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.
Notes
Great easy recipe! I used regular white bread, lightly toasted. 1/2 white and 1/2 brown sugar, and 2% lactose free milk. Turned out very yummy! Thanks.
How much sugar would I need if the bread I’m using is pretty sweet already?
It really depends on the bread you’re using, If it’s really sweet I would probably reduce the sugar down to 1/2-3/4 cup.
Could this be made in the crock pot
That would probably be fine, but I’m not sure how long it will take.
I have a lot of dietary restrictions, but it doesn’t stop me from making a bread pudding similar to this one. I freeze the ends of loaves of multi-grain gluten-free bread. When I have enough saved up, I make bread pudding, thawing them out in a 200 degree oven. Instead of milk, I use apple cider. I soak raisins in sweet cherry juice and add them in. Then I grate two apples, the zest of one orange, and juice the remaining orange pulp. And instead of sugar, I use stevia. Oh, and pumpkin pie spice. Right now I have two of these in the oven – visiting a friend on New Years Day and will be bringing her one. The whipped topping will be coconut based. Like I said, I have a lot of dietary restrictions, but it doesn’t stop me from eating this incredible bread pudding!
Question! Do you mind provide the approximate dimension of how big the bread loaf you use in this recipe ?
Thank you,
I’m not sure on the dimensions, but it comes out to about 10 cups of cubed bread.
Can this be frozen and rewarmed prior to eating it please? Thanks
Yes, absolutely! You can slice it up and freeze it for up to 3 months. You can warm it up from frozen in the microwave.
I doubled this recipe and it came out great. I did modify just a tad. I tossed the bread with a few tablespoons of melted butter, then added milk and egg mixture. I SHOULD HAVE NEVER MADE THIS! The family won’t leave me alone now. “When are you going to make that bread pudding again?” Very good basic recipe. Thank you 🤗
Can I use regurlar 1% or 2% milk instead of the whole milk?
Yes, that’s fine.