This quick and easy Bread Pudding with warm vanilla sauce is the ultimate comfort food. It’s just as good as you remember Grandma’s creamy custard bread pudding. Although grandma loved to make it with raisins, I prefer it without. Make with or without raisins to suit your taste.
My family and friends love this dish. It is always a huge hit for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. If it turns out to be a winner for you, try croissant bread pudding.
What is Bread Pudding?
Bread Pudding is a bread-based dessert made with milk or cream, eggs, sugar, and warm spices. It bakes up into a warm custard with a fluffy texture. Top it with vanilla cream sauce, caramel sauce, rum sauce, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Bread: I like to use day-old bread. Challah or brioche bread are my favorites, but you can use French bread, sandwich bread, or croissants.
- Butter: salted or unsalted
- Eggs: large ones are best; if using smaller eggs, add more to compensate for the difference in size. Check out this egg-size conversion chart.
- Milk: preferably whole milk for a rich custard
- Spices: warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg
- Vanilla extract: Use the pure stuff for the best flavor
- Heavy cream: You can substitute whipping cream
Preparation Tips
- Day-old or slightly stale bread is ideal for soaking up lots of the custard, but remember that you don’t want it so stale that it won’t absorb anything.
- The milk and eggs should be at room temperature so that when you add the butter, it stays melted and does not solidify.
- Bread pudding can be prepared 1-2 days in advance and reheated, but withhold the sauce until the day of. Store the casserole tightly covered in the fridge. Remove the casserole 45 minutes before reheating to bring it to room temperature. Cover with foil and reheat at 275 degrees until warm or about 30 minutes.
Flavor Variations
- Add dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, cherries, or blueberries. I do not recommend fresh fruit because of the moisture content.
- Try adding chopped nuts like pecans, almonds, or walnuts.
- Mix in dried pineapple and shredded coconut for a Hawaiian vibe.
- Add dried cranberries and orange extract for a holiday pudding.
- Replace the whole milk with eggnog for a delicious Christmas bread pudding.
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Bread Pudding Recipe
A delicious and easy old-fashioned bread pudding made with simple ingredients and drizzled with a five-ingredient luscious vanilla sauce.
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Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 1036kcal
Ingredients
Bread Pudding
- 8-9 cups Day old Challah or Brioche Bread cut into 1-inch cubes
- 5 tablespoons butter melted and slightly cooled
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 2½ cups milk room temperature preferably whole milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup golden raisins optional
Vanilla Sauce
- ½ cup butter salted or unsalted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9×13-inch casserole dish with about 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
- Add the bread cubes to the prepared casserole dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, milk, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, cover, and let it sit for about 30 minutes to absorb the custard.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the custard is set and the bread pudding is lightly browned. Let the bread pudding cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and cream. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. It will bubble a lot, so it needs constant stirring. Remove from the heat, and let it cool for 10 minutes before stirring in the vanilla. Be careful it may still bubble up.
- Serve the bread pudding with the warm vanilla sauce poured over the top. Pour on individual slices if you think you might have leftovers.
Video
Notes
- Store bread pudding tightly covered or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To freeze baked bread pudding, withhold the sauce till the day of serving. Cover the baking dish with 2 layers of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Store the casserole tightly covered in the fridge. Remove the casserole 45 minutes before reheating to bring it to room temperature. Cover with foil and reheat at 275 degrees until warm or about 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 1036kcal | Carbohydrates: 115g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 388mg | Sodium: 872mg | Potassium: 197mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 2062IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 186mg | Iron: 2mg
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Carol Cassara
This is a favorite of my hub’s but I have never made it. I just read the recipe and it seems super straightforward. I’m going to make it for him this weekend!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Carol! Enjoy!
Melanie
I love the added warm vanilla sauce over the top, it’s one of my favorite flavors. This dish is amazing for brunch.
Angela
My daughter found this recipe online and made it for us on Thanksgiving Day breakfast and it was amazing! So amazing that we decided we would have it Christmas morning with homemade whipped cream and syrup along with fresh fruit! It is simply amazing! I can’t wait to try other recipes!
Beth Pierce
Thank you, Angela! I am so happy that you and your family like it.
Bedabrata
This is the most classic dessert I can think of that has travelled all boundaries of countries and continents. My mother would make it when I was a child and 40 years later she still makes it. Reading the recipe i am filled with nostalgia.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Bedabrata! Enjoy!
Barbara
It’s been years since I had bread pudding. I loved it as a kid; it was so darn yummy for sure. Now I want some to eat.
Beth Pierce
Mission accomplished!
Elizabeth F
I love the golden brown hue of your delicious bread pudding. I’ve always loved this comforting and satisfying treat that we can enjoy at any time of the day. Plus it is an easy, delightful treat to make.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Elizabeth! We love it too!
Stephanie
Bread pudding is such a great and easy dessert! This vanilla sauce takes the recipe to a whole new level of deliciousness!!
Amber Myers
I haven’t had bread pudding in ages. I need to make this soon. I know I’ll gobble it right up. A tasty dessert!
Lisa
This looks absolutely delicious! Bread pudding is such a timeless comfort dessert, and that warm vanilla sauce sounds like the perfect finishing touch. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Lisa! Enjoy!
jerry
This bread pudding looks warm, comforting, and delicious. I love how you transform simple ingredients into a nostalgic dessert full of cozy flavor.
Claudia
I made this for dessert last night, and my husband couldn’t get enough of it. He had it for breakfast with coffee this morning.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Claudia! I love it for breakfast, too!