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This bread pudding recipe is the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth! The sweet and creamy dessert takes stale bread and turns it into a decadent treat soaked in vanilla sauce.
I love digging into a warm slice of bread pudding in the winter. There’s just something about those warm flavors of nutmeg and cinnamon that hits the spot! Bread pudding also happens to be my favorite way to use leftover bread. All you have to do is cut your bread into bite sized pieces, soak them in custard, then bake up a decadent bread pudding. A simple vanilla sauce takes the flavors over the top! Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or you could also swap the vanilla sauce for salted caramel sauce!
This Bread Pudding Recipe is Tested & Perfected
I tested this bread pudding quite a bit to make sure it was the best! I played around with the amount of milk and eggs, in particular. I found that it was far better without too much milk or eggs. Too much milk that didn’t soak into the bread ended up leaving a watery layer in the final pudding that looked kind of separated. Too many eggs and it tasted more like breakfast and very eggy.
The final recipe turned out perfect. It tastes just like the one Grandma used to make! Nothing beats an old fashioned dessert done right.
What You’ll Need
I love the simple, universal ingredient list for this recipe. It’s the kind of treat you can make on a whim because you probably already have everything you need in your kitchen.
For the Bread Pudding
- Day-Old Bread: You’ll need 6 cups of cubed, stale bread. You can use any kind you have on hand – french, challah, brioche, regular sliced, etc.
- Milk: I prefer whole milk, but you could use 2% as well. Milk is such a big part of this recipe, it’s best to go with high fat to get the best result.
- Eggs: Large sized eggs, preferably at room temp so they are easier to mix with everything.
- Sugar: I like to use white sugar but you could also use light brown sugar.
- Butter: You can use unsalted or salted butter.
- Flavorings: Pure vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.
For the Vanilla Sauce
- Butter: Half a cup (1 stick).
- Sugar: Here again I use white sugar, but light brown sugar also works.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: For that lovely creaminess. Half-and-half will also work.
- Vanilla Extract
Recipe Notes
What Kind of Bread to Use
I tested this recipe with several different breads. I found that fresh bakery breads that had gotten stale were much fluffier in the end than a regular sliced loaf of bread. I much preferred the fluffy texture, so that would be my recommended bread. However, bread pudding is great for using up stale bread, and just about any bread will work! Feel free to use whatever kind is available.
What if I Only Have Fresh Bread? If your bread isn’t stale, spread it evenly on a baking sheet and put it in a 200°F oven for 15 minutes. You want to be sure that it’s stale so it really soaks up the milk and egg mixture.
Let the Bread Fully Soak: You need to have the right balance of bread to liquid, and the bread should be stale. If the bread doesn’t soak up all the liquid, you end up with that strange separated layer. When you first add the liquid to the pan, your bread will be afloat. After sitting and soaking, it should be very moist but no longer floating.
How to Tell When Your Pudding is Done Cooking
When bread pudding is done baking, it should be jiggly, but set. The center should rise fully, so if it hasn’t yet, it probably needs a little more bake time. Everyone’s oven is different, so keep an eye on the pudding and adjust accordingly. If you want your bread pudding to be crisp on top, just bake it for an extra 2-4 minutes with the oven turned up to 400°F and the pan moved up to the top rack.
Variation Ideas
- Add Dried Fruit: Raisins, craisins or golden raisins make a great addition. You could even add other dried fruits like like pineapple or cherries.
- Chocolate Bread Pudding: I always find a way to sneak chocolate into my desserts! And this one is no exception. Try adding chocolate chips to your pudding and topping it with Homemade Chocolate Sauce.
- Add Nuts: To give this creamy bread pudding a satisfying crunch, add in some toasted walnuts or pecans.
- Boozy Bread Pudding: Adding a few tablespoons of rum or bourbon to your pudding is a great way to amp up the flavor!
How to Store and Reheat Extras
I recommend eating a serving of this bread pudding while it’s fresh, but the leftovers are also delicious.
- Store in the fridge: Refrigerated bread pudding will keep for up to 5 days. I would not recommend freezing bread pudding.
- To reheat: Place individual portions in the microwave for 45 seconds, repeating and adjusting the time accordingly until the pudding is warmed through. The sauce can be reheated alongside the pudding and then drizzled on top.
More Pudding Recipes
Bread Pudding Recipe
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 9
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: British
Description
Satisfy your sweet tooth using basic kitchen ingredients with this easy bread pudding recipe! This sweet and creamy dessert takes stale bread and turns it into a decadent, comforting treat.
Ingredients
For the Bread Pudding
- 6 cups cubed stale bread (french, challah, brioche, regular sliced)
- 2 cups milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
For the Vanilla Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Grease an 8×8-inch casserole dish and set aside.
- Cut bread into 1-inch chunks and spread evenly in the bottom of the casserole dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread, getting all the bread wet from the mixture.
