Easy to make bread pudding recipe made with bread, milk, eggs, sugar, and spices. This traditional New Orleans style bread pudding is topped with an incredible whiskey sauce.
I grew up in New Orleans and can remember my mother making bread pudding often. She would save the last bits of bread from the loaves of french bread we ate throughout the week and keep them in a zip top bag. When there were enough bread pieces, she would make bread pudding.
My mother's bread pudding was wonderfully rich and decadent. She would make a small amount of whiskey sauce to spoon over the top and it was heavenly!
Bread Pudding
I'm not really sure where bread puddings originally came from. Some people say most puddings came from England. Others say bread puddings came from France.
All I know is that bread pudding can be found on just about every restaurant menu in New Orleans and every time I go back home, I order it multiple times.
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Ingredients
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- cubed bread
- butter
- eggs
- milk
- brown sugar
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- salt
For The Bread Pudding Sauce
- heavy cream
- milk
- sugar
- cornstarch
- whiskey
- salt
- butter
How to Make A New Orleans Style Bread Pudding
- Bread puddings start with cubes of bread soaked in a mixture of milk, eggs, sugar and spices.
- The milk-soaked bread is poured into a baking dish and placed in the oven to bake. As the bread pudding bakes, the flavors really come together.
- The edges and top of the bread pudding caramelize and become slightly crusty while the inside of the bread pudding is like a custard.
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I could do a post alone on the whiskey sauce I pour over the top of the bread pudding. It's so delicious and I'm always tempted to enjoy it straight from the jar!
To make a really good New Orleans style bread pudding, you need to use a crusty loaf of either French or Italian bread, sourdough, brioche or challah. If you have day-old croissants, they work well too.
Pro Tip: Don't use fresh bread and use one of the types of bread suggested in this recipe. Different breads will absorb the liquid differently and the outcome might be a more dry or a more watery bread pudding.
Store bread pudding in the refrigerator.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients left over from this bread pudding recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Bread: Croutons, Breadcrumbs, Breakfast Casserole
- Eggs: Cheesy Baked Eggs, Meringues, Pizza Quiche
- Milk: Mini Tres Leches Cake, Panna Cotta, Baked Oatmeal
- Heavy cream: Vanilla Ice Cream, Lemon Cheesecake, 2-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse
- Cornstarch: Banana Cream Pie, Vanilla Pudding, Sesame Chicken
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg: Baked Apples, Donut Holes, Apple Galette
For this bread pudding recipe, I use an 8 x 6 inch baking dish. A loaf pan will also work well.
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Ingredients
- 5 cups cubed French or Italian bread
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
WHISKEY SAUCE
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/3 cup whiskey
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
- Grease an 8 x 6 - inch baking dish with the tablespoon of butter and set aside.
- Place the cubes of bread in a large bowl and set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over the bread and gently stir to combine.
- Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the bread mixture to the baking dish and bake until the center of the bread pudding is set, 45 to 50 minutes.
- While the bread pudding is baking, make the whiskey sauce.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the cream, milk and sugar. Add the cornstarch and the whiskey to a small mixing bowl and whisk to blend until smooth.
- Pour the whiskey mixture into the cream mixture and bring to a boil.
- Once the sauce begins to boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Remove the sauce from the heat, add the salt and stir in the butter.
- After the bread pudding has finished baking, remove from the oven and pour Whiskey Sauce over the top.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Hello, I am so happy to have found your site. I was looking for a turkey cutlet recipe and that is how I found you. Your recipe for cutlets was so good. I am dairy free as I am allergic to anything that comes from a cow, like beef, butter, cheese, etc. all the good things. I just found the praline recipe and love them but now wonder if I can substitute soy milk or dairy free butter when one of your recipes calls for regular milk or butter. Thanks
Hi Joanne, I haven’t tested the praline recipe with anything other than cow’s milk and the higher the fat content in the milk, the better. But, I wonder why soy milk wouldn’t work here. The pralines wouldn’t be as rich but I bet they’d still be delicious. Maybe full fat coconut milk might work better than soy? If you experiment with it, please let me know how they turn out.
I haven’t tested all of our other recipes using dairy free ingredients. We do list other substitutions if we find they work though. This article about adjusting baking recipes to be dairy free might be helpful – sorry I can’t be of more help. https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-adjust-a-baking-recipe-to-be-dairy-free/
Absolutely love this! My husband and I try to go to NOLA every few years, he goes for the oysters, I go for the bread pudding! Haha! It drives him nuts because he isn’t a dessert eater, and it always extends our dinners by 20-30 minutes, but SO WORTH IT!
New Orleans is one of the best cities in the world and so fun to visit. You’re right, Michelle – the bread pudding is so worth it 😉
The first time I ever tried bread pudding, it was topped with a whiskey sauce and I immediately fell in love. Now I’m craving this!
I think the whiskey sauce makes the dessert so special. Thanks, Dara.
What to use in place of whiskey
You can leave the whiskey out or use a touch a maple syrup instead.
I have actually never made bread pudding before! I need to change that!
It’s so easy to make, Nancy. I bet you’d love it!
I am very intrigued about the whiskey sauce. I bet it tastes fabulous. Great looking pudding!
Thank you!