Old Fashioned Bread Pudding Recipe
This old fashioned bread pudding recipe is sweetly spiced and filled with raisins, coconut, and tasty buttermilk biscuits. Talk about a bowl of honest-to-goodness comfort!
Bread pudding to me is like brownies, I’ve never met one that I didn’t like. Having said that, though, if you’ve never had a good, old fashioned bread pudding recipe that’s made with buttermilk biscuits, you’ve never had a real, honest-to-goodness old fashioned bread pudding. I just had to pause in my typing and close my eyes for a moment of silence to pray for those who have never had this. It’s that good. So good that I worry for your souls because I want you to get to heaven – for surely bread pudding will be served there.
This dessert recipe is the spitting image of the bread pudding they used to serve at Cracker Barrel in the old days. Like its counterpart, my traditional bread pudding is overflowing with delicious ingredients, like buttermilk biscuits, sweetened coconut flakes, raisins, and cinnamon. Together, they make a bread pudding that’s so flavorful and delicious!
Now, while most bread pudding recipes use stale bread, we’re working with buttermilk biscuits (it’s the Southern way, of course). You’re going to have to make them. I’ll share some recipes with you in a minute that will give you the amount you need for the dish and you’ll still have a few to eat to keep your strength up while we make the rest of the dish.
Recipe Ingredients
- Biscuits
- Sweetened flaked coconut
- Raisins
- Milk
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
Biscuit Recipes
Take a moment, if you will, to join me in light and fluffy biscuit appreciation. If you’re wearing a hat, now is one of those times where you take it off and hold it over your heart. These are the three-ingredient biscuits. I have other biscuit recipes, too, because biscuits are kinda like shoes to a Southern woman, different occasions call for different ones. You can see my tender buttermilk biscuits here and my hoe cake recipe is here, which is basically a big old giant biscuit. No, my hoe cake is not made with cornmeal. Some are and that’s fine. Mine isn’t and that’s fine, too.
How to Make My Old Fashioned Bread Pudding Recipe
Crumble about 1/3 of your biscuits into an ovenproof bowl or
Top with half of your coconut.
Unless you are a coconut hater.
In that case, wave a little air over it in this part just to say you did something and then skip to the next step.
Top with half of your raisins.
1/3 of your crumbled biscuits.
Then remaining coconut and remaining raisins…
And the rest of the biscuits.
Now, beat together your eggs, milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Oh, wait! Save 2 tablespoons of sugar but add all of the rest.
Pour the over everything in your bowl/baking dish.
Sprinkle two tablespoons of sugar over the top.
Bake at 350 for one hour, or until lightly browned on top.
Serve warm. Mama likes hers with a good quality scoop of vanilla ice cream but I like mine on its own.
Either way you go, this old fashioned bread pudding is like a little bit of heaven in a bowl.
Storage
- In even better news, leftover bread pudding will last in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 5 days.
- You can also freeze individual portions in freezer-safe containers for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- To all the coconut haters: I know right now you are sitting there recoiling at this ingredient being featured in the recipe. Your conviction against this poor little seed (or large, such as it may be) has me almost second-guessing my lifelong friendly relationship with it – almost. I hear ya each time I post so I wanted to meet y’all out at the gate on this one and tell ya that yes, you can leave the coconut out. No, you don’t have to substitute anything for it. Just pretend it doesn’t even exist and your bread pudding will still be just fine. And just in case you feel a bit offended by me liking coconut in the face of your (sometimes extreme) dislike of it, rest easy, sister/brother. There’s room for all of us at this table. And I’ll just keep the coconut down on my end.
- Serve your pudding for with a drizzle of maple syrup or caramel sauce, a dollop of whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- You could also use non-dairy milk in this pudding recipe.
- Here are some variations you can try with this old fashioned bread pudding recipe too:
- Substitute the raisins for dried cranberries.
