also particularly critical for fetal brain development!
Eggs are one of the only naturally-occurring food sources of vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for bone health and calcium absorption. One large egg provides 6% of the Daily Value of vitamin D.
Remember to keep the yolk – it’s where the choline and vitamin D are concentrated, and where nearly half the protein is!
Check out these other kid-friendly recipes using eggs:
- Whole Wheat Quiche Florentine
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancake Poppers
- Freezer-Friendly Veggie Egg Muffins
Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast Bake
I always love to plan my plate with a starch or whole grain, a good protein source (hello eggs!) and a fruit and/or non-starchy veggie. This Pumpkin Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast Bake checks off the protein, whole grain, and non-starchy veggie boxes! From there I’d definitely top it off with fruit, and you’re welcome to finish it off with some yogurt and applesauce or a classic syrup. The best news is, this French toast bake is delicious served alone, too!
As always I hope you love this recipe! It’s been one my whole family enjoys!
Pin this overnight Whole Wheat French Toast Bake for later here.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast Bake + Eggs in the Toddler Years
Video
Notes
Whole Wheat Pumpkin French Toast Bake
Equipment
- Oven
- 9x13 Casserole Dish
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Small Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- 1 Tbsp butter, softened (for casserole dish)
- 8-9 slices whole wheat bread (Don't use bread topped with seeds!)
- 6 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice extract)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 c 100% pure pumpkin puree
- 2 c low-fat milk
Streusel Topping
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp chilled butter, cubed
Instructions
- Generously butter a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Cut bread slices vertically into 1" thick strips. Layer along bottom of casserole dish. Once bottom of casserole dish is covered, place remaining bread strips on top of bottom layer perpendicularly.
- Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl until well-combined. Whisk in the milk and pumpkin puree and mix until smooth.
- Pour egg mixture on top of bread slices evenly, making sure all bread slices have been coated. It's ok for some of the egg mixture to "pool" in some spots - it's better to have more egg mixture than to have uncoated bread slices! Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, preheat oven to 350°F and center the rack in the oven. Prepare streusel topping by tossing together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Work in the chilled butter cubes with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly.
- Remove plastic wrap from the French toast bake. Using a spoon, gently push bread slices into the custard, then sprinkle on the streusel topping.
- Place casserole dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until top is puffed. Serve warm. Enjoy!
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