Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipe of thick bread baked in a spiced pumpkin custard and topped with a butter pecan sauce. Perfect for Fall brunch!
This Autumn twist on Classic Bread Pudding has all the flavor of a classic Pumpkin Pie plus a creamy, dreamy toffee sauce. It’s the perfect holiday Breakfast or Dessert to feed a crowd!
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe
There are so many ways to make Pumpkin Bread Pudding, from topping it with classic bourbon sauce to baking it in muffin cups or loading it with chocolate chips. What sets this recipe apart and makes it the one you must try this holiday season is my melt-in-your-mouth Butter Brickle Sauce!
This bread pudding is perfect for a special Fall brunch, especially over Thanksgiving weekend. But it’s also sweet enough to serve it for dessert. The vanilla toffee flavor is so creamy and delicious that you don’t even need to serve this pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream, although no one would blame you if you still did!
Ingredients
- French Bread: There’s a reason most recipes for custard and bread dishes call for French Bread. Its tender but firm crumb and crusty outside make it perfect for soaking up all the delicious egg and milk mixture without falling apart.
- Cream and Milk: You need lots of liquid to soak into the bread, but you still want some extra richness, which is why using both milk and cream is important. The heavy cream adds a rich thickness and whole milk helps increase the volume without sacrificing flavor.
- Pumpkin Puree: It wouldn’t be Pumpkin Bread Pudding without real pumpkin puree! You want to make sure you use 100% pure pumpkin and not pie filling that already has spices and sugar added.
- Eggs: This custard base uses five eggs, making it extra rich and thick. The eggs hold everything together, but the milk and pumpkin balance them out so it doesn’t turn into a quiche.
- Pumpkin Pie Spices: A lot of that signature pumpkin pie flavor we all love actually comes from a blend of warm spices. Pumpkin Pie Spice generally consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. You can use a pre-made blend if that’s easier, just add a bit more cinnamon.
- Brown Sugar: The custard and creamy toffee sauce contain delicious, warm, caramel-y brown sugar flavor in every bite. Regular sugar will slightly affect the flavors.
- Pecans: Crunchy pecans are the classic nut to use in holiday baking and this recipe loads up on nutty, earthy pecans for maximum autumn flavor!
- Butter Brickle Sauce: This creamy, buttery toffee sauce is based on an old-fashioned ice cream flavor. You’ll be wanting to make this sauce over and over again to top all your favorite desserts!
How to Make Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Time needed: 2 hours.
- Prep:
Preheat the oven and grease the baking pan well with butter or baking spray.
- Make Custard:
Whisk the melted butter, cream, milk, pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and spices until smooth.
- Assemble:
Add the bread pieces and pecans to the bowl and toss until combined. Pour the entire mixture into the pan and spread evenly.
- Soak for 1 Hour
Soak for at least an hour. If soaking lasts longer than two hours, do so in the fridge then bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
- Bake:
Bake uncovered in a 9×13 pan for 40-45 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown. Serve at room temp or warm with Butter Brickle Sauce.
- Make Butter Brickle Sauce:
Whisk cream, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in pecans.
- Serve
You can pour the Brickle Toffee Sauce over the whole pudding or serve it over individual bread pudding slices.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread Pudding:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, plus more for greasing pan
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree (1 standard can)
- 5 large eggs , beaten
- 1/2 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces French bread , cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1/2 cup pecans , chopped (optional)
Butter Brickle Sauce:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar , packed
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pecans , finely chopped
Instructions
Pumpkin Bread Pudding:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk melted butter, heavy cream, milk, pumpkin puree, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and salt.
- Add in the bread and pecans until well combined then pour into the baking pan, then let sit for at least 60 minutes.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.
Butter Brickle Sauce:
- To a large saucepan add the heavy cream, butter, dark brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla extract.
- On medium heat, whisk well until combined.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in pecans.
- Serve bread pudding covered with butter brickle sauce.