- Spice it up and add some favorite fall spices, like ground cloves, ginger, and nutmeg, along with the cinnamon already included in this recipe.
- For a more dessert-style bread pudding, substitute the raisins for mini chocolate chips.
- Sprinkle some chopped walnuts on top along with the sugar.
- Speaking of… you could substitute the white you sprinkle on top for dark or for a more caramelized topping.
Here are more fabulous pudding recipes:
How To Make Rice Pudding Southern-Style by Mama Reed
Easy Homemade Banana Pudding with Meringue Topping
Vanilla Wafer Pudding Recipe With Pineapple
Chocolate Vanilla Wafer Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 cups crumbled leftover biscuits see post for recipes
- 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut see post if you don't like coconut
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 4 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 2-quart baking dish or medium-sized pyrex ovenproof bowl.
- Layer 1/3 crumbled biscuits, 1/2 coconut, and 1/2 raisins in a bowl. Top with 1/3 biscuits, remaining coconut and raisins, and remaining biscuits.2 cups crumbled leftover biscuits, 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut, 1/2 cup raisins
- In a large bowl, mix all other ingredients together, reserving 2 tablespoons of the sugar.4 cups milk, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the liquid over the biscuit layers and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top.3/4 cup sugar
- Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown on top. Serve warm, with ice cream if desired.
Video
Nutrition
“When a thought takes one’s breath away a lesson on grammar seems an impertinence.”
~T.W. Higginson
I’ve never heard of bread pudding made with biscuits before! I kinda feel like I haven’t lived or something. : ) Thanks for the recipe, I definitely will try this. My father-in-law just made us a huge bread pudding when we help them decorate their house for Christmas, and I was awed at how GOOD it was! We’ll have to do a comparison in the name of science. ; )
~giggles~ Yes, in the name of science!!
i’ve just been lurking through the comments, glad to hear that I will be forgiven for substituting dried blueberries or cranberries for raisins. 😉
Hi Christy, I just love your posts, all of them!! Like other friends here I don’t pay much attention to the grammar, just the messages which are always positive and sweet. I love your recipes, every single one has been a hit with my family. I have both of your cookbooks and look forward to your newest creation. Keep up the great work and thank you so much for all you do. By the way, your biscuit recipe is out of this world, I don’t usually make a double batch, I make a triple one. Blessings to you friend. Maria
Thank you so much Maria!!!! Blessings to you!!
I love bread pudding! I’m using some biscuits and bread as there is usual only 1 or 2 biscuits left over. It’s in the oven now…Yum, evening snack!
I hope you enjoy Dana!!
So many comments so quickly – and always so positive!! I also find raisins repulsive, and often substitute the dried cranberries – they’re sweet and a touch of color to breads and muffins! Regards from Texas ………..
I found dried cranberries on clearance after Christmas! I love love love them in my oatmeal!
Christy,
I also miss the bread pudding at Cracker Barrel so much and I’ll often ask them when are they are going to bring it back and most times they look at me like I have two heads and tell me they’ve never had Bread Pudding on the menu! That tells you the age of many of the servers since they were not working at Cracker Barrel when they did serve Bread Pudding! It was the best Bread Pudding I’ve ever eaten!! I can’t wait to make this!
I agree, Pam, since I’ve asked if the Bread Pudding was coming back to Cracker Barrel, too. I also ask after their Coconut Cream dessert which sadly disappeared. I’m not a big fan of their Coca Cola Cake, liking Christy’s version much better. =^..^= But Cracker Barrel remains one of my favorite restaurants.
Ok… I’ve HEARD of bread pudding and I’ve MADE bread pudding, but it called for bread, not biscuits. So, this sounds interesting as well as yummy. But since cooked raisins are not one of my favorites and your recipe calls for coconut, I’m thinking pineapple would make a grand substitute for my liking. I’ll have to give this a go in the near future. I was looking for something new for breakfast and this would be tasty, I’m sure!