Bread Pudding Recipe: An easy old fashioned recipe is the BEST, and this recipe resembles the old-fashioned dessert recipe that we all love! It’s basic, and uses everyday ingredients and an optional 3-ingredient brown-buttered vanilla sauce, or this vanilla sauce for bread pudding, to drizzle on top!
Looking for quick and easy dessert recipes to add to your Pinterest boards? Then you’ll also LOVE this peach cobbler made with Bisquick, the BEST Banana Bread, and this easy pound cake recipe!
Jump to:
- What is Bread Pudding?
- Where did bread pudding come from?
- Ingredients for Bread Pudding
- What Kind of Bread is Best for Bread Pudding?
- How to Make Stale Bread
- How to Make Bread Pudding from Scratch
- How Long to Bake Bread Pudding
- FAQs and Expert Tips:
- Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding
- What to Serve with Bread Pudding?
- Amazing Bread Pudding Vanilla Sauce
- How to Make 3-Ingredient Brown Sugar Sauce:
- How to Make Vanilla Sauce for Bread Pudding
- Related Recipes:
- Recipe
- Comments
I’m so glad that you’re here for this bread pudding. It may just change your decadent dessert life.
But if this is your first time here, you’re going to find tons of quick and easy recipes around here!
What is Bread Pudding?
Well it’s not the “pudding” you’re probably thinking of. Rather it’s a recipe that uses old, stale bread, combined with a creamy custard that consists of things like sugar, butter, milk, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, and then bake it all. The outside edges may have a slight crisp, while the middle is a soft, custard-like texture.
Where did bread pudding come from?
New Orleans is famous for its bread pudding! However, bread pudding originated in England (UK) and was actually created as “poor man’s pudding” since it used very little ingredients. Since then, other ingredients were added to enhance the flavor.
I found out about it because my grandma used to make this old-fashioned dessert and I fell in love with it from the first moment I had it!
When I wanted to make this for the first time, I found a few good recipes for bread pudding in my old cookbooks, but they all had something that didn’t tickle my fancy. (Such as raisins – although you can add these if you like.)
So… I gathered all of the recipes up and came up with my own plan and I have to admit, using simple ingredients helped make this the BEST bread pudding!
Ingredients for Bread Pudding
This bread pudding is made with easy-to-find ingredients. Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients. See the recipe card below for the measurements.
- Bread: Stale bread is best so it really soaks up the custard mixture, instead of it settling in the bottom and cooking the eggs separately.
- Butter: I’ve used salted and unsalted for this recipe and it turns out great each time.
- Milk: Feel free to try half & half or heavy cream if that’s what you have!
- Sugar: I use white granulated sugar for this but brown sugar for the optional sauce.
- Vanilla extract: If you can use pure vanilla, that’s the best. But I’ve used imitation vanilla in a pinch.
What Kind of Bread is Best for Bread Pudding?
French bread is a great bread for this recipe although I’ve used leftover sandwich bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, and more, and it always turns out great! (Or if you have stale donuts, you may want to make this donut bread pudding recipe!) Check out all the different types of bread readers have used over the years, in the comments!
How to Make Stale Bread
If you’re craving bread pudding, but don’t have the leftover bread or the stale bread to use for it, no worries!
Grab some fresh bread and either pop it in the toaster for a bit, or cut in to bread cubes (about 1-inch pieces) and bake it in the oven on 350° for about 5-10 minutes. (Don’t burn it or turn it brown. You’re just removing as much moisture from it as you can.)
I love this recipe, and I really do think it’s the best because it only includes items I usually have on hand, resembles the old-fashioned recipe that we’ve all known to love, and I had it all put together and in the oven in a matter of minutes.
How to Make Bread Pudding from Scratch
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
- Then you’ll start by buttering your 8×8 baking dish (or 9×13 casserole dish if doubling the recipe) and breaking up the bread into about 1-inch cubes.
- Toss the bread into the buttered dish.
- Melt your remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and drizzle melted butter over bread pieces and set aside.
- Next, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.
- Next, simply pour the egg mixture over the bread pieces and make sure each piece has been covered or submerged to let that bread soak up that amazing custard mixture!
Oh my… doesn’t that photo of the egg mixture just make you drool!? It does me, every stinking time I look at it.
How Long to Bake Bread Pudding
- Toss that baby in the oven and let it bake the bread mixture uncovered for 40-45 minutes at 350º.
FAQs and Expert Tips:
Just like almost any dessert, or bread that you’re baking, insert a clean knife into the center and see if it comes out clean!
Well, it’s stale bread. Not super hard, and crispy… but bread that just wouldn’t be your favorite to use to make your favorite sandwich.
The reason you want day-old or stale bread is because you’ll want the bread to soak up the batter/custard of the bread pudding mixture.
Yep! It’s actually a great idea to make some of this ahead of time in case you need a last-minute dessert idea or to take a care package to a friend in need!
Just bake it as normal, and once cooled, place in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to thaw it, place it in the refrigerator to thaw it out.
You can enjoy bread pudding cold or warm, but if you prefer it warm after freezing/thawing, gently warm it to reheat.
Absolutely! I love make-ahead meals about as much as anyone, especially when entertaining! So if you want to make this ahead of time, feel free to!
You can either mix it all together and refrigerate it overnight before baking, or bake it, let it cool, and then refrigerate.
For best results, if you have left-over bread pudding, cool it until becomes room temperature and store in an airtight container (or cover the dish with plastic wrap) for up to 5 days, in the refrigerator.
Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding
That golden-brown bread pudding will remind you of grandma’s old-fashioned recipe as soon as you pull it out of the oven.
Serve it warm alone, with ice cream, or top it with the super-easy bread pudding sauce that I tell you about below…
What to Serve with Bread Pudding?
If you’re looking for a little something extra to serve with your new, easy bread pudding recipe, you might consider:
- raisins – as shown above
- chocolate sauce
- caramel ice cream topping
- ice cream
- whipped cream
- candied nuts
- dried fruit
- powdered sugar
- or this crazy-easy and delicious bread pudding sauce I whipped up for you…
Amazing Bread Pudding Vanilla Sauce
For years I shared this recipe without a sauce or a drizzle. But there have been tons of you who have made this recipe and left so many amazing reviews and comments below saying you’ve made a bourbon bread pudding, caramel sauce, or vanilla sauce, and I must say… you’ve inspired me.
So when I remade this recipe to take new photos for the blog, I decided to whip up a quick buttery vanilla sauce to see how it would taste, and have also provided a creamy vanilla sauce recipe that you can top it with.
The bread pudding is great as a stand-alone, but I’m a fan of this addition now, in a BIG way!
How to Make 3-Ingredient Brown Sugar Sauce:
You’ll need the following, everyday ingredients:
- butter (I used salted but unsalted butter works just fine!)
- brown sugar
- vanilla
It’s super easy. Grab a small saucepan, and melt (on high) 3 Tablespoons of salted butter.
Once melted, turned it down to medium heat and wait a bit to let the butter brown. (Browned butter is my JAM!)
Then, I add in a tablespoon or so of brown sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Stir to combine and remove from heat. Let rest about 1-2 minutes, use the whisk to mix up the brown sugar and butter mixture and pour on top of the cooked bread pudding.
The little chunks of brown sugar candied and let a bit of a crunch, which was the PERFECT addition to this soft texture that the bread pudding has. (You can see how it turns out with the sauce, in the image below.)
How to Make Vanilla Sauce for Bread Pudding
Get the creamy vanilla sauce recipe if you prefer a creamier option, instead of the buttery vanilla sauce that I’ve made above.
Bourbon Bread Pudding
If you love the taste of bourbon in your bread pudding, you can easily add bourbon to the vanilla sauce recipe above by adding in a tablespoon of bourbon (less or more, depending on your taste) when you add in the sugar and vanilla.
Related Recipes:
We have a major sweet tooth and are HUGE fans of bread pudding recipes so make sure you check out our chocolate bread pudding recipe, donut bread pudding, sweet potato casserole bread pudding, and banana bread pudding to see which one is your favorite! Or, you may even love trying this croissant bread pudding!
So tell me… did you make this bread pudding? Did you like it? Let me know below in the comments with the others, and give this a rating to let others know how much you love it!
Recipe
The BEST Bread Pudding Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Saucepan Only if making sauce
- 1 Whisk Only if making sauce
Ingredients
- 6 slices stale bread (Or about 4-5 cups of broken bread pieces or cubes. Some ideas to use are: french bread, buns, rolls, donuts, challah, toast or another type of bread.)
- 3 tablespoons of butter 1 Tablespoon + 2 Tablespoons
- 4 beaten eggs
- 2 cups milk
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- raisins optional
Optional Creamy Vanilla Sauce
- vanilla sauce get my vanilla sauce recipe
Optional Brown Sugar Sauce
- 3 tablespoon butter salted (but unsalted is ok too!)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and use 1 Tablespoon of butter to coat the inside of your 8 inch square baking dish.
- Break your bread (I made larger pieces, rather than crumbling it up) in to the buttered baking dish.
- Melt your remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and drizzle over bread pieces.
- In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients (don't forget to beat your eggs first) until mixed well.4 beaten eggs, 2 cups milk, ¾ cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pour this mixture over the bread, making sure to evenly coat each piece.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top of the bread pudding springs back after lightly touching it with a fork.
Optional Buttery Brown Sugar Sauce
- Grab a small saucepan, and melt (on high) 3 Tablespoons of salted butter.Once melted, turned it down to medium heat and wait a bit to let the butter brown.
- Then, I add in a tablespoon of brown sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.Stir to combine and remove from heat. Let rest about 1-2 minutes, use the whisk to mix up the brown sugar and butter mixture and pour on top of the cooked bread pudding.The little chunks of brown sugar candied and let a bit of a crunch, which was the PERFECT addition to this soft texture that the bread pudding has.
Notes
- Which sauce to make? This bread pudding is great even without an optional sauce. However, if you want a sauce, I recommend picking one of the two, although using both may be incredible!
- How do you know when bread pudding is done? Just like almost any dessert, or bread that you’re baking, insert a clean knife into the center and see if it comes out clean!
- Can you freeze bread pudding? Yes! Bake it as normal, and once cooled, place in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to thaw it, place it in the refrigerator to thaw it out.
- Can I prepare bread pudding the night before? Yes! You can either mix it all together and refrigerate it overnight before baking, or bake it, let it cool, and then refrigerate.
- How to store leftovers For best results, store it in an airtight container for up to 5 days, in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Heather Hurley says
This is my husband’s favorite dessert. I have never had bread pudding. He and my son love this recipe. I am trying to talk them into the brown sugar topping, even without they love this so much thank you
Jessica says
Awww, I’m so glad they love it! I have to agree… the bread pudding is even delicious without the topping or any sauce! But I sure do love the sauces too. Haha! We like rotating the sauces, or enjoying it without sauce too!
Darla Midland says
I love this recipe I have just learned about bread pudding I can’t get enough. I’ve made it with blue berries and huckleberries. Thank you..
Jessica says
Oh I’m so glad you liked it, Darla! Thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
Marlys says
OMGOSH! That was so good. I had made pecan scones earlier this morning and had some leftover maple frosting. Well, I drizzled that over the bread pudding and it was heavenly ! Thanks for the recipe.
Jessica says
Oh my goodness that sounds lovely! Thank you for sharing and I’m so glad that you liked it!
KF says
I want you to know how shitty it is that you MAKE people subscribe to some weird ass print service to just PRINT THE DAMN RECIPE. What an annoying thing to do to someone. Hope you got a ton of residual income from MAKING people subscribe to a junk service when they could just.. print the recipe and then maybe.. GASP.. come back to your website a second time for something else?
Jessica says
Yet you left your email here to comment on my blog? I’m confused. (It’s hidden from other readers but I can see it.)
Thank you for the advice, and if leaving your email to print a free recipe is too much for you, you may prefer to buy cookbooks instead. I’m not the only one that does this “awful” thing, and I really don’t think it’s too much to ask when I spend a ton of time and money providing free recipes online. Oh, and in case it’s helpful to know, you’re not subscribing to a “print service”… it’s subscribing to my newsletter where I can send you other FREE recipes.
I guess I could ask for an email for anyone to even see the recipe as well but I don’t. I just ask for it to print it – because… GASP…. if someone prints the recipe, why would they need to come back to it? Have a great day, and if this is something that upsets you so much, I hope that’s the most of your troubles in life.
Florence Bennett says
I sprinkled some chopped pecans on top before I baked it. I used the brown sauce but first I drizzled caramel sauce on top. Then added the brown sugar sauce. Very good recipe.
Jessica says
Yum!! That sounds delicious, thank you for sharing!
John C says
Your website sucks. Trying to follow the recipe and it keeps jumping back to the beginning and taking forever to load. Don’t know how good your bread pudding is gonna come out, but you can count me as never going to use a recipe from this site.
Jessica says
Hi John. I’m sorry the website is doing that to you. It definitely shouldn’t be, and I’m trying to replicate that happening on my end but I can’t seem to get it to do that. If you’re able, and don’t mind, I’d love to know more so I could troubleshoot it. Are you on a phone or a computer? Thanks for any info!
J says
Mine does the same thing on my phone. But it was a minor annoyance.
Jessica says
Oh thank you for letting me know! I’ll keep at it and see if I can figure out why/what it’s doing to fix it! Thank you!
Jennifer says
I’ve never had bread pudding before & been wanting to try it so I bought 2 french brioche breads purposely for THIS recipe 😁 It’s literally in the oven as I type with 18 mins to go! Once I put the brown sugar vanilla sauce on it & let it sit for a few minutes, I’m digging in! So far, I gave it 4 stars for the easy recipe & the detailed instructions with tips. Just by the look I know it’s going to be 5 🌟 for sure. Thanks for the recipe!!
Jessica says
Hi Jennifer! Thank you for sharing, and I sure hope it deserves 5-stars! 🙂
Jennifer says
It ABSOLUTELY did! I ate about 3/4 of it & my hubby got the corner 🤣 I’m making the custard part of you’re recipe for something else I’m making.. thank you!!
Sara says
I’ve made this 3 times and making it again for Mother’s Day. It’s always a hit with my family, and I make it dairy free for my sisters due to their allergies. It has come out perfect every time. I also add I touch more cinnamon and some raisins. Thank you! So happy I found this recipe.
Jessica says
I’m so glad that you like this bread pudding too, Sara! Thank you so much for sharing. It’s super helpful for others to know that you make it dairy free too! 🙂
Ray Redshaw says
ABSOLUTLYWONDERFUL Thank you so much, sorry I can’t stay I’m off to make another one (or two)
Jessica says
Haha, I’m so glad you liked this bread pudding recipe, and thank you for sharing!
Ness says
This recipe is so good I have to make 2 9×13 pans of it at a time 💙 I add dollops of jam to one of them for variety. Delicious both ways! Thank you!
Jessica says
Oh yum! I love the idea of adding jam to this bread pudding! Thank you so much for sharing, and I’m so glad that you like it!
Uncle Melee says
My partner had never had bread pudding in his life before I mentioned it and I found this recipe and made it on a whim. I’m now making it every few weeks or so and it’s his favorite dessert, I can make it in my sleep at this point. I’ve used half and half, milk with heavy cream, powdered milk (look, I was NOT going to the store). Butter covers a multitude of sins 😂I’ve had varying degrees of luck with the brown butter sauce but it LITERALLY DOESN’T MATTER because it’s always delicious. Once I let it sit too long and the brown sugar hardened/separated so I literally just broke it up and it made this amazing crispy caramel topping with, like, extra butter. You absolutely can’t mess it up. This is probably my favorite recipe on the internet in the last year.
Jessica says
Oh my goodness, this makes me so happy, and I’m THRILLED that you love it so much and it has become a repeat in your home! Thank you for taking the time to share that with me, it has made my day. 🙂
Pam says
Just made this today. Delish!!!! So easy and quick to whip up. Thank you for this now go to recipe 🙂
Jessica says
Oh that’s so great, Pam! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jenika says
Wasn’t impressed with the sauce, the butter never combined. Also was under seasoned. My husband said “it tastes like hot bread with a little bit of cinnamon.”
Also think it’s a little scammy to make someone subscribe to an email list just to print a recipe
Jessica says
Hi Jenika, so sorry you didn’t like this recipe, and sorry you don’t like that an email address is required to print my free recipe.
Michelle C says
This was excellent!!
Jessica says
That makes me so happy and I’m so glad you liked this bread pudding. Thank you!
Lorrie says
Hi, I am planning to make this for church Sunday morning. Is it better hot? If so, can I make it night before and then bake in the morning? Can I put the sauce on the night before or I have to bake first, then sauce? Thanks!
Jessica says
Hi Lorrie! It is delicious warm. I don’t see why you couldn’t bake it in the morning. I’d wait to top it with the sauce until after it bakes – however, it’s delicious without sauce so if that’s too much for the morning, you can skip it! I hope that helps!
Lorrie says
Thank you Jessica!
June Sprague says
OMG This was so Great I’ve never made it before but this is, I think the Best, even the restaurants that bake and serve it. I’m on my way to make the vanilla sauce. If my Mom were here She’s tell me I did a good Job. Thank you so much
Jessica says
This is so wonderful, and I’m so glad to hear that you liked this bread pudding recipe too, thank you so much!
Drew Dresdner says
Very good and an excellent texture. Full disclosure though, I replaced one cup of milk with heavy cream and I cooked the whole thing in a bain-marie. The result was a well set custardy texture with even heating throughout. If your oven is as inconsistent as mine (and for your sake I hope it isn’t) the water bath is must.
Jessica says
Hi Drew! Thank you so much for sharing this with us! Super helpful to know!
Henry B. says
Yummy easy just like my grams. I’m making it again today but this time with the brown buttery sauce.
Jessica says
So glad you liked this bread pudding recipe too! Thank you for sharing!