Bread Pudding Recipe: An easy old fashioned recipe is the BEST! It 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?
- 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 Buttery 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?
I do believe bread pudding originated in New Orleans. (Or at least, New Orleans is famous for its bread pudding!)
But 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
Look at these easy ingredients… I mean, you probably already have all, if not almost all, of the ingredients on hand!
- 6 slices (or about 4-5 cups of broken bread pieces or cubes) of stale bread buns, french bread, rolls, donuts, challah bread, toast, or another type of bread
- 3 Tablespoons of butter 1 tablespoon + 2 Tbsp
- 4 Beaten eggs
- 2 cups milk (or feel free to try half & half or heavy cream if that’s what you have!)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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!)
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:
- chocolate sauce
- caramel ice cream topping
- ice cream
- whipped cream
- candied nuts
- raisins
- 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 Buttery 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
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 Tbsp
- 4 Beaten Eggs
- 2 cups Milk
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Optional Buttery Vanilla Sauce
- 3 tablespoon butter salted (but unsalted is ok too!)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Creamy Vanilla Sauce
- vanilla sauce get my vanilla sauce recipe
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and use 1 Tablespoon of butter to coat the inside of your 8 in. 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.
- 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 Vanilla 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.
Video
Notes
- 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!
- What is day-old bread?
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 egg-salad 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. - Can you freeze bread pudding?
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. - Do you eat bread pudding warm or cold? You can enjoy bread pudding cold or warm, but if you prefer it warm after freezing/thawing, gently warm it to reheat.
- Can I prepare bread pudding the night before?
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. - How to store leftovers For best results, if you have left-over bread pudding, store 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.
BOMBA says
AMAZING, HAD TO DOUBLE THE RECIPE.
Jessica says
Oooh that’s what I love to hear about this recipe!! Thank you for sharing!
Johanne says
I add a half to one cup of raisins to mine. Yummy.
Jessica says
Adding raisins is a popular favorite! Thank you for sharing!
Glenda says
My husband absolutely flipped for this delicious bread pudding! The vanilla sauce was luscious. (I’m thinking of eating it on pancakes!) lol. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Shelby says
My kids loved this! It was so comforting and sweet!
Jessica says
Mmmmm!! Comforting and sweet is the perfect way to describe this bread pudding!
Donna says
I loved this! The ultimate comfort food! Will have to make double next time as the kids couldn’t get enough of it.
Jessica says
Thank you Donna! I’m thrilled to hear that this bread pudding was a success for you too!
Justine says
I have made this both gluten free and with regular stale bread. Bothe were fantastic! I also use half sugar/half maple syrup and it gives it a French Toast flavor!
Jessica says
Oh yum!!! What a great idea! You may really enjoy our french toast bake then too!
Tina Rodrigues says
I just finished making one and it came out amazing. I wish we could post the photos to show you how it came out.
Jessica says
Hi Tina! I’m SO glad it turned out for you too! If you make it again I’d love to see a photo!!
Carrie says
Really good! I had some super stale Hawaiian burger buns so used those for the bread. I was a little short on the milk (about 1/4 cup less, maybe) but it didn’t seem to make a difference. I did add a 1/4 teaspoon or so of salt and did not make the sauce as it was so good without. Thanks for helping me use up some stuff that might otherwise have gone to waste!
Jessica says
Hi Carrie! Oh yum!!! Using those burger buns sounds amazing!!! Thank YOU for sharing what you tried!
Jennifer says
Bread pudding is a weakness of mine, and this was delish! That vanilla sauce? OMG yum, I could eat that all day long!
Jessica says
Haha! I feel the same way about this bread pudding, Jennifer. Thank you!
Mandy Applegate says
This was delicious and took me back to my childhood with my mother cooking bread pudding!
Jessica says
Gotta love those old-fashioned desserts! I’m so glad that you liked it too, thank you for sharing!
Heidy says
This was an excellent tasting recipe that our family will cherish for the years to come. Great tips, tricks, and instructions! Have a fabulous day!
Naiby says
That’s comfort food at its best and can’t wait to make it again!
Cathleen says
I have been making so much bread pudding lately, but now with a new baby I have been making it less and less. Love this last minute version! This will definitely be a staple in my house 🙂
Becca75 says
I had a dense loaf of gluten free cinnamon raisin bread that I had substituted dried cranberries and apricots for the raisins. I used that in this recipe. While it turned out good, next time I plan to soak the gluten free bread for at least 30 minutes before baking so it comes together more.
My autistic son (very picky eater) enjoyed a large helping himself.
Thanks for sharing.
Jessica says
Hi Becca! Thank you so much for sharing what you tried for this recipe, as it may help others too! Thank you for leaving a review! So glad you liked it still.
Chandice says
The best bread pudding ever! So simple, so classic and so dang delicious. Thank you!!
Jessica says
Yay!! I’m so glad that you liked this bread pudding too! Thank you!
Tristin says
I love a good bread pudding and this recipe was phenomenal. Never again do I have to wait to order it in a restaurant because I can make it right at home.
Jessica says
This is so wonderful to hear that you liked this bread pudding too! Thank you so much for sharing!
Andrea Howe says
I love bread pudding and couldn’t wait to make this. I love how simple this is! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this fun recipe.
Ramona says
This bread pudding is super golden and delicious! I can’t wait to make this again for breakfast tomorrow for me and my family. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Natalie says
This bread pudding is definitely worth a try. My boys flip when I serve them this. Yum!
Kim says
This was a big hit at my dinner party! Classic comfort dessert
Jessica says
Serving this bread pudding at a dinner party is a great idea!! So glad you liked it.
Freya says
This is the ultimate comfort food, and it reminds me of my grandparents who loved it too! Thank you for the trip down memory Lane!
Jessica says
You’re so welcome!! We feel that way when we make this bread pudding too!