Nutrition
Chef’s Note: Butter Brickle
Butter Brickle is an old-fashioned ice cream flavor based on the even more old-fashioned Butter Brickle candy created by The Fenn Bros Ice Cream and Candy Company. The candy has been around since 1918! The ice cream flavor debuted in the 1920s and is an extra buttery vanilla ice cream filled with crunchy golden brown toffee pieces. The sauce I made for this pudding has all the old-fashioned brown sugar vanilla toffee flavor in a silky cream sauce.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Bread Pudding is one of the best breakfast recipes to make ahead of time! It gets even better as it sits overnight. You can bake it ahead of time and warm it up 1-2 days later to serve it. You can also assemble it the night before and then pop it in the oven in the morning after it’s been soaking up the custard and extra yummy!
Nutritional Facts
How to Store
- Store: Bread pudding needs to be stored after 2 hours at room temperature in either the fridge or freezer. Store the baked pudding separately from the sauce in the pan wrapped tightly with foil or transfer leftovers to an airtight container. It will last for about 4 days.
- Reheat: To keep your bread pudding from drying out, it’s best to reheat it covered in the oven. Reheat only the portions you plan on serving at that time, you don’t want to keep reheating and storing leftovers or the quality will degrade. Heat until warmed through, adding a bit of cream or sauce to it if it’s too dry.
- Freeze: Let the pudding cool completely before storing. The sauce won’t freeze well so store the bread pudding without the sauce. Wrap slices in plastic before storing in a sealed container or bag and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw before reheating, covered with foil, in the oven.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Bread Pudding
- Grease the slow cooker insert really well with butter, or line it with a slow cooker liner.
- Add the bread and chopped pecans to the crock pot. Stir to distribute pecans evenly.
- Add the cream, milk, pumpkin, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices to a bowl and mix until combined
- Pour the pumpkin custard mixture over the bread and pecans and gently stir with a spatula until coated.
- Cover the slow cooker with a lid and cook on low for 3-4 hours. It is ready when an inserted skewer or knife comes out clean.
Frequent Questions
You want to use a sturdy loaf that has a crusty layer on the outside and a thick crumb on the inside, like French bread, Challah bread, or brioche. The bread should be thicker and coarser than it is to be thin and soft to soak up the custard without becoming soggy. You can always soak the bread longer to make it more moist, but soggy, soft bread is hard to redeem. Day-old bread works best.
The bread pudding texture is meant to be creamy and moist but still semi-firm and not overly wet or soggy. When you stick a skewer into the center of the pudding, it should come out clean with some moist crumbs.
If your baked bread pudding has become too dry from storing or cooking too long, you can easily fix it with a cream sauce made of warmed heavy cream and sugar or a hearty drizzle of maple syrup. A hot slice topped with vanilla ice cream can easily add moisture to dry bread pudding and turn it into a decadent dessert.
No, you should not leave bread pudding at room temperature overnight or for more than 2 hours. The heavy cream and egg custard needs to be stored at a safe temperature, either in the refrigerator or in the freezer.
Reheat in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until warmed through. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave, but the texture may not be as ideal as oven reheating.
Variations
- Croissants: Stale buttery croissants are a great swap, and you can use many different leftover breads instead of French bread. If you have a bunch of hard croissants during the holidays, turn them into this bread pudding for an easy crowd-sized breakfast.
- Caramel: Instead of making the butter brickle sauce, you can use store-bought caramel ice cream topping. If you prefer caramel flavor over butterscotch but still want to make a sauce from scratch, try this amazing homemade Salted Caramel Sauce!
- Maple Syrup: Pumpkin, pecan, and maple are classic holiday flavors! In the custard, swap out half the brown sugar for ¼ cup of maple syrup. You can also swap the toffee sauce for warm maple syrup.
- Chocolate: Chocolate makes any pumpkin dessert that much more amazing. Stir in ¼ cup chocolate chips with the bread and pecans, then top the dish with more chocolate chips before baking.