Next Post
Make Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Fall weekend mornings are made for this Baked Butter Pecan French Toast. Made with a warming vanilla and cinnamon egg custard, sweet maple, brown sugar, and pecans. It’s baked until caramelized on top, and served warm with a cozy sweet bourbon maple syrup. Every piece of toast is soft, buttery, and custardy inside, yet caramelized around the edges. It’s almost like creme brûlée. Add fresh whipped cream and…beyond delicious!
When it comes to holiday breakfasts, I am very specific. Christmas is without a doubt cinnamon rolls – usually on Christmas Eve morning, and if there’s any leftover, they’re snacked on throughout day. Christmas morning is my mom’s Monkey Bread (an oldie but goodie!). In more recent years, we’ve been doing bacon and eggs too (I need a good savory casserole to make).
And for Thanksgiving? Well, that’s my wild card. It can really be anything, but we love something on the sweeter side. This year, it’s french toast. And probably these apple cinnamon rolls too, because we have a big group and both recipes are perfect.
But my goodness, this french toast is such a favorite.
The idea
The idea came from my baked cinnamon crème brûlée french toast that I shared a few years back. It’s my favorite baked french toast.
I wanted to give it a fall spin. I loved the idea idea of butter pecan…it’s my favorite flavor combination in November. So I went in that direction.
The details
Star with the “gooey” bottom layer that almost makes this french toast similar to a sticky bun. It’s a mix of brown sugar, maple, and butter. You’ll layer it on the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle over some pecans.
This next step is key. The sweet maple butter caramelizes and thickens in the oven around the french toast. This leaves you with a sticky sauce surrounding each piece of toast.
It is delicious!
The custard is a simple mix of eggs, milk, cinnamon, orange liquor, and vanilla. I highly recommend using the orange liquor as it adds that touch of special flavor. And truthfully, you really should have a bottle of orange liquor on hand at all times. Especially during the holidays, it makes the perfect margarita.
Dip each piece of bread in the custard, then arrange in the baking dish. Pour over that remaining maple/butter sauce and top with pecans.
Once the french toast has been assembled, place it in the fridge for an hour, or up to overnight. This is great if you want to have breakfast already prepped and ready for baking in the morning!
Finish with the syrup
While the french toast bakes, make the bourbon syrup. It’s simply maple syrup, bourbon, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
It might not seem like much, but the touch of bourbon really gives the french toast some warming “November” vibes.
Serve as is, or dollop with whipped cream. Then add plenty of the bourbon maple syrup. It is perfection.
The nuts add crunch, and the sauce keeps everything sticky and delicious. The french toast itself is eggy and custard-like…all together it’s the best!
Looking for other easy fall breakfast dishes?? Here are my favorites:
Cinnamon Knots with Coffee Icing
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Lastly, if you make these Baked Butter Pecan French Toast, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How-To Video:
Baked Butter Pecan French Toast
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 531 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup, plus 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 7 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans
- 8 large eggs, beaten
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier (orange liqueur)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 loaf challah bread, sliced into thick slices
- whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Bourbon Syrup
- 1 cup real maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- 1. Grease a 9x13 inch-baking dish with butter. 2. In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, maple syrup, and 6 tablespoons melted butter. Pour half the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with half the pecans. 3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Grand Marnier, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Submerge each piece of bread into the egg mix, allowing the bread to sit at least a minute to soak up the eggs. Arrange the bread in the baking dish. Pour the remaining egg mix over the bread slices. Then add the remaining brown/sugar maple mix.4. In a bowl, mix the remaining pecans, butter, and brown sugar. Sprinkle the nuts over the french toast. 5. Cover and place in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375° F. Bake for 45 minutes or until the French toast is golden and crisp. If the tops of the bread begin to brown too quickly, cover with foil.7. Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small pot, mix the maple syrup, bourbon, and vanilla. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes until thickened8. Serve the french toast warm, drizzled with syrup. Enjoy!
What can i use in place of the alcohol ? Can i use juice from an orange and the peel?
I’m wondering about substitutes for the alcohol as well please… for both the orange liqueur and the bourbon.
Do we just omit?
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
Hey Amber, yes that will work just fine! 🙂 xTieghan
Can this be made 24 hours ahead of time? Thanks!
