Easy Bread Pudding
Learn to make a delicious old-fashioned easy bread pudding recipe using leftover bread that’s soaked in a sweet and creamy vanilla sauce to make a decadent dessert.
I want to preface this recipe by saying that I’ve found old-fashioned bread pudding tends to be rather polarizing – folks either love it or hate it. That having been said, if you are not a bread pudding fan, you will not be thrilled with this recipe. If you are a bread pudding fan, I am your new best friend.
A popular Depression-era dessert
This is one of those classic “make do” recipes. At some point, there was this lady who was trying to make ends meet and needed to use up some leftover bread buns in addition to feeding her family. She whipped this up with kitchen essentials (we’re talking eggs, milk, sugar, and butter) and a classic was born. I also call this “depression food” as it was just the type of dish which was born out of the necessity of hard times.
There are tons of bread pudding recipes out there. Some use fancy loaves of stale bread with names I can’t pronounce (hello, challah bread and brioche), and some use leftover buttermilk biscuits. Regardless of the ingredients, I always love the outcome of any bread pudding.
I particularly like this easy bread pudding recipe because I find myself with leftover buns from time to time and hate for them to go to waste. I have a rule, food never goes to waste if I can help it. This is well known throughout my family and sometimes has comical results. With a stack of hamburger buns leftover from my brother’s catering job, I decided to make French toast for the freezer and a nice dessert of this delicious bread pudding.
I should also note that this easy bread pudding recipe originally came from an old church cookbook. Now if you aren’t from the South, let me interpret that for you. “Came from a church cookbook” automatically gives a recipe at the very least a four-star rating because no one would serve bad food in a church – that would surely be an unforgivable sin in the Bible belt.
Recipe Ingredients
- Eggs
- Melted butter
- Hamburger buns
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
- Milk
How To Make My Easy Bread Pudding
Open your buns and place each half brown side up in a 9×13 baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the other ingredients.
Pour this egg mixture over the hamburger buns, pressing down to make sure they get saturated.
Place in a 350-degree oven and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and puffy.
Oh. My. Goodness. This is the part where I put down my camera and dig in.
A bowl of warm comfort food from yesteryear!
Storage
Because of the creamy sauce, I don’t recommend freezing the pudding. However, you can store leftover bread pudding in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat portions in the microwave for about 45 seconds.
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to customize this easy bread pudding recipe to suit you:
- Use a combination of spices in the milk mixture, such as ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, allspice, and cardamon. You can also simply swap the cinnamon for apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice.
- Fold in some dried fruit like raisins, chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans, or chocolate chips to the bread pudding sauce before pouring it over the buns to make this dessert even more decadent.
- Use a combination of white granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- If you have time, let the bread soak up that vanilla custard sauce for 20 minutes before baking.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with classic bread pudding?
Serve a bowl of warm bread pudding with whipped cream (here’s my homemade recipe) or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can also add another sweet sauce on top, like caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or simply a drizzle of maple syrup. Another option is to pair sliced strawberries with whipped cream for a delicious strawberry and cream topping no one will be able to turn down!
Can I make this basic bread pudding recipe in advance?
Yes, prepare your pudding up to a day in advance and let the covered unbaked dish rest in the fridge. Set it on the counter while the oven preheats before baking.
Check out these other delicious old-fashioned desserts:
Chocolate Depression Cake (Egg and Dairy-Free)
Water Pie – Recipe from the Great Depression
Old-Fashioned Crispy Tea Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 complete hot dog or hamburger buns
- 1.5 to 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 stick butter
- cinnamon to taste optional
Instructions
- Open the buns and place each half, brown side up, in a 9x13 baking dish.4 complete hot dog or hamburger buns
- Mix all the other ingredients with an electric or stand mixer and pour this sauce over the buns.1.5 to 2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 2 cups whole milk, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 stick butter, cinnamon to taste
- Bake in a 350-degree oven until the buns puff up and are heated through (about 20-30 minutes).
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Hi Christy, always have loved bread pudding but I can’t imagine putting 2 cups of sugar for 4 buns that’s 1/2 c per bun. I’ve never tried it with bun but will soon and I love raisins in mine.
Christy…Have been using this recipe for many years.
Like you, it was called poor man’s dessert at our house.
Another thing my mother and grandmother did, (living in SC we had lots of peaches) was to take about 5 large peaches and cook in little water and sugar (now I have to use Splenda), and put in bottom of pan (spray with butter spray first). Then place bread over and pour the sweet milk mixture. I have also used plums, apples, blueberries and raisins instead. So you can make any number of fruit pies or fruit bread pudding. Ummmm.
Sue, I just now saw the bread pudding recipe and want to try it. Do you just substitute Splenda for the 2 c. of sugar? I know I’ll pig out on it, so as a diabetic, I hope the Splenda will work ok. Thanks for such a fantastic idea as adding fruit. Oh yummmmmm….
I love bread pudding. It’s on some of the dessert menus down here in lower Alabama. I think some places add chocolate to it. Lester’s in Orange Beach even has a coupon in the winter months for free bread pudding.
I’m glad you posted this. Now I can try it at home. Thanks Christy 🙂
I hope you enjoy it!!
My brother, sister and grew up in a Tennessee orphanage in the late 40s and 50s. Needless to say, we had LOTS of bread pudding (also rice) made by some black ladies who were fabulous southern cooks. When I was little, I used to hang out in the kitchen to talk to them and watch them cook (when they weren’t too busy)! I still love GOOD bread pudding, but my brother won’t touch it!!! Thanks for this recipe. Sounds delicious!
I love it!! and this is my Nanny’s recipe. It must be a southern thing too b/c she has always used the heels and the recipe calls for heels…so I never thought about using anything else. And I’m always excited when I’ve saved enough heels!! But left over buns…I always have those!!! It’s time to update Nanny’s recipe. YUMMY! I think i have left over buns at the house right now!!!!
This is absolutely fabulous. I thought I had a super recipe for bread pudding,
until I made this one today and had it for lunch. I kinda snickered when I
noted the ingredients. But what the heck I’ll try it anyway, can’t cost much.
Boy were we surprised, this will be my thing when I want bread pudding.
It is so good it is hard to describe, my wife just carried our daughter a piece
when she went to have her nails done. Can’t wait to find out her take on it.
Couldn’t get by anymore without Southern Plate, just keep it coming.
Yes, I am a lover of good bread pudding. This recipe is basically what I do. You need to try using the cinnamon raisin breakfast bread and adding some chopped nuts. Getting the day old bread from bread store makes it cheap. One time I didn’t have quite enough milk so I added crushed pineapple with the juice to make up the difference. Nice change.