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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:Â
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!
I’ve made this a few times and it always turns out delicious! I’ve also tried a few variations. I’ve left out the nuts and made it with chocolate chip brioche and some orange zest. I’ve also done a version with bourbon instead of Grand Marnier.
Hi Cora,
Happy New Year!🥳 Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Served Christmas morning with scrambled eggs and sausage. Delicious! I wasn’t sure we needed the bourbon in the sauce but it really added another dimension. Thank you!
Hi Dee,
Wonderful! So glad to hear your family enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it! Happy New Year!🥳🥂 xx
Can the Grand Marnier be left out? Or subbed with something? Looking for it to contain no alcohol. Thanks!
Hi Taylor,
Totally, you can skip it:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Could I make this without nuts and with a nice raisin break instead of challah?
sorry – raisin bread
Hey there,
Sure, totally fine to skip the nuts and another bread that you enjoy would also work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Very good
Thanks so much Connie!!
Can this be left in the fridge for a bit longer than one day? Hoping to make tonight to be eaten the day after tomorrow.
Hi Nicole, yes you can leave this in the fridge for longer than one day! xT
Can the leftovers be frozen?
Hi Annette,
Sure, that would be okay for you to do! I hope you love this recipe! xx
Go to breakfast for guests, meal trains and family vacation. No fail, so good! My 6 yo did most of this last batch we made.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! xT
Made this today for my dad and grandpa. Left off the special syrup, just added more maple on top. It was a hit. Will definitely be saving this one.
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Have an amazing week! 🙂 xT
“Slice into thick slices.†Helpful hint. Don’t leave this open to interpretation. How thick? Don’t expect novice cooks to understand this from a picture. Your recipe would be more helpful and professional.
Really? Were you new to HBH? Because this site is all I use for anything I make. Please read her personally crafted stories with each recipe and how they came to be. If you do that and can still find something to critique, perhaps you should have your own site where you can personally tell novices a 1.5 inch cut is a perfect thickness for your French toast.
Not one thing on this site deserves 1 star, ever.
Huge lover of everything HBH!
Hi vso I am new to Challah bread. Ordered 2 loafs and when I picked them up they are shorter and fatter then I anticipated. Oh my! How do you cut them?
Hi Lynn,
I just cut them with a bread knife:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx