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 brown-buttered vanilla sauce, or this vanilla sauce for bread pudding, to drizzle on top!
If you're looking for more desserts that work well for sharing, you'll find my favorite potluck desserts here.
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 Browned Butter 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 Browned Butter Sauce:
You’ll need the following, everyday ingredients to make this drizzle, that is more nutty, and a little less sweet than the custardy vanilla sauce option below:
- butter (I used salted but unsalted butter works just fine!)
- brown sugar
- milk or heavy cream (or even water)
- 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, reduce heat to a simmer, and add in brown sugar, milk or cream, and then whisk for 1-2 minutes.
Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. Pour on top of the cooked bread pudding.
How to Make Vanilla Sauce for Bread Pudding
Get the creamy vanilla sauce recipe if you prefer a sauce that is more “custard” like, rich, and also called “crème anglaise,” instead of the browned butter 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 Butter Drizzle
- 3 tablespoons butter salted (but unsalted is ok too!)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream – optional *see notes
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.
- Turn down to a simmer. Then, add in a tablespoon of brown sugar and the 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk/cream.Whisk to combine and simmer/whisk for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla.Serve over entire bread pudding in dish before serving or over individual servings.
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. The browned butter sauce is more of an “accent” drizzle, and less rich/sweet than the vanilla sauce. I’ve recently added heavy cream as optional ingredient to help smooth the sauce out. If you prefer the older method, simply leave the cream out. The vanilla sauce is rich, more creamy, and more of a major topper for the bread pudding. Both are optional and not necessary for a delicious bread pudding.
- 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.
B. Hardie says
Made this recipe tonight on a whim because I had some mini po-boy buns that were no good for sandwiches anymore. It was perfect and delicious! I made a sauce with butter, powdered sugar and vanilla for the top.
Jessica says
Yay! So happy that you liked this bread pudding recipe too! That’s a great way to use leftover po-boy buns! Thank you so much for sharing!
Diane D says
I just pulled my bread pudding out of the oven. It looks great and smells awesome. Can’t wait to taste it!! I’m trying to decide if I want to make the vanilla sauce or go with vanilla ice cream…hmmm. Decisions, decisions.
Jessica says
Yum!!! I hope you love it as much as we do!
Sarah says
Fantastic! First time making this and it couldn’t be easier. My husband who “doesn’t like bread pudding” came back for seconds. I added a bit of almond extract to the recipe as well as some nutmeg and a sprinkle of ground ginger. It was so good and I’ll be making it again soon!
Jessica says
That’s so great to hear that you, and especially your husband, like this bread pudding recipe too! Thank you so much!!
Alicia Arthur says
Used a Bundt cake the company gave us since it was a bit on the dry side and it was AMAZING 🤩 First time making bread pudding and was happy with the reviews you received and decided why not? Happy to say I did😊 House smells amazing and will definitely keep this on my list of favorite recipes❤️
Flavia says
Hi, Jessica!
Do you refer to Fahrenheit grades, right? 😀
I want to try this recipe today, it looks and sounds delicious!
Best regards from Norway! 🇧🇻
Jessica says
We use Fahrenheit, yes! I hope you love this bread pudding too!
Angela says
Made this recipe yesterday turn out great needed more milk and egg for the type of bread i used (french bread) which is all i had I added raisons, 1\4 tsp cardamom and nutmeg was great will make again
Jessica says
Hi Angela! So happy that you liked this bread pudding recipe too. Thank you so much for taking the time to share that with us and leave a review!
J says
Had such high hopes for this.
Looks so good smells so good but I baked it for over 2 hours and it is still soggy🤷🏼♀️
Jessica says
Hi there. How soggy is it? Bread pudding is supposed to have more of a soggy texture, rather than, say… a banana bread type of texture. Is this how it turned out for you?
Susan Stevens says
This is a great dessert to make in a short time. We love it! I’ve made it several times. Highly recommend it!!!
Jessica says
So happy to hear that you liked this bread pudding Susan! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review and share that with us!
