This bread pudding recipe is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. This is one of our family’s favorite recipes and is perfect served with a big scoop of ice cream!
Do you have any family recipes that you absolutely love? This bread pudding recipe is one that has been in Josh’s family for years and comes from his Grandmother Linda. Josh loves this recipe so much that his grandma used to bake it for him instead of a cake for special occasions. And honestly, I would choose this recipe over a cake any day too.
Speaking of Josh’s grandma, I really feel like I could write a million blog posts about how wonderful she was. She was such a kind person and had the best sense of humor. It was literally impossible to not crack a smile when you were around her.
My favorite memory of her was the time she got up on the dance floor at our wedding and danced like no one was watching. Although she’s no longer with us, one thing that we will always have is the memories and her amazing bread pudding recipe.
I mean, you know a recipe is good when it comes from grandma. Right?
To start this recipe you’ll need some bread, hence the name bread pudding. I like to use a loaf of challah bread when it comes to making this recipe. I think Josh’s grandma used slices of toasted white bread when she would make it. But, I really love challah bread in this recipe so that’s what I always use.
You do want to use day-old bread or bread that’s dry and doesn’t have much moisture in it. If your bread is still fresh or not dried out you can cube it into smaller pieces, place them on a baking sheet, pop it in the oven, and bake it for about 8-10 minutes. You don’t want to completely toast the bread, just dry it out.
Then you’ll whisk together some eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and spices. You’ll be using 5 whole eggs and 4 cups of milk, which may seem like a lot. Trust me, the first time I made this recipe I sat there wondering if it was too much. As it bakes the bread will absorb the liquid, so don’t worry.
As for the spices, there’s just a little bit of ground cinnamon and nutmeg mixed in. Whatever you do don’t leave them out! I feel like the spices, especially the nutmeg, really make this bread pudding.
Once you mix up the wet ingredients, you’ll pour it over the bread in your pan. Then you want to let it sit for about 15 minutes, so the bread can absorb some of the liquid before it goes into the oven. What I like to do is prep the bread pudding, then once I’m done I preheat the oven. I just let it sit and soak up the mixture while the oven preheats, which is usually right at about 15 minutes. Easy, peasy.
You do want to let it cool for just a little bit once you remove it from the oven so that it’s easy to handle. I really love this bread pudding served with a huge scoop of ice cream and some caramel sauce. But honestly, it’s delicious just by itself.
Grandma's Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 loaf day-old challah bread cubed into 1-inch pieces*
- 5 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place the cubed challah bread into the prepared baking dish and spread it around into an even layer. Set aside.
- In a very large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon until fully combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread in the prepared baking pan, making sure all of the bread is coated. Allow to sit and soak up the mixture for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Once the 15 minutes is over, place the bread pudding in the oven and bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes or until the top is set.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Recipe Notes
I typically use a 20-ounce loaf of challah bread for this recipe.
If you have a fresh loaf of challah bread, you can cube it into 1-inch pieces, place them on a baking sheet, and bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the bread is dried out.
I also add butterscotch chips with chocolate chips to mine
That sounds fantastic, Marilyn!
For a grown-up version I add a good glug of rum to the custard! Utterly delicious!!!
Sounds so yummy
Should the liquid mixture cover all the bread when poured in?
It may not cover all of it. You can kind of press the bread down that’s on top or just spoon some of the liquid on top. It will soak up the mixture as it sits and bake up just fine though!
Do you serve the same or next day? Served warm or room temp? Thanks, looks super tasty – one of my father’s faves that I want to make for his birthday!
You can serve it the same day or next day. I prefer to serve it warm, so either once it’s cooled some after I take it out of the oven or you can reheat servings in the microwave. Hope you enjoy it if you try it!
This is a wonderful go to revipe. I use any bread I have on hand. Rolls,bagels hotdog buns etc. as long as it fills pan. Very good always.
Thank you, Christina! So glad you liked the bread pudding!
Do you store this in fridge or at room temp on the counter?
I suggest storing it in the fridge. You can reheat individual servings in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Could I use raisins or nuts and if so, how much?>
Yes, absolutely! I would use 1 cup of either raisins or nuts. If you want to use both, start with 1/2 cup of each and add more to your personal preference.
