This homemade bread pudding recipe is just like Grandma used to make!

This recipe is made with sweet bread and raisins soaked in an easy custard and baked until golden.

plated Bread Pudding

This is a sponsored recipe created on behalf of Sara Lee® Bread.

What is Bread Pudding?

Bread pudding is an easy dessert recipe. There are different types of bread pudding; this version is similar to French toast in flavor and texture with a sweet caramel sauce.

  • Simple ingredients: Stale bread, eggs, dairy, and butter are mixed with spices. Simple and delicious.
  • Versatile: This version of bread pudding welcomes additions like chopped apples, egg nog in place of dairy. Swap the raisins for other dried fruit like apricots or dried cranberries.
  • Brunch or Dessert: We most often enjoy bread pudding for dessert with ice cream, but it can be served for brunch as well.

Ingredients for Bread Pudding

Bread – Use any variety of thickly sliced stale or day-old bread like Sara Lee Artisano bread. Dry bread cubes will soak up the egg mixture. Any bread will work but we love French bread, braided bread, or brioche. If your bread is fresh, dry it in the oven or let it sit out uncovered overnight.

Custard Mixture – Large eggs, and half and half (or light cream) are whisked with brown sugar and spices. In addition to cinnamon, you can add a pinch of cloves, nutmeg, or allspice for a more fragrant and spicy dish. Pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice? Yes, please!

Variations – Bread pudding is a versatile ‘base’ for other add-ins like walnuts, pecans, coconut, cranberries, diced apples, or chocolate chips.

Bread pudding in a dish with butter poured on

How to Make Bread Pudding

  1. Whisk eggs, cream, brown sugar, and spices per the recipe below.
  2. Toss with the bread cubes and gently stir in raisins.
  3. Place mixture into a casserole dish and drizzle with melted butter.
  4. Bake until a knife inserted in the center is clean.

Sauce for Bread Pudding

While bread pudding is often served with vanilla sauce, we love a quick and easy homemade caramel and a scoop of vanilla ice cream of course. Feel free to add some rum to make a rum sauce.

Bread pudding in a white casserole dish

Bread pudding can be served warm or room temperature. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Freeze in single serving size to make it easy to thaw and enjoy!

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text
plated Bread Pudding
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Bread Pudding

This easy Bread Pudding recipe is filled with raisins and drizzled with an easy homemade caramel sauce.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 9 servings
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Ingredients  

For the Bread Pudding

  • 10 slices thick-sliced bread stale or slightly dried
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ¾ cups half and half or light cream
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 2 tablespoons butter melted

For the Sauce

  • cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch baking dish.
  • Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. If the bread is fresh, place it on a baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes (or until slightly dried). Cool completely.
  • Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together eggs, cream, sugars, vanilla, and cinnamon.
  • Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Add raisins and toss lightly with your hands. Transfer the bread mixture to the prepared baking dish. Drizzle butter over top.
  • Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Meanwhile, for the sauce, combine the brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat while whisking and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in heavy cream. Allow to cool slightly.
  • Drizzle the caramel sauce over the baked bread pudding and serve warm.

Notes

Store leftover bread pudding in the fridge in a covered container for up to 3 to 4 days. You can freeze it for up to 2 to 3 months.
You can replace the cream with egg nog. 
Nuts are a great addition to this recipe.
4.99 from 131 votes

Nutrition Information

Calories: 191 | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 171mg | Potassium: 171mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Bread Pudding on a plate with a fork and a title
Bread Pudding with raisins and writing
Bread Pudding with ice cream and writing
Bread Pudding in the dish and plated with a title

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About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. With a passion for nostalgic flavors and simplified techniques, Holly helps busy home cooks create delicious meals that always work. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
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Comments

  1. I made this with a stale loaf of whole heat Texas toast. Rather than cube the bread, I spread each slice thickly with cream cheese and made a layer of slices on the bottom of the dish,then added a layer of mixed dried berries and another layer of bread and cream cheese. Delicious!5 stars

      1. It was! I’ve also made it tis way wth sliced peaches added between the layers. Definitely recommended!

    1. I don’t Juanita, but I have added ¼ cup of alcohol to the batter, so pick your favorite! I’ve also topped it with a boozy sauce, like a butter rum sauce! Enjoy!

    1. (Update) My third time making this, now – I replaced the cream with 1 and a 1/2 cups of eggnog and a 1/4 cup of Baileys liqueur. And used cinnamon raisin bread in lieu of plain bread and separate raisins – and WOW. Incredibly delicious

  2. Best bread pudding recipe yet… I used whole milk, which turned out fine…. I love how it only uses 3 eggs. I’ll def try some dried fruit next time!
    Thanks!

  3. Can this be made ahead of time and kept in fridge and then reheated? Should it be baked first or not? Thank you.

    1. This can be prepared earlier and baked later or reheated. If baking from the fridge, you’ll need to add a little bit of cook time if it is cold.

    1. Yes, that will work just fine. If it’s chilled from the fridge you may need to add extra cook time (I would suggest taking it out of the fridge at least 30min before baking).

  4. I have 18% cream, can that work and should I use the same measurement (1 3/4 cups) and also can this recipe accommodate maraschino cherries?

    1. That cream should work well Ana. We haven’t tried this recipe with maraschino cherries but it should work well. We’d love to hear how it turns out for you!

  5. Excellent way to use up old or questionable bread. I used 1tsp chai extract instead of vanilla and cinnamon. It’s PHENOMENAL!!!5 stars

  6. Hello first time making this recipe. Sounds and looks very good. Bread pudding is 9ne of my favorite deserts. Thank you for sharing.

  7. This came out wonderful. I added 1 tsp dried cardamom powder, which made it smell amazing. I used a box of stale croissants (about 8), let them soak up the mix for a few minutes before going into the oven. This was fast too, only about 10 min prep and 30 minutes cooking, overall less than an hours time total. Very good!5 stars

  8. i was gonna make the bread pudding altho using a 9×13 pan , wonderinghow much more ingreds. would i need to add

    1. Hi Marie, I have never tried this recipe in a 9×13 pan. But the volume is almost double compared to a 8-inch baking dish so I would close to double the recipe. Or if making with the existing recipe it will be a lot thinner spread in the pan so it will cook faster. I would check if it was done around halfway through and continue to check every so often.

    1. Hi Machelle, as we don’t follow a diabetic diet I am not sure which recipes would be suitable for you. Hopefully you are able to find something that works!

    2. “Swerve” (brand name) is an all natural sugar substitute. It measures, caramelizes and browns like sugar without the aftertaste like other sugar alternatives. It is also keto friendly. Although this recipe is labeled “recipes spend with pennies” it’s price point is healthier than granulated sugar. If you like your sweets but are concerned about your blood sugar & insulin levels, Swerve is for you. It is also available in brown sugar.

  9. Love all recipes especially crockpot and instant pot recipes. Easy meals , side dishes, desserts and anything that uses simple everyday ingredients

    1. Hi Linda, we have only made this recipe as listed but Italian bread sounds like a delicious substitute. You will need about 5-5 1/2 cups of bread cubes for this recipe.

  10. Delicious! We used our favourite store bought sourdough, and made a caramel sauce to top it. Divine and definitely recommend! Boyfriend: “It tasted good. 4/5”5 stars