Coat a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Cut each baguette loaf into 1-inch cubes. Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth and combined.
Pour the pumpkin custard over the bread. Use a rubber spatula or spoon to stir the ingredients together until all of the bread cubes are well coated.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans into the bread pudding.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Let the bread soak in the pumpkin custard while your oven is heating.
Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared baking dish. Be sure to get ALL the custard into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining pecans over the top of the bread pudding.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the pudding is set and golden on top.
Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cut into slices and serve warm or at room temperature. We top our bread pudding with cream cheese glaze, whipped cream, and a little sprinkle of pumpkin spice.
Cream Cheese Glaze
In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until combined and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until combined. The glaze will be quite thick.
Add 2 Tbsp milk to the glaze and mix to combine. Add more milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, until your desired consistency is reached. I like my glaze on the thin side so it pours easily off the spoon. Drizzle as much glaze over your bread pudding as your like.
Notes
Nutrition does not include cream cheese glaze.
1-2 day old bread works best for this recipe. You can use fresh loaves if needed and the recipe will come out fine.
I like to use a baguette so there are most crusty pieces throughout the bread pudding, but French bread or Italian bread would be fine too.