If you are searching for the Best Bread Pudding, I’ve got you boos. This bread pudding recipe has custard-soaked bread in a rich, creamy, and warmly spiced custard that’s a straight up hit. Then we top that baby off with a warm indulgent cream sauce that’s the perfect finishing sauce. Get into it!
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They’re Lovin’ It! Here’s what They’re Sayin’:
“What a fantastic recipe. The luscious bread pudding with dried cranberries is SO tasty, and I could seriously eat the vanilla sauce with a spoon!”
—LIZA
I don’t know about y’all, but I could eat bread pudding every single day of the year! It’s so versatile, you can make it for brunch or a decadent dessert boos. If you have some stale bread kicking around, turn it into this dish that’s sweet, moist, lightly spiced, and downright addicting! Let’s get into it!
The Lowdown of The Best Bread Pudding Recipe
Cuisine Inspiration: American Vibes
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Can be made gluten-free with ingredient swaps
Key Flavor: Sweet, Custardy, And Beyond Cozy
Skill Level: Easy y’all (No Sweat Fam!)
Beyond Comforting
Each spoonful is full of so many warm, cozy, and sweet flavors. This recipe has a way of making everyone feel at home boos.
Textures on Textures
The combo of a custard-like base with a crispy top offers a bomb textural contrast that’s beyond anything you have ever tasted.
Simple Ingredients, Great Payoff
Stale bread is often overlooked, but its ability to transform modest ingredients into this insanely delish treat is part of its charm. This easy bread pudding recipe is a testament that everyday pantry ingredients can be whipped up into a straight up hit!
Ingredients to make Easy Bread Pudding Recipe with Cream Sauce
- Stale French bread — I can’t stress enough how important it is to use good quality french bread! It’s got a crisp crust and chewy inside. Just make sure it’s at least 1-2 days old to prevent soggy bread pudding.
- Evaporated milk & whipping cream — This combo soaks into the bread cubes, creating the best tender texture and ultra-creamy flavor.
- Butter — That richness is undefeated y’all! I use unsalted butter to control the salt content.
- Granulated & light brown sugar — This sweet combo gives my easy bread pudding so much depth and complexity.
- Eggs — You gotta have these to bind everything together. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature to prevent curdling.
- Cranberries — These are optional but I personally love the little bursts of tartness this adds to the mix.
- Brandy — We add a little for grown-up notes.
- Vanilla — Its aromatic notes make everything so much better. I use it in both the bread pudding and the cream sauce.
- Cinnamon & nutmeg — We gotta spice it up adding warming notes to each bite.
- Half-and-half — We use this to make our decadent creamy serving sauce. It makes it so rich boos!
How To Make The Best Bread Pudding
What to serve with the best bread pudding recipe
- A La Mode: A simple serving of homemade vanilla ice cream or even strawberry ice cream is so delish with this dish.
- Dollop It Up: Add a nice big ole dollop of homemade whipped cream to the top of your pudding. So bomb boos!
- Add Fresh Fruit: Add a few fresh mixed berries to the side of each serving or add a nice spoonful of strawberry sauce. Or go with fall vibes and add a spoonful of apple butter.
Recipe Substitutions
- French Bread: Replace with breads like Italian, challah, sourdough, brioche, panettone. Croissants or even cinnamon rolls or chocolate babka work well too.
- Cranberries: Swap these out with dried fruit like raisins, currants, cherries, or apricots.
- Brandy: You can also try bourbon, other types of whiskey, or nothing at all for a kid-friendly version.
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg: You can swap in other spices like mace or allspice or use an apple pie spice blend to consolidate.
Recipe Variations
- Get Nutty: Nuts are also a popular addition to bread pudding. Try pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts for a crunchy texture.
- Get Saucy: Replace the cream sauce with a drizzle of chocolate ganache or easy caramel sauce. That’s decadent!
- Gluten-Free: Swap out your bread with a gluten-free bread that’s hearty. Because the texture is different, you will need to make sure you dry it out as much as you can so it doesn’t turn to mush.
- Add Chocolate: Go with a white chocolate bread pudding vibe adding even more indulgence in each bite.
Expert Tips and Tricks for making the best Bread Pudding Recipe
- Go with Quality: Good quality bread holds up better and doesn’t turn out as soggy — No one likes soggy bread pudding boos!
- Go Slow: When making your sauce, have some patience. If you heat it too quickly, you run the risk of it breaking or curdling. If it does, try blending the sauce to save it.
- Don’t Skip the Sauce Boos!: While you don’t have to serve your bread pudding with cream sauce, it’s a boss move if you do. This sauce is absolutely the perfect compliment to the foundation of this dish.
- Soak thoroughly: Allow the bread to soak in the custard mixture for enough time to absorb the flavors fully.
