Best Bread Pudding

A delicious and easy old-fashioned bread pudding made with simple ingredients and drizzled with a five-ingredient luscious vanilla sauce.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword bread pudding recipe, can you freeze bread pudding, how to make bread pudding, recipe for bread pudding, what is bread pudding

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 1036kcal

Author Beth Pierce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9x13-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.

I like to use challah or brioche bread, but quite honestly, you can use French bread, sandwich bread, or croissants.
Day-old or slightly stale bread is ideal for soaking up lots of the custard, but keep in mind 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 prior to reheating to bring it to room temperature. Cover with foil and reheat at 275 degrees until warm or for about 30 minutes.
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 prior to reheating to bring it to room temperature. Cover with foil and reheat at 275 degrees until warm or for about 30 minutes.