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Bread Pudding is a classic dessert that uses your leftover bread and a delicious vanilla sauce to make the best breakfast dessert you’ve ever had! It’s frugal and cheap to make, but the flavor is out of this world divine.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make: This recipe uses ingredients you already have on hand. Have a loaf of bread that needs to be used up? This recipe if perfect!
- Comfort Food: The warm flavors and simple ingredients make this such a delicious comfort food.
- Customizable: You can easily make this recipe unique to fit your tastes. Change up the type of bread, and add in raisins or chocolate chips. Whatever you have on hand.
Ingredients Needed For Bread Pudding
This recipe uses ingredients you likely already have, turning stale bread into something delicious instead of tossing it out. You can mix in extras, like raisins, chocolate chips, fruit, or nuts—though I kept mine classic. Check the recipe card below for exact measurements.
Bread Pudding
- Stale Bread: The bread needs to dry for at least a day. Fresh bread cubes will get mushy and not hold it’s shape. If you don’t have stale bread, you can put it in the oven to dry it out a bit before making bread pudding.
- Butter: The fat in the butter helps everything stick together and taste delicious!
- Eggs: Eggs also help everything stay together and gives great texture and flavor. I always use large grade-A eggs.
- Milk: Think of French toast and how you add the egg and milk to make a nice batter for the bread. That is exactly what you are doing here.
- Granulated Sugar: Helps to get a nice caramel and brown color to the dish and, of course, adds sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract: A little vanilla makes this bread pudding taste like a dessert!
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon goes perfectly with bread pudding and adds a warm spice.
- Cardamom: This has a piney and fruity flavor that really brightens up the dish.
Vanilla Sauce
- Heavy Whipping Cream: The perfect base for this sauce! It makes it so rich and creamy.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk will help the sauce get thicker than if you were using a milk with less fat the sauce won’t be as creamy.
- Sugar: Gives the recipe a sweet flavor and also helps the sauce thicken.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch will help the sauce to set up and thicken.
- Vanilla Extract: This really helps to bring out all of the flavors in the sauce. And gives it it’s vanilla flavor!
Bread Pudding Recipe
It really doesn’t get much easier than this recipe. Bread pudding is simple to make but oh so good! It really is like the gooey insides of a cinnamon roll! This recipe makes an 8×8-inch pan; if you want it to fill a 9×13-inch pan, double the recipe.
How to Make Bread Pudding
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350℉ and prepare an 8” square baking dish by coating it with 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Cut: Cut your stale bread into about 2” chunks and place in a bowl.
- Mix: Melt your remaining three tablespoons of butter and pour it over your bread, mix to coat evenly and place in your buttered dish.
- Whip: In a separate bowl with a hand mixer, whip your eggs for about 3 minutes. Add in the remainder of your ingredients and mix well.
- Pour: Pour your custard mixture over your bread; be sure to coat evenly, soaking each piece. Allow the liquid to soak into the bread for a few minutes before baking.
- Bake: Bake for 30-45 minutes, the bread pudding should be a golden brown color and spring back when gently pushed on with a spoon or fork.
How to Make Vanilla Sauce
- Combine: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine your whipping cream, milk, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, continually stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- Whisk: Whisk in your cornstarch until there are no more lumps, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking until your sauce thickens up, for about 5 minutes.
- Cool: Once the sauce has thickened up to a consistency you like, remove from heat and whisk in your vanilla. Allow the sauce to cool slightly before drizzling on top of your bread pudding.
Types of Bread to Use
You can literally use whatever you have on hand! You want to make sure it has had at least a day to dry out, but any bread will do. Just imagine the possibilities!
- Croissant: Croissant bread pudding is out of this world delicious! Flaky and buttery croissant bread is probably one of my favorite breads for making bread pudding.
- Sourdough: Sourdough bread can be easier on the stomach and has a tangy sour flavor that makes bread pudding unique and oh so yummy! I love making sourdough bread, and if there is enough leftover I love making bread pudding with it.
- French Bread: French bread is rich, chewy, perfectly golden, and delicious on the outside. It also makes a great bread for bread pudding!
- Pumpkin Bread: Pumpkin bread pudding is my all-time fall favorite. The sweetness of the pumpkin and the warmth from the spices is everything I want in a fall dish.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover bread pudding is a treat! It reheats well and is just as yummy the next day. Follow these tips to get the most out of your bread pudding recipe.
- In the Refrigerator: Store your bread pudding in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- In the Freezer: Store your bread pudding wrapped in plastic wrap or an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. Put it in the refrigerator the night before serving to let it thaw.
Bread Recipes
Is there anything better than the smell of fresh bread? I absolutely love the way that baking bread transforms my house into a bakery. Everyone always comments on how good it smells, and I’m convinced homemade bread tastes way better! So if you are looking for a new bread recipe to try or want to bake your first loaf, these recipes are for you!
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Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 6 cups stale bread cut into 2” pieces
- 4 tablespoons butter 1 for coating pan 3 for pudding
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
Vanilla sauce:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and prepare an 8” square baking dish by coating it with 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Cut your stale bread into about 2” chunks and place in a bowl.
- Melt your remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and pour it over your bread, mix to coat evenly and place in your buttered dish.
- In a separate bowl with a hand mixer, whip your eggs for about 3 minutes. Add in the remainder of your ingredients and mix well.
- Pour your egg mixture over your bread, be sure to coat evenly, soaking each piece. Allow the liquid to soak into the bread for a few minutes before baking.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes, the bread pudding should be a golden brown color and spring back when gently pushed on with a spoon or fork.
Vanilla sauce:
- In a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine your whipping cream, milk, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, continually stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- Whisk in your cornstarch until there are no more lumps, reduce heat to low and continue cooking until your sauce thickens up, about 5 minutes.
- Once the sauce has thickened up to a consistency you like, remove from heat and whisk in your vanilla. Allow the sauce to cool slightly before drizzling on top of your bread pudding.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved the simplicity and ability to use any left over breads
Great recipe. Easy to follow directions and lots of helpful advice. We love this recipe. When I make this it’s gone in two days or less.
I work at a restaurant and I get the old scones and use less sugar. ITS THE BEST.. My sons love it so much. So easy to make is a plus. I am making some tonight.
Thank you for being one of the reasons I’m getting to big for my pants… that and beer lol.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Can you add raisins, pineapples or both and easily incorporate them into you recipe? If so, what stage is the recipe should they be added? I’m guessing perhaps when you’re mixing the other ingredients in the egg mixture before pouring it over the bread.. but I just want to double check thank you so much lovely recipe
Yes, that’s correct! Let me know how this turns out. Those additional ingredients sound so delicious!
I’d never tried a bread pudding but it was a favorite of a loved one. He said it was the best he’d had and it was better than his grandmother’s. Thank you.