Pumpkin Bread Pudding – Warm fall flavors baked in a pumpkin. Perfect for the fall season and Thanksgiving.
Bread Pudding is a great way to end a day. It’s comforting with plenty of warm spices and perfect topped with vanilla ice cream.
I Love Pumpkin! I love all things Pumpkin! This delicious pumpkin bread pudding recipe is the best of both worlds.
Why I love Bread Puddings!
- They are versatile: You can use any old bread and the flavor can easily be changed with just a little bit of ingredients.
- Easy to prep: It’s a great recipe that you can make the night before and bake it the next day.
- Perfect for Saturday Mornings! Sleeping in and enjoying a nice brunch!
Fun Fact: Bread pudding originated in early nineteenth century England. It was known as “poor man’s pudding”. I can see why now because it’s made with simple staple ingredients that we have at home.
Why you should make this Pumpkin Bread Pudding:
- A great way to use stale bread.
- It works great as breakfast or dessert.
- Easy Recipe! Add everything together and bake!
- It’s baked in a real pumpkin! Great for presentation, personal, and individual servings.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding Key Ingredients:
- Eggs: Creates the custard for the bread pudding.
- Milk/Heavy Cream: If you have half and half, you can use it instead.
- Pumpkin Puree: Please use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Spices: A blend of pumpkin spice and cinnamon gives it enough spice but not overpowering.
- Bread: Read Below to find out what kind of bread is recommended.
- Brown Sugar/Maple Syrup
How to make Pumpkin Bread Pudding:
In a large bowl add your eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, maple syrup, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, salt, and vanilla extract, and whisk until everything is combined.
Grab a large cutting board and cut your bread into 1-inch pieces.
Pour bread cubes into the large bowl and mix making sure the cubed bread is fully soaked.
Place a smaller clean bowl on top of the bread pudding to allow the bread to fully soak in the egg mixture. Allow the batter to sit for 25 minutes.
If baking in a small pie pumpkin wash the pumpkin and cut the top off making sure to save for later use. Take out the seeds and clean the insides as. Place the pumpkin on a large ramekin on a baking sheet.
If you are baking in a pan grease a small casserole pan or an 8×8 pan.
Pour the pumpkin bread pudding batter into the prepared pumpkin or the greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until the center is set.
What bread should I use for pumpkin bread pudding?
Any type of bread of fine for bread pudding. I usually prefer to use a challah bread, or brioche bread because its sweeter and contains more eggs. French bread, ciabatta bread, cinnamon swirl bread and Texas toast are also a great alternative because they are thicker. Specialty bread likes challah, brioche, French, and ciabatta can be found in the bakery section of your grocery store. In my recipe, I used a very limited addition bread, Trader joe’s pumpkin brioche. If you have access to trader joes try to grab a bag, it has great pumpkin flavor that is great for any pumpkin desserts.
When it comes to making bread pudding day old bread is better than fresh bread. When stale leftover bread is used it absorbs the egg pumpkin mixture whereas fresh bread has a harder time absorbing liquids.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding Variations:
Adding different fillings such as pecans. walnuts, chocolate chips, cranberries and orange zest can really add dimension to this decadent dessert.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding FAQ:
Why is my pumpkin bread pudding dry?
- Allowing the bread to soak in the egg mixture allows the bread to soak up the liquids. If you don’t give it time to soak, then your pumpkin bread pudding tends to be drier.
What if I only have fresh bread and not stale bread?
- Toast the bread in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes,
For More Pumpkin Recipes:
- Easy Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting
- The Most Wonderful Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Swirl
Easy Pumpkin Bread Pudding (Baked in a Pumpkin)
Equipment
- 1 small pumpkin
- 1 small casserole
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 cups bread, stale cut 1-inch cubes
Instructions
- In a large bowl add your eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, maple syrup, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, salt, and vanilla extract, and whisk until everything is combined.
- Grab a large cutting board and cut your bread into 1-inch pieces.
- Pour bread cubes into