Southern Bread Pudding

Southern bread pudding with raisins is a foolproof dessert that will remind you of how grandma used to make it.

A classic dessert with a homemade custard that soaks right into bread cubes, there will be no doubt why this old-fashioned recipe is a holiday favorite in the south.

This easy bread pudding recipe is a great way to use leftover stale bread; it keeps it simple with vanilla and cinnamon spices. Serve it up plain or glaze it with bourbon sauce; this holiday-favorite sweet side dish and dessert recipe will surely become a family favorite.

Ingredients

• Bread: Cut bread into 1-inch cubes.
• Butter: Melted unsalted butter
• Raisins
• Other Ingredients: Eggs, heavy cream, white sugar, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Alternative: Ground Nutmeg or pumpkin spice, a pinch of salt

A few important tips before getting started

• This recipe is pretty quick to whip up, taking only about 10 minutes, but I let my bread sit for an additional 30 minutes before baking so that the bread can soak up the egg and (whipping cream or milk) mixture.
• Before serving, drizzle with vanilla glaze or caramel topping if you want some extra sweetness. There are also additional topping suggestions below if you prefer to mix it up.
• Common fresh bread used in this recipe is regular white bread (as shown- sandwich bread), French Bread, Italian bread, wheat bread, cinnamon raisin bread, Challah Bread, Brioche Bread, and even stale bread (day-old bread) for old-fashioned bread pudding.

How to Make Southern Bread Pudding with Raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cut a loaf of bread into cubes with a bread knife.
3. Place bread into prepared baking dish.
4. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with raisins.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, add eggs and whisk until the egg mixture is combined.
6. Stir in heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract, and mix well.

1. Pour creamy custard mixture over bread cubes. Let the bread mixture sit for 30 minutes so the cubed bread can soak up all simple ingredients.
2. Bake for 40-45 minutes until cooked through and the top is a light golden brown. Serve warm bread pudding immediately for best results.

Bread Pudding Topping Ideas

While this classic Southern recipe is fine on its own, many people love toppings. Here are some suggestions that go great on bread pudding.

• Caramel Sauce
• Chocolate Chips
• Bourbon Sauce
• Custard Glaze (learn how to make custard glaze here)
• Vanilla Sauce
• A dusting of powdered sugar or brown sugar
• Serve alongside vanilla ice cream
• Cinnamon Sprinkle

Can bread pudding be made ahead of time?

Absolutely! Just assemble it and place it in the fridge. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking and bring the dish to room temperature. Just note that as you soak the bread, the bread softens up more and more, and it turns more into custard versus holding a bread cubed shape. This is more of a personal preference.

Stale Bread vs. Fresh Bread
Stale bread gives less and can retain shape when the egg mixture is dumped. Fresh pieces of bread soak up the custard quicker and become softer. Either way tastes great.

How to store Bread Pudding
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Best Recipes for Leftover Bread Use

If you are looking for more ways to use bread, we have a lot of options that take this side into another direction. These can all be served alongside this southern bread pudding as they are all unique.

Donut Bread Pudding

Apple Brioche Bread Pudding

French Bread Stuffing

Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Thank you so much for reading and making our bread pudding recipe. We hope you enjoyed. If you are so inclined, leave us a review or a comment- we adore hearing from you. Find our family and all of our recipes on Pinterest. Follow along with us to be notified of the newest recipes.