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.
Beth K says
What a delicious treat to make for any occasion!
Jessica says
You’re so right Beth! It’s good for any reason!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
I need to try this version immediately, it looks so good! This bread looks heavenly!
Jessica says
Oh yes do! It’s a favorite in our house for sure! 🙂
Krissy Allori says
This looks like a great and delicious way to keep unused bread from going to waste! I’m definitely going to have to try it!
Jessica says
Mmm! It totally is! Do try, you won’t be disappointed!
Andie Thueson says
Bread pudding is my Achilles heel! This recipe looks so amazing!
Jessica says
Haha!!! It’s soooo good!
Natasha of Natasha's Kitchen says
I honestly have never tried bread pudding before but it looks like major comfort food! 🙂
Jessica says
Oh my good-NAS girl… you have to try it! It totally is a comfort food!!
Abby says
Hello! I made this today and it tastes great but it’s pretty gooey. Is it supposed to be gooey in the middle? I’ve never made bread pudding before. Thanks!
Jessica says
Hi Abby! Well, it’s supposed to have a soggy bread type of texture… so I’m not sure if that’s what yours is or not. If it’s pretty gooey it may need to be cooked a little longer! I hope that helps!
Elsa says
I ‘ve made this using leftover stale danish. I cut back a little on the sugar. Have also made with using stale donuts.
Jessica says
MMMM!!! That sounds fantastic!!! Thank you for sharing and for the 5-star rating! XO
Colleen Cade says
I never liked bred pudding as a child growing up.
Thought I’d give it a try as an adult .
I used day old cinnamon rolls and added alil shredded coconut and lots of raisins. Not bad at all . My daughter loved it .
Jessica says
Yum! That sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing!
TQE says
This is AMAZING!!! I used the whipping cream, since I had it on hand. But, we had left over stale Cuban bread…OMGOSH!!! I could eat it ALL!!!
Jessica says
Yaaay! I’m so glad that you liked it! Thank you so much for reviewing it and letting me know!
Shimilia says
I am currently making this. So simple and easy. I was going to make a grilled cheese sandwhich and saw the end of my bread getting mole. So I cut it off and decided to try. So exited for this.
It was so easy to follow.
Can’t wait to tell u how it comes out.
Jessica says
Yay!!! I hope you love it as much as we do! Thank you for coming by, dropping a note, and leaving a review!
Dennis Amador says
I’m making this tonight. Using Challa bread and a couple of bread ends. I LOVE THE COMMENTS. I’m a big fan of using what I have on hand and love the different ingredients everyone has added. And your recipe looks amazing. I’m sure my nephews will love it.
Heather says
Amazing recipe mine turned out great I used 2% milk 8 slices of sandwhich bread 1 extra egg and cranberries and a touch of real maple syrup drizzled over top .
Great recipes so simple to make.
Thank you this is a keeper
Jessica says
Yay! I’m so happy that you liked it, and your extras sound delish! 🙂 Thank you for the rating and for dropping a note!
Nicole Jones says
How much does this serve? Do you think I would have enough to serve 4 people if I cut the recipe in half?
Jessica says
Hi Nicole! I think it would be enough to serve 4! That would possibly serve a nice square for each person! 🙂 I hope that helps!
Debi says
Made this very simple to make Bread Pudding. So yummy. Breakfast at our house was extra special.
I made with the leftover honey wheat “crusts” from tea sandwiches I had made for a get together.
Jessica says
Yay!!! I’m so glad that you liked it! Thank you for coming back and sharing!
sVesna says
I made this with some tweaks and it is delicious! I had lots of stale bread, so I almost tripled the recipe, mixed milk and heavy cream (had some that was approaching it’s best before date) and used not as many eggs (I used 6 eggs altogether for 14 cups of bread) as I didn’t have more at home. Also, I used less sugar (about 1and 1/4 cup) as I wanted to serve it with vanilla and chocolate sauce. It is amazing, just had a nice big slice for breakfast, packed two slices for my hubby to take to work and will serve some to my friend who’ s coming to see me later. Now the biggest test – my toddler is about to wake up and we’ll see how it goes with her. Thanks, truly fantabulos recipe!
Jessica says
Aww! Haha! I love your take on this recipe, and so glad that you liked it! I hope your toddler does too! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to let me know! XO
Rosie says
You just made me a rock star in my house! Fam loved it!
Jessica says
Woo Hoo!!! And it’s so easy too!! Thank you for letting me know!
Karen says
I made this and it was delicious. I am making a 2nd batch right now. I made the last one with cinnamon swirl bread and this time with cinnamon raisin bread. I can’t wait to eat it!!!😀
Jessica says
Mmmm! That sounds amazing Karen! Thank you so much for dropping a note to let me know too!
Fazeena Hamid says
Im 18 I’ve made this for my family and it was yummy.. Thank you very much
Jessica says
Yay! I’m so glad that you liked it! Thank you for letting me know!
Roberta says
I love bread pudding and was always apprehensive about trying it on my own. I came across your recipe and tried it for the first time and was amazed about how good it turned out that I doubled the recipe and made it again not even a week later. Only variation I did was add pecans and topped with whipped cream! Scrumptious, will definitely keep this recipe on hand.
Jessica says
Oh good Roberta! I’m so glad that you like it!! Thank you for letting me know!
Elle Carter says
I followed the recipe exactly and the result was amazing. My mother asked for seconds and my husband said, “I usually don’t like bread pudding but this is so good!” I could go on and on reciting the many compliments but suffice it to say that the dish was gone in under an hour. Next time I will have to double the recipe!
Jessica says
Aww! This is SO good to hear Elle! Thank you so much for sharing how much you liked it! Makes my heart happy! 🙂