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 (44.36 ml) of butter 1 Tablespoon + 2 Tablespoons
- 4 beaten eggs
- 2 cups (473.18 ml) milk
- ¾ cup (150 g) white sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4.93 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (4.93 ml) cinnamon
- raisins optional
Optional Creamy Vanilla Sauce
- vanilla sauce get my vanilla sauce recipe
Optional Brown Sugar Sauce
- 3 tablespoon (44.36 ml) butter salted (but unsalted is ok too!)
- 1 tablespoon (14.79 ml) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4.93 ml) 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.
Triena Baldwin says
Love bread pudding and hope mine looks like the photo!
Jessica says
I hope you love this bread pudding recipe too, Triena!
Jennifer says
As someone who was a resident of New Orleans for over 30 years and who has had my share of bread pudding , this is the BEST. The fact that it was so easy that I wanted to make it makes it any better… I will definitely make this again!!!
Jessica says
No way!! This is so amazing to hear, Jennifer! So happy to hear that. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a sweet note!
Gwen Glessner says
I made this with gluten-free bread and dairy free oat milk. It turned out perfectly and is truly an excellent recipe for bread pudding.
Jessica says
Oh yum!! Love that you used gluten-free bread for this bread pudding recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Kathleen says
Hi I’m going to try this Bread Pudding, I made it years ago, and need a different recipe for my son. Cooking is love to our families. Thank you for having this recipe available.
Jessica says
You’re so welcome and I hope you like it!
Nancy Peamkah says
I made it with gluten free bread & going berries! Turned out great! Thanks so much
Jessica says
That’s so great Nancy! Love that you were able to make this gluten-free bread pudding, thank you for sharing!
Lemon says
Realized about halfway through that this is a bigger version of the recipe I use for french toast and it is sooo good. It’s definitely the closest I’ve gotten to recreating the bread pudding I has as a kid! Nearly ate the whole pan the moment it cooled off enough, so I will definitely be making this one again 🙂
Jessica says
Awww! I love that so much. Thank you so much for sharing and for leaving a 5-star review for this bread pudding!
Peter says
Thanks for the recipe. I melted the butter and mixed it into the batter, similar to an oven pancake. For a richer, less sweet variation, recommend 5 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp sugar. Or skip the sugar and mix 2 tbsp of honey into the melted butter and then stir into the batter.
Jessica says
Hi Peter! Thanks for sharing how you make this bread pudding! Someone definitely may find it helpful!
Kerry Dyer says
Is there a way to make fresh bread slices stale for the recipe?
Jessica says
Hi Kerry! If you scroll up to the blog post, there’s a section on how to make stale bread! I hope that helps!
Beverly D says
Good Morning Jessica,
Your “BEST Bread Pudding Recipe” was delicious!! I made it this morning, 7/29/2024, for a breakfast treat. I cut the recipe in half and baked in a small one quart ceramic loaf pan (size 7.5″ x 2.75″ x 4″ high). It turned out perfect using the following ingredients: 4 slices of Sarah Lee ® butter bread (torn in large pieces), 3 TBSP butter as you directed, 2 beaten eggs, 1 cup half & half, 3/8 cup of white sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/3 cup chopped dates. Half the recipe bakes 3 nice sized portions. I made the Brown Sugar Sauce just as your recipe directed and it turned out perfect! Next time I will also serve it with the “Creamy Vanilla Sauce”. Your entire recipe is a keeper! Thank you so much, Beverly
Jessica says
Hi Beverly! This is so sweet of you, thank you so much for sharing that you made this recipe, and how you made it! It will be so helpful to others too. Enjoy!
Dara says
I doubled this recipe for a family dinner. It was really, really good. I will probably add the whipping cream (I did 1 cup to 3 cups milk). The top of the bread pudding was amazing, the bottom a little mushy, a little eggy. I will try decreasing the liquid/custard part next time.
