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The best Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipe! This dessert has perfect richness & texture, with a blend of buttery croissants, bread and pumpkin custard. Top it with Maple Caramel Sauce for a lusciously decadent treat. It is so easy to make and perfect for a cozy fall day!
Every time I make bread pudding, I fall in love with it all over again.
I probably don’t make it as much as I should because there’s never stale bread in the house! Any bread that comes through my door gets eaten up quickly. We are bread eaters through and through!
So, when I was thinking about fall desserts, I thought about how cozy bread pudding is and I knew I had to make a version with pumpkin.
What is bread Pudding?
For those of you that aren’t familiar, bread pudding is a dessert made from stale bread that’s cubed up into small pieces, and then soaked in a custard and baked. A lot of classic versions include raisins or dried fruit. Chocolate chips are also a very popular addition!
Obviously, pumpkin bread pudding is the way to go when you’re in the fall season!
Bread pudding is creamy but has a little bit of texture from the bread pieces. Often described as a super thick piece of French toast, you get that crisp outside and soft and creamy middle.
It’s just amazing all around, and a great recipe for the fall & winter months!
Do you eat bread pudding warm or cold?
Bread pudding can be served warm at room temp or chilled. I personally like it chilled. Especially for this recipe.
The custard part for this pumpkin bread pudding is made with all of the ingredients you’d find in pumpkin pie. When I eat this chilled, that’s exactly what it reminds me of. It’s divine!
Can you make bread pudding without stale bread?
Bread pudding is traditionally made with stale bread because it holds up to the custard. If you were to use fresh bread, when it’s still soft and squidgy, your bread pudding would turn into a wet mess.
Buuut, do you really have to wait for bread to get stale to make this dessert? Nope!
I have 2 tricks to share with you to essentially ‘skip’ waiting for bread to get stale.
The first is (this is what I do if time allows), I cube up the bread and lay it out on a baking sheet. I let the bread sit out on the counter for 6 hours or so, to dry up. This technique works well if you have some time to spare.
If you are short on time, you can cube up the bread and bake it off at 300° until dry and toasted, about 20-30 minutes.
Why this pumpkin bread pudding is the best
This recipe is fantastic. I’ve worked on it quite a bit and did a lot of research for this recipe.
I really wanted to make this bread pudding with croissants which adds, needless to say, buttery richness.
But, making this with JUST croissants would be pretty intense and I think it takes away from the tradition of what bread pudding is. That’s why this recipe uses a blend of croissants and bread.
The custard soaks into croissants & bread differently, so this adds a lot of wonderful texture which is nice since regular bread pudding can get a little monotonous.
As mentioned, the custard part of this recipe is similar to that of pumpkin pie. When it bakes, the custard thickens. This is a softer bread pudding, which I like. It’s not dry by any means.
You need this maple caramel sauce
Lastly, you can’t have bread pudding without some kind of saucey topping!
You guys, this sauce.
This sauce is amazing. I literally couldn’t get enough!
Made with pure maple syrup, this sauce is sweet, mapely, caramely, buttery and lusciously good.
The pairing of the maple and the pumpkin is pure fall heaven.
This pumpkin bread pudding is the best of all worlds. A little bit crisp on the top, soft and creamy in center, a perfect balance of buttery croissant and bread, and topped with a decadent maple caramel sauce. It is so easy to make and the perfect thing for a cozy fall day!
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Pumpkin Bread Pudding
The best Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipe! This dessert has perfect richness & texture, with a blend of buttery croissants, bread and pumpkin custard. Top it with Maple Caramel Sauce for a lusciously decadent treat. It is so easy to make and perfect for a cozy fall day!
- Total Time: 75 min + 1 hour of chill time
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
- 5 c of torn up croissant pieces (stale or baked, see notes)
- 5 c of cubed bread (stale or baked, see notes)
- ½ c granulated sugar
- 1 c light brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon (I prefer Ceylon Cinnamon)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- 15 oz pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
- 1 ½ c whole milk
- 2 c heavy cream
- 3 eggs
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
Maple Caramel Sauce
- ½ c butter (salted or unsalted works)
- ½ c pure maple syrup
- ½ c light brown sugar
- ½ c heavy cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Bread Pudding
- Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray, or lightly grease it with butter.
- Place croissants and bread into the pan, ensuring there is equal distribution; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, spices & salt until combined. Add the pumpkin and whisk until incorporated.
- Add the milk and cream to the sugar/pumpkin mixture. Slowly and carefully whisk it in as it has a tendency to splatter!
- Whisk in the eggs until combined and then stir in the vanilla.
- Give the mixture one final stir with a spatula, moving it along the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Pour the custard into the baking dish, over the bread pieces.
- Using your spatula, gently squish down the bread until each piece is covered or at least soaked with the custard (any dry bits will burn in the oven).
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Bake uncovered for 40-50 minutes until browned and fully set. If it browns too quickly, you can tent some aluminum foil on the top during the final stretch of baking. Insert a knife and if it comes out clean (wetness is still OK), it's done.
- Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool. This can be served warm or chilled.
- While bread pudding cools, prepare the Maple Caramel sauce.
For the Maple Caramel Sauce
- In a medium sauce pan over low/medium heat, add the butter, syrup, sugar and cream. Bring to a medium boil and cook, stirring frequently for 6-8 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Store any leftover caramel sauce in the fridge and reheat as needed.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
For the croissants & bread- tear into small pieces.
I have 2 tricks to share with you to essentially ‘skip’ waiting for bread to get stale.
#1- Lay out the pieces on a baking sheet. Let the bread & croissants sit out on the counter for 6 hours or so, to dry up. This technique works well if you have some time to spare.
#2 -If you are short on time, you can cube up the bread & croissant pieces and bake it off at 300° until dry and toasted, about 20-30 minutes. Be sure to toss pieces around halfway through baking. Allow to cool before using in recipe.
Store leftover bread pudding in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 50
- Category: Bread Pudding
- Cuisine: American
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