Hey Devon,
Yes, that will work for you! I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I am SO excited to make this for our Saturday morning group this week – can’t wait! Perfect timing to share the recipe! I have a question – can this be made ahead of time and put in the fridge the night before, then popped in the oven in the AM? I don’t want to risk it getting too soggy…
Oops – seeing that the answer has already been posted in comments! Sorry to be repetitive 🙂
Hey Stephanie! I hope you enjoy this recipe Yes, you can definitely prep the night before! 🙂 xTieghan
Hi there! It’s been asked before, but does this recipe call for buttermilk or whole milk? At the grocery and buying both to be sure. Hope to hear soon! Thanks so much 🙂
Hi there! It calls for whole milk 🙂 xTieghan
Definitely on my list for Thanksgiving morning. Now to find an egg dish to pair with it. I really appreciate your creativity. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope you enjoy this french toast! xTieghan
This looked, smelled and tasted amazing. It however deflated after 5 min out of the oven. Is there a way to keep it up and fluffy? Could one add, say, backing powder to the mix? Or would using butter milk instead of milk help?
Thanks!
Hmmm, a fair question, wonder why she chooses not to reply?
I also wonder.
Has anyone tried it with butter milk and did it stay up and fluffy?
Thanks
Hi Diana! I’m so sorry about that! I haven’t tried this recipe with buttermilk so I’m not too sure, so sorry again! 🙂 xTieghan
Hi Diana, hmm, I am not sure! I don’t think baking powder would really help with that, but you could try. What kind of bread did you use?
I used brioche type bread, live in Austria and this is what’s more widely available.
Will try it with buttermilk and let you know..
For the butter pecan French toast… We have a rule of no alcohol in the house/even to cook with. Could I skip on the orange liquor and should I substitute it for something else?
Hi there! Yes, you can definitely use some orange juice! xTieghan
Can it be replaced with triple sec?
Sorry, what are you wanting to replace with triple sec? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Are you missing step 6 or is the recipe numbered incorrectly?
Hi Judith, sorry about that, I must have numbered it incorrectly! xTieghan
You mention using buttermilk but the recipe calls for whole milk. Could you please clarify?
Thank you.
This next step is key. The sweet buttermilk caramelizes and thickens in the oven around the french toast. This leaves you with a sticky sauce surrounding each piece of toast. Well we are waiting for your reply about the milk 🙂
Hey Kelli! So sorry for the confusion, the recipe calls for whole milk because the mixture created in step 3 is a sort of “buttermilk”! Hope this helps! xTieghan
Hey Kelli,
No buttermilk in this recipe, just milk! Hope you enjoy the toast!
Hello! What would be a good substitute for challah bread?
Brioche bread! xTieghan
I used a cinnamon brioche. Super yum!
Hey! Thanks SO much for trying out this recipe, I hope you loved it! xxTieghan
I can’t find Challah bread in my area. Will brioche bread work?
Yes, brioche should work great! xTieghan
Any tips on holding this recipe?
Hi Christine! You could assemble the night before and bake the day of! xTieghan
Can’t wait to make this! Reading through the the text above the recipe and it says, “ This next step is key. The sweet buttermilk caramelizes and thickens in the oven around the french toast. ” I’m not seeing this in the recipe? I’m probably just missing something, but just in case, I thought I’d ask! Thank you!!
Hey Megan! That was a typo. No buttermilk in the recipe. So sorry for the confusion! Hope you love the french toast! xxTieghan
I can’t wait to make this for brunch next weekend! Is there a way to prepare this ahead of time?
Hi there! Yes, make the night before and then bake in the morning 🙂 xTieghan
This looks amazing! Thank you for sharing! Quick question, if I don’t have Grand Marnier, is there a good substitute? Maybe orange juice?!
Thank you!
Yes, orange juice would work great! xTieghan
10/10 do NOT recommend pouring the remaining egg mixture over the bread slices. As we suspected would happen, it cooked and attached itself to the bottom of the french toast like scrambled eggs. Disgusting. Recipe would have been delicious if I had listened to my gut instinct and threw the rest of the egg mixture away. Waste of time and ingredients and now we will be hungry until our Thanksgiving dinner is finished cooking.
This sounds so good! When you say cut the bread thick, like an inch? Also does the bread get arranged with top of bread up? It looks that way in the photo but want to make sure. Thanks
Hi there! Yes, I would cut it about an inch thick! And yes, the bread is arranged with the top up 🙂 xTieghan