Jessica says
Hi Dara! Thanks for letting me know. If the bottom is eggy, sometimes that means that the bread wasn’t stale enough or didn’t soak up enough of the liquid before baking. I hope that helps! 🙂
Bobbie says
I made this and use French vanilla coffee creamer. It was delicious.
Jessica says
Yum!! That sounds amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing. I’ll have to give it a try!
Gloria Lovell says
I had to use Rum instead of vanilla
Plus I had more bread than 6 cups so I increased eggs to 5 and a bit more milk
So I am hoping that I can get it to dry a bit more otherwise it tastes delish and was easy to make
Jessica says
Oh yum! Love that you used rum in this, and that you tried a few different things! So glad you thought it tasted good too! Thank you for sharing.
Anon says
I make this often now, amazing recipe. My way is definitely less healthy but I like to replace the milk with heavy cream and replace 1 whole egg with 2 egg yolks. It’s unbelievable.
Jessica says
Heavy cream definitely works in bread pudding!! Love that, thank you for sharing!
Heidi says
I tried this recipe very good because I usually don’t like bread pudding. I tweaked the recipe a little to fit my taste buds and families taste buds. In place of 2 cups of milk, I added one cup of evaporated milk, and one cup of whole milk. I added one tablespoon of whiskey or bourbon that you have on hand. And I replaced the sugar amount in the recipe instead of 3/4 cup I used one cup and also used a fourth a cup of brown sugar and I topped mine off with the brown sugar glaze. This is absolutely to die for I also added more cinnamon to the recipe.
Jessica says
Hi Heidi! Love hearing your additions and changes to the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
Mellie K says
Used leftover brioche hot dog buns and it was good bread pudding, but the browned butter and sugar sauce boosted the flavor to another level. Didn’t try the creamy vanilla sauce. Don’t skip the browned butter sauce!
Thanks for the recipe!
Jessica says
Oh Mellie! Thank you so much for saying this – I’m so glad that you loved the browned butter sauce too. Thank you!
NanAB says
First time making bread pudding and my family was very impressed! I made both optional sauces and they were delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
Jessica says
I love that you made both sauces!! Yay! Thank you so much for letting me know!
Alyssa says
What happened?! Im not sure what happened to my brown sugar topping. It never mixed with the butter and turned into balls when I put it on top.What do you think? Did it burn?
Jessica says
Hi Alyssa! Hm… I’m not sure since I can’t see what it turned out like but I will say when I make it, it does cluster a bit, and leaves little brown sugar morels, instead of turning in to a smooth consistency. So it could be that it turned out like mine?
Vivian says
This happened to me, too! I thought I had done something wrong. I’ve made caramel a few times in the past and decided to add just a splash of half and half (maybe 1/2 teaspoon) which brought it together beautifully in a smooth caramel sauce.
Charisma M says
Hi, since my great grandma passed I haven’t been able to taste her delicious bread pudding and I never got her recipe. Well, I’ve been using yours. Just placed a pan into the oven. It’s a hit each time. Even without the raisins. I usually add raisins to half of the pan as some don’t prefer it. Still, both sides are yummy. Thanks for sharing.
Jessica says
Awww, thank you so much for sharing this. This is so sweet, and I’m so happy that this recipe touches your heart in some way!
Danielle says
Super yummy. Can’t wait to make some sauce for it. I also added a dash of nutmeg with the cinnamon
Jessica says
I love how this bread pudding doesn’t need a sauce to be good! But oh yes, the sauce can add some other delicious flavor to it too! So happy you liked it!
Bob says
Being a southern farm boy my gram made bread pudding when I was growing up so I’m very familiar with it. I’ve made this 3 or 4 times and it is easy and great! I only wish the recipe suggested raisins so I wouldn’t forget them. Thank you.
Jessica says
Hi Bob! I’m so glad that you like this bread pudding recipe too! Oh yes, raisins are a very popular addition. I can go in and add those as an optional ingredient for you. 🙂
Marilyn R Scott says
I used your recipe but added raisins and apples absolutely delicious will be making again
Jessica says
So happy you loved this bread pudding too! Thank you!