- Pull The Sauce Back Together: In case your cream sauce does start to break or look scrambled, it can be brought back to life in a blender or with an immersion blender quickly zipping it together. Easy peasy boos.
How to store & reheat Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
This bread pudding with vanilla sauce stores super great in the fridge boos. Transfer leftovers to an airtight container. Make sure to store the sauce separately so the bread doesn’t turn to mush.
How long will bread pudding last in the refrigerator?
It will last for 4-5 days.
Can I freeze bread pudding with sauce?
If you don’t finish this recipe within 5 days, it can be frozen for up to 3 months. Again, don’t freeze it if it’s covered in sauce. Otherwise, store the leftovers in a freezer-safe bag or container. Make sure you add the date too.
Reheating homemade bread pudding
You can definitely eat bread pudding cold, but it’s just so much better when it’s warmed up again! For the best flavor and texture, heat it in the oven for about 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F.
To keep it moist, bake it covered with aluminum foil. For a crispier version, heat it uncovered for 1-2 minutes towards the end of baking.
If you’re in a hurry, you can always reheat a slice in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, or until it’s heated through.
Frequently asked questions
Yep boos, it does. Since this recipe contains dairy, eggs, and sugar, it could trigger microbial growth. Don’t leave it out for more than two hours.
The most common reason for mushy bread pudding is that your bread isn’t stale enough. While the texture isn’t necessarily ideal, it should still taste good. The other reason is you may not have baked it long enough.
Absolutely boos! There are two options when it comes to prepping this recipe ahead. The first is assembling the entire dish and keeping it in the fridge overnight until you bake. The second is cooking the entire dish, then quickly reheating it when it’s time to serve. Of course, serving freshly made bread pudding is always my top choice, but do whatever is most convenient for you. One quick note to remember is the longer you soak the bread, the softer it will be.
Y’all this is legit the best bread pudding recipe out there. It offers more than just a sweet treat. It’s a journey into the heart of comfort food. Each bite of this lusciously soft, richly flavored pudding is a testament to the simple yet profound pleasures of traditional baking ya dig. Those flavors pop for reals so get into it!
More Bread Pudding and French Toast recipes
- Apple Crisp French Toast
- Apple Fritter Bread Pudding
- Eggnog French Toast
- French Toast Pancakes
- Pumpkin Spice French Toast
- Fruity Pebbles French Toast
Best Bread Pudding
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Ingredients
For the Bread Pudding
- 10 slices stale French bread cut into cubes, if not stale, see note below about baking (this is about 1 lb or 16 oz of bread)
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 2 tbsp brandy
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins optional
For the Easy Cream Sauce
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks whisked well
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Bread Pudding
- Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 8×8 baking sheet then set aside.
- If bread isn’t dried out and already stale, add the bread to a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes until golden then set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine milk and whipping cream and set aside.
- In your stand mixer, mix butter for about 1 minute then add in both sugars and mix on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Next add in eggs, brandy, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix until well combined then set aside.
- Next take bread cubes and add to the milk mixture and toss and fold until coated and liquid has mostly been absorbed into the bread.
- Then add the butter mixture to the bread and toss again then add in the cranberries and make sure everything is tossed together well.
- Pour the entire bread pudding into the greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes then serve.
For the Cream Sauce
- Add half of the sugar to the whisked eggs and half of the sugar to the half and half mixture. Add the half and half mixture to a medium saucepan or small pot over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and it begins to bubble.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Add a tiny bit of cream mix to the whisked eggs mixture to temper them and get them up to temperature. Do this 2 more times (about 1 tablespoon at a time) then continue adding in all of the liquid and whisk constantly to prevent scrambling until it is smooth.
- Pour all of the liquid back in the saucepan and cook on low whisking constantly.
- Once the sauce can coat the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes), serve.
Notes
- If your bread isn’t stale, spread the cubes out on a baking sheet. Bake until the bread appears golden and hard, which will prevent a mushy end result.
- In case your cream sauce does start to break or look scrambled, it can be brought back to life in a blender or with an immersion blender quickly zipping it together.
- Different stale breads are great to use for bread pudding; such as sourdough, brioche, or even cinnamon rolls and chocolate babka. It is quite flexible and can be a great recipe that impresses folks while also using up leftover ingredients!
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what a great way to use up extra bread loaves and tasty for parties
What a fantastic recipe. The luscious bread pudding with dried cranberries is SO tasty, and I could seriously eat the vanilla sauce with a spoon!
WOW! Easy and delicious bread pudding. Can’t wait to give this recipe a try.
This bread pudding is truly irresistible. Loving all the Fall flavors in it and how easy it is to make.
This is the best bread pudding ever–love that cream sauce on top too!
What an absolutely delicious way to use up all the stale bread we had leftover from hosting a weekend brunch! Thanks for the recipe!