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.
cat says
great recipe – used brown sugar instead of white and added toasted pecans… as another reviewer said mine went flat too – so pretty when it came out of the oven, why does it deflate?
Jessica says
Hi there! So happy that you liked the recipe! Hmm… it can be normal for that to happen… but if you wait a bit before dishing some of it out, that could help!?
cat says
excellent!! have made it with several different breads – sourdough, artesano bakery bread, hawaiian rolls – only change i make is use brown sugar instead of white… oh – and i add in toasted pecans (husband doesn’t like raisins)… ty for the recipe!
Kimberly says
The last time I made bread pudding, a couple months ago. I always add raisins but had some chopped pecan s, so I added them. I will add pecans or walnuts every time now. Although, I do want to try your vanilla sauce next time and soon too.
Jessica says
Yum!!! Love that you have fun with this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
Amanda Bourne says
I followed your directions exactly and it was immense! I have spent round about the last 10 years trying and failing to make bread pudding like my Mom used to make. This was it! Thank you for sharing your recipe and bringing back so many wonderful memories!!! God Bless!!!
Jessica says
I’m SO happy that this bread pudding turned out great for you too! Thank you so much for sharing!
Charmaine Autin says
First time making bread pudding. This was so delicious. I did use French bread. In the oven it rose really well and looked beautiful. I cooked it about 45 minutes. When I removed from oven it did go flat. It was still delicious. Did I do something wrong for it to go flat.
Jessica says
Hi there! I’m so glad that you liked it! Hmmm… I’m not sure why it would have gone flat. There are many reasons why it could I suppose. But was it VERY flat, as not in fluffy at all?
cat todd says
agree on going flat – why does that happen? so beautiful when came out of the oven but then deflated – still tasted yummy tho:)
cat todd says
mine went flat too – (looked beautiful when took out of the oven) – – – tasted good but disappointing in the presentation…
cat says
used half heavy cream and half whole milk (2 cups milk doesn’t say what kind of milk); used brown sugar instead of white; added toasted pecans – – keep close eye on it as some of the bread pieces got a bit too dark on top… wonderful recipe – thank you!
Angela says
I love this! I actually serve with a bit of syrup and call it French toast casserole-mainly because I always use too much bread. It’s delicious!
Jessica says
Yum!! That sounds delicious Angela! Thank you so much for leaving a sweet note and review!
Tammy Vaughn says
What size pan to double recipe
Jessica says
You can try a 9×13 baking pan for doubling!
Bob says
I added raisins so it would be like my Granny’s. If memory serves me, it tastes exactly like hers. I have made this recipe several times and run out in just a couple days and I am the only one eating it. This time I made a double batch. Let’s see how long it lasts.
Jessica says
Awww, I love hearing that you liked this bread pudding too!
Charlene says
Absolutely delicious. I had made French bread and forgot about the second loaf (3 days) so I opted to try this recipe – first time for bread pudding – I will be making it again and again
Donna says
Oh, my goodness, I just took this from the oven and added the sauce. Delicious! Followed the recipe exactly, except used a couple stale donuts along with the bread. My first bread pudding, but won’t be the last!
cat says
what if i sub brown sugar fot the white sugar in the main ingredients?
Kimberly R Werner says
Turned out great! I’m thinking about how to add apples to this recipe. It’s absolutely delicious.
Krystal says
Wash, peel then diceyour apples. Add a tbsp or so of butter, about a tbsp water and a little brown or granulated white sugar and a dash of cinnamon to coat the diced apples. Cook in saucepan on med heat stirring occasionally until fork tender. You could add this as a topping at this point, OR you could drain the sauce from apples. You could pour apples on top of bread cubes then pour the custard base over before baking, you could stir the apples in with the bread cubes then pour the custard base before baking, you could put apples on bottom of bread cubes, them continue regularly etc. Have fun with it!!
Dianna Pierson says
I grew up with my grandmother making bread pudding. I loved it so much and when she knew I was coming, she would make it. This is by far the best bread pudding I have ever eaten! my mom wouldn’t make bread pudding with the different fruits in it like pineapple, peach, apple, etc. Everyone that eats this says it’s the best I’ve ever had. Thank you for the recipe. It’s a big hit!
Jessica says
Aww, I love this so much. Thank you so much for sharing, and I’m thrilled that it reminds you of your grandmother!
Bob Womack says
I have made this about 4 or 5 times over the last couple of years. I like raisins in mine so I add about half a cup. My wife doesn’t like sweets so I have this all to myself. I like the sauce added as well. Thanks.
Jessica says
I love that you love this bread pudding recipe too! Thank you SO much for sharing!
Danielle Barbeau says
Great, delicious way to get use of old sandwich bread.
Doubled the recipe and it was excellent.
Had some issues with the sauce though, the butter and sugar ended up separated and I stirred and stirred and it wouldn’t combine. Still poured it over the casserole dish of bread pudding and was excellent.. but still a mouthful of butter on some bits.
Probably a me problem, tho
Jessica says
Hi Danielle! So happy that you liked this bread pudding recipe, and thank you so much for sharing! I don’t think you messed anything up at all! This type of browned-buttery-vanilla sauce adds bits of crunch to the soft bread pudding! You may prefer a creamy vanilla bread pudding sauce though, and I have one of those as well!
Michaelene says
Bread pudding was delicious I substituted used I can of evaporated milk n 1/2 cup of milk 3/4 cup of soften raisins
Jessica says
Thank you so much for sharing what you did with this bread pudding recipe! It can help others who may want to change things up too!
Debi says
This bread pudding recipe is a delight. I had made some chocolate chip zucchini bread not realizing my baking soda had expired. It sunk big time. Found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to dry out cut up pieces of the bread in the oven and use that instead of stale bread. I cut back on the sugar but except for that I used the recipe as is. So, so good. Family and neighbors loved it.
Jessica says
This is so exciting! I’m so glad that you found a way to use up your zucchini bread! Using that for bread pudding sounds incredible.
BA Baker says
Thinking about making this with a loaf of cinnamon raisin french bread. Has anybody tried that?
Jessica says
Oh yes, I’ve heard of others doing this and it turns out great!
Linda Carr says
I use Pannetone bread, the custard and add sweetened coconut and chopped pecans. I put warm French Vanilla coffee creamer for the sauce over top. To die for.
Jessica says
Oh my goodness, Linda!! This sounds so delicious to use for bread pudding! Thank you so much for sharing!
Loriann Stoutamyer says
My mother is 90 years old and asked me to find a bread pudding recipe. She couldn’t remember hers that she used to make. This sounds easy and good. Question, have you or could you put raisins in this? My mom says she always put raisins in hers. Thanks
Jessica says
Hi Loriann! I haven’t personally put raisins in the bread pudding (I don’t like them in it) however I’ve heard of a lot of others who have put raisins in this bread pudding recipe, so I’d say go for it!
Lynn Poe says
This is a wonderful recipe! My husband and I both love it. I make it just like the recipe but sometimes add pecans. My little grandson calls it pudding cake! It’s my go to dessert when I have old bread and buns to use up. Thanks so much for sharing!
Jessica says
Awww, that’s so precious! I’m so glad that you all like this bread pudding recipe too!
Julia says
I made it and it’s great