- Let the bread sit for 20-25 minutes to soak up the milk and egg mixture.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Bake for 50-55 minutes. It should be jiggly, but set. The center should rise fully, so if it hasn’t yet, it might need a little more bake time. Remove from oven when done.
- While the bread pudding cooks, make the vanilla sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on low heat, then add the sugar, cream and vanilla extract.
- Slowly cook over low heat while stirring until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and serve warm over the bread pudding.
Notes
To make this in a 9×13 pan, use one and a half recipes worth.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 646
- Sugar: 52.3 g
- Sodium: 577.9 mg
- Fat: 20.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 100 g
- Protein: 13.9 g
- Cholesterol: 104.5 mg
Excellent descriptions and explanations throughout, but, based on the introduction, I was really frustrated reading through the entire article, wondering why I wasn’t seeing QUANTITIES of the ingredients, until I finally reached the end of it. An extra sentence or phrase in the intro would have been a big help.
Since my wife is such an excellent home chef (20+ years learning from cooking shows on PBS!), she may have expected that in an online recipe, but I didn’t.
Hi Lindsay
I made your bread pudding and it came out so good I know I’ll be making it again. What I would like to know is can I freeze the bread pudding. Thank you so much.
Sincerely, Ieabei
Hi Lindsay
I just made your wonderful bread pudding and it is so good reminds me of my mom’s. I will be making this again thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Sincerely, Isabel
I make bread pudding often but I’d never thought to add nutmeg- it really made a difference! Also liked that the recipe didn’t call to heat the milk which made it really quick and easy. Used almond milk with no problems.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I decided to try this tonight! So good! I tweaked it a bit. I don’t like sweet things so I used just a bit under half cup of sugar. I also used 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk. I added raisins (soaked in water for 15 minutes to plump them up, then drained them and immersed them in 4 tbsp of rum. Let that sit for 15 minutes. Also added a handful of toasted pecans. And voila it was a hit. I used a glass dish so I reduced the temp to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and baked for 1 hr 5 mins. I have added this recipe to my collection. Thanks so much for sharing such a simple, yummy recipe.
I made this yesterday afternoon for my two year-old grand daughter and myself. We ate a little and then a little more and then she said more and we ate some more. She kept grinning and eating. We loved it!
Yummy! My son had made some buttermilk bread that was getting stale so I used that. So easy to make and it’s delicious! The vanilla sauce is soooo good on it! Didn’t have to change anything! Saving this recipe for sure!
I can’t find the measurements for each ingredient-lol. Where am I missing it?
The recipe has a gray square around it. If you are having trouble, go to the top of the post and hit “jump to recipe” and it’ll take you straight there.
This was amazing! I’ve never tried making bread pudding because I thought it would be really difficult. It was always my go to dessert to order if we went out to a restaurant. This was better than any restaurant!!!
So glad to hear that!
Never made bread pudding but will give this a try .
This was the absolutely perfect pudding to make at home ! So warm, delicious and comforting. The best part is my 7 year old could make it and he had so much fun cutting up the bread pieces and mixing the ingredients!
Your recipes are really clear and easy to understand – and the food photography is amazing!
He has already selected the next thing he wants to try from your website (the funfetti cake :)).
I made it yesterday using panettone and cutting some of the sugar. It came out perfect, browned on top and the mustard perfectly set. Thanks for a great recipe
Wow, is all i can say!! I ran across you yesterday after looking for a bread pudding recipe, I made it last night. I was looking for one that I remember my Grandmother making. I knew “some” ingredients, but no recipe. I could hardly wait for it to bake. Sugah!!! It was “spot on”. I loved all the extras you provided for different tastes & tips. I had asked my sister & she had no memory either.
I am now in search of the closest I can find to her baked rice pudding. She did not have a lot except love & cooking. We would sit in her kitchen of her small 4 room house & wait for the pudding to come out of the oven. As with the bread pudding I have searched many, many recipes. Hopefully, I can find one to match hers. Thank you again for an awesome site. We are from West Columbia, SC, so practically neighbors! God bless you & your sweet family & sharing!!
This actually originates from 11th century England. In the 13th century it was called “poor mans pudding”. In the UK it is called bread and butter pudding where the bread is sliced into triangles and arranged in the dish. It is then scattered with raisins and a home made custard is poured over. It is then baked in the oven. Bread pudding is a different dish of stale bread with raisins and spices baked and cut into square cake like chunks.
ha! I didn’t realize how much I miss this dessert until I saw your recipe, thank you! Saving this for the weekend a nice memory for me, thank you!
The bread pudding has roots in Black New Orleans cuisine. Raisins are a typical ingredient. My mom uses a Brandy lemon sauce, too.. She uses all ingredients you mentioned except cinnamon.