This cinnamon bread pudding turns simple stale bread into a comforting dessert! Full of warm, cinnamon flavor, soft and custardy inside, crunchy and golden on top, so delicious!
It's an easy, no-fuss recipe that’s so good for brunch or dessert. Serve it plain, with cream or ice cream and a drizzle of caramel! This bake never disappoints!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
✨ Great use for stale bread, and you can use any kind of bread here!
✨ This dessert just spells comfort! Bread, cinnamon, butter, and a quick custard bake up together to make an irresistible dessert!
✨ Everyday ingredients and simple steps make this cinnamon raisin bread pudding totally fuss-free and easy.
✨ It’s so versatile- Serve it plain or dress it down, add nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, or even fruits, like I did in my cherry bread pudding recipe!
✨ Perfect for a cozy dessert or brunch, I love it for an afternoon snack too!
Recipe Ingredients
Bread: 2-3 days old stale bread works very well for making bread pudding. I used my eggless Brioche, but feel free to use regular white bread or try it with Challah.
Sugar: I used raw sugar. You can easily substitute with cane, palm, coconut, brown, or regular white sugar. Everything works for this recipe.
Eggs: For richness and structure, very important for making that soft, gooey custard!
Milk: I love making bread and butter puddings with coconut milk. It’s creamier, which makes the pudding richer. However, any milk you prefer will do. Homemade almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or regular cow milk all work.
Cinnamon powder: For that unmistakable aroma and warm flavor! I always prefer to use Ceylon cinnamon.
Vanilla: Okay, so this is important because a lot of bread puddings have an eggy taste. The best way to mask it is with liberal use of good-quality vanilla extract.
Raisins: Cinnamon pairs exceptionally well with golden raisins, but black raisins will do in a pinch here. Add as many or as few as you want.
Nuts: I used pecans here, but go ahead and add almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts. You can keep the pudding nut and raisin-free as well, because there are no hard and fast rules and plenty of room to experiment with add-ins. You can also try adding chocolate chips like I did in my chocolate chip bread pudding!
Please see the recipe card below for full information about ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Cinnamon Bread Pudding
This recipe is super simple - It's just bread baked in a mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, and a whole lot of cinnamon. But it really turns into a dessert so sublime that it's impossible not to love it!
Step 1: Start with stale, dry bread and cut into cubes (or tear into small pieces). You can cut off the crusts or leave them be.
Step 2: Toss the pieces with raisins and pecans, then set aside.
Step 3: In another bowl, whisk coconut milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar. Add a hefty spoonful of cinnamon to the custard.
Step 4: Pour the mixture on your bread cubes, and pack it down gently so the bread soaks in the custard.
Step 5: Set your oven to preheat and let the mixture sit for 10 to 15 minutes. You may need more time in case your bread is quite stale.
Step 6: Transfer to an 8 or 9-inch baking pan.
Optional step: Right before I set the bread pudding to bake, I drizzled melted butter on top with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. This makes the top golden, crispy, and crunchy!
Final step: bake for 40 odd minutes till the custard has completely set along the sides and the top is crisp and golden.
Top Tips
- We need stale bread here, but make sure the bread is not too stale. If it's really hard and dry, please don't use it for bread pudding.
- You can cut the bread into cubes or tear it into chunks using your hands.
- If you're working with fresh bread, cube it and bake it in the oven at 150 °C / 300°F for 10-15 minutes. Or leave it out for one to two hours.
- Allow the bread to soak in the egg mixture for at least 30 minutes. This will ensure a soft, gooey texture inside.
How To Serve Bread Pudding
Bread puddings are best served warm or at room temperature, though I love them, "straight from the fridge", cold too! I like to let the pudding cool just a bit (10-15 minutes) and then dig in while it’s still warm.
Bread pudding can also be as simple or as extravagant as you want, depending on your mood. I made my Vegan Caramel Sauce with a good splash of rum and spooned some on top.
Serve it with lightly whipped cream, custard, or ice cream.
Recipe FAQs
Regular store-bought white bread is good enough! I've made my Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with regular white bread, and it turned out to be flawlessly decadent.
That said, if you have enriched bread (those with high-fat content), like brioche or challah, keep them as your first preference. They’re easy to make, delicious to eat, and fantastic for bread pudding.
Do avoid sourdough, crusty breads, and seeded breads.
Stale is better. I recommend using one that is a day or two old. Its slightly dry texture ensures the pudding doesn’t get soggy after the bread soaks up the custard.
Have just fresh bread at hand and are craving bread pudding? Leave it out for a couple of hours, or bake it at a low temperature for about 20 minutes.
Look for a golden baked top and a set custard. When the pudding is no longer jiggly, it's done!
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 10-12 slices Brioche bread,cubed You can use regular white bread too
- 1/2 cup Raisins
- 1/3 cup Pecans, roughly chopped
- 3 Eggs
- 1.5 cups Coconut milk You can use any milk you prefer
- 3/4 cup Raw sugar You can use white sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1.5 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1 tbsp Butter, melted
- 2 tsp Cinnamon sugar, for topping Optional
- Caramel sauce for serving Optional
Instructions
- Combine the bread, raisins, and pecans in a large bowl.10-12 slices cubed Brioche bread, 1/2 cup Raisins, 1/3 cup Pecans, roughly chopped
- Whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon powder in a small bowl.3 Eggs, 1.5 cups Coconut milk, 3/4 cup Raw sugar,1 tsp Vanilla extract, 1.5 tsp Cinnamon powder
- Pour over the bread mixture.
- Press the bread down a bit so it absorbs the custard mixture well.
- Let the mixture stand for at least 15 minutes so most of the custard gets soaked.
- Preheat your oven to 180C.
- Pour the bread mixture into a pan, 8"/9" in diameter.
- Spoon over the melted butter and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top.1 tbsp Butter, melted, 2 tsp Cinnamon sugar
- Bake for 35-40 minutes till the pudding looks golden brown on top and the custard is set.
- Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream and caramel sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- We need stale bread here, but make sure the bread is not too stale. If it's really hard and dry, please don't use it for bread pudding.
- You can cut the bread into cubes or tear it into chunks using your hands.
- If you're working with fresh bread, cube it and bake it in the oven at 150 °C / 300°F for 10-15 minutes. Or leave it out for one to two hours.
- Allow the bread to soak in the egg mixture for at least 15 minutes. This will ensure a soft, gooey texture inside.
De says
180 c....is that 350 degrees?
Natasha Minocha says
Yes, that's correct! 🙂