Taya Smith says
Excited to try this for thanksgiving dessert this year. Would sourdough bread work for this recipe? Also, can I substitute coconut sugar for white sugar? Thanks in advance!!
Jessica says
Hi Taya! I don’t see why sourdough wouldn’t work! I haven’t tried coconut sugar for this recipe but it sounds like it may work. Could you test it before making it for Thanksgiving?
Karyn says
Absolutely delicious!!!! So I left out the cinnamon, I’ve been on a cinnamon roll kick so I’m a little cinnamoned out lol, and I used vanilla bean past instead of extract, but wowie Maui!!!! I tried it warm out of the oven and again after it’s cooled down, hands down, when my bread is about to go out I will be using it for this!!!!! Super kid friendly too, my teen boys were in hog heaven ate almost half the double batch I made!
Jessica says
Thank you so much for sharing that you loved this bread pudding recipe too! So happy that you like it!
Roger gordon says
How do I do a double batch bread pudding. Not sure if I made two of these recipes and just add them. This is my question
Jessica says
Hi Roger! You will double the ingredients and then you’ll probably have to use a 9×13 baking dish (something larger than an 8×8) so it doesn’t overflow. The baking time can also differ so make sure to watch it as it bakes! I hope that helps. 🙂
Natalie says
I’m normally not a fan of bread pudding, but I had some hotdog buns that I bought that were dry and didn’t want to through them out. So I looked on Pinterest and came across this Fantabulosity recipe and let me tell you what…. WOWWWW!! So delicious and easy!! This will be the only way I’ll eat bread pudding from now on! I used my kitchen aid to mix everything as I doubled the recipe and it made the mixture more airy and fluffy! Fantastic recipe! Will definitely be making this a signature addition to my kitchen table! Thank you!!
Jessica says
Oh Natalie! This makes me so happy that you like this bread pudding and your buns didn’t go to waste! 🙂 Thank you!
Angus says
After googling easy bread pudding recipe how could I not click on “fantabulosity”? A recipe so easy even a guy who burns Pop Tarts can make it. The neighborhood wildlife aren’t happy about not getting my stale bread anymore but after following Jessica’s fantabulous recipe I’m afraid this is now my favorite dessert addiction.
Jessica says
Hi Angus!! Haha, I love what you said about Pop Tarts, and you are so funny! Thank you so much for sharing how you found this recipe and for leaving a review for it. Thrilled that you like it and that you’ll no longer have to throw the bread out. 🙂
Deeps says
I use this recipe as my jump off point but make the following changes and always get rave reviews.
1) use a whole loaf of white bread minus the two end pieces.
2) boil the milk, stir in butter and part of the sugar pour over the bread pieces and let it soak for about an hour.
3) beat eggs, balance sugar and vanilla together and pour over the now cool bread mixture.
4) mix in several cups of thawed and drained mixed berries.
5) serve hot with Haagen Daaz Vanilla bean ice cream.
Jeanne says
So easy and tastes so good. Thanks for sharing.
Jessica says
So happy that you like this bread pudding recipe Jeanne! Thank you so much for taking the time to share.
Jeannette says
Looks great
Amanda Romero says
Loved it !!
Jessica says
I’m so glad that you loved this bread pudding recipe too! Thank you so much for sharing.
RGB says
I doubled the recipe using wheat bread heels, turned out great. I substituted rum extract for the vanilla, tasted good.
Debe says
I added 1 more egg and changed 2 cups of milk to 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream.
It was awesome
Jessica says
Thanks for letting us know how you put your own spin on this bread pudding!
Jasmine says
Made this twice in the last 2 weeks! First time came out perfect and the second time tasted a bit scramble-eggy. Followed the directions each time. What did I do wrong the second time? Was really disappointed as the first one I made for my dad and he RAVED about. I had been looking forward to making a second one for myself and enjoying it—but the consistency and taste just wasn’t the same.
Jessica says
Hi Jasmine! When this happens, sometimes it can be that the bread was a bit different, causing the egg batter to settle together instead of soak in to the bread as much.