That sounds good because if you don’t have raisins this is still a great desert. I think I’ll freeze some so it won’t go bad because it’s only myself and husband Thank you. I’m willing to taste without the raisins.
Thank you
Hope you enjoy the bread pudding!
How much is a loaf of bread? Do you have a weight estimate?
I use a 20-ounce loaf of bread for this recipe.
Thanks. It’s in the over now.
Hope you enjoyed the bread pudding!
I am using a 9*9 baking dish. Should I half the recipe?
Thanks!
Yes, I would cut it in half for a 9×9 pan 🙂
How long should I bake it for if I halved the recipe and used a 9×9 pan?
I can’t remember the exact baking time, I would check it after about 30-35 minute and see where it’s at. The center will be set once it’s finished baking.
Is this a good recipe??
Yes! I wouldn’t post a recipe on my site if I didn’t think it was good 🙂
If useing white bread like Josh’s grandmother, what would be the suggested amount? 20 Oz?
You can use 12 slices of bread.
Hi,
I’m thinking of making this bread pudding, but I was thinking of doing it in a bundt pan. Is it possible to do so, and if yes, do I need to alter the temperatures or cooking times at all?
Thank you
I think it would be fine to use a bundt pan. I haven’t tried it yet, but I imagine the baking time would be pretty similar using the same oven temperature.
Hi. What is that orange liquid on top of the pudding? not the ice cream. the pudding itself has some orangey sauce. what is that sauce? 🙂
Hi, Joanna! That’s actually caramel sauce that I drizzled on top 🙂
Hi can I use stivia auger in this recipe and how much would I use? Thanks
I haven’t tried it, so I’m not quite sure.
I just made this and I can’t wait to try it. I had two apples that needed eating so I added them and 1/2 cup pecans to it. I drizzled caramel on it as soon as it came out and it’s cooling.
That sounds fantastic, Sarah! Hope you enjoy the bread pudding!
I was trying to replicate MCL’s bread pudding, so I made this recipe and it was amazing! Instead of a caramel sauce I mixed brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled it on the top. Honestly, it tasted better after letting it sit out overnight, lightly covered in aluminum foil, but everyone who’s tried it has said it tastes amazing. Thanks for the recipe, it’s a classic!
That topping sounds delicious, Katie! So glad you liked the bread pudding!
Hi can I use carnation can milk for the bread pudding?
Do you mean evaporated milk? If so, I haven’t tried it but I imagine that you could. Evaporated milk does have some of the liquid removed so it would be richer. You could milk together half evaporated milk and half water to make more of a milk substitute.
I made the bread pudding but I forgot the cinnamon did not make the Carmel sauce but I had a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and it was very good and next time I will count off my ingredients 🙂 hhmm good !!!
So glad you liked the bread pudding, Rose!
Aaahhh. Great comfort food for a snowy weekend! A local bistro used to make bread pudding with their day-old cinnamon rolls. I will try that next!!
That would be fantastic, Steph! You may want to reduce the sugar slightly in the recipe if you use cinnamon rolls 🙂
I’ve done this a few times. I save my old bread heels, tossing them in the freezer. Orphan hotdog and hamburg buns, home made bread that failed to rise and whatever else. When I’m ready to make it, I leave the old bread out in a large bowl overnight. I tear it into small pieces and then leave that out for a few more hours to finish drying.
I use four eggs and 4 1/2 cups of mlk. I also substituted a cup of lightly packed brown sugar and added a teaspoon of cardamom with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and a half teaspoon of salt and half cup of raisins. After adding my custard to the bread, I start the oven. After the oven has reached 350, I use a large spoon to turn it over and then toss it in the oven.
This is a little stronger bodied than other bread puddings. Wonderful served warm with vanilla ice cream.
That sounds fantastic, Pat!
I made this with some pumpkin bread that tasted fine but had been baked too long and gotten a little dried out. I cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup. Pretty fantastic rescue of failed pumpkin bread. Easy and delicious.
Such a great idea to use your pumpkin bread for this, Sharon. Glad it turned out great for you!
I just made it and it turned out great! A recipe that actually works!! I tried making bread pudding in the past with a recipe I found online and that didn’t came out to well so after that experience I got a little discouraged. I’m glad I found this recipe because bread pudding is one of my favourite deserts!!
So happy to hear that it turned out great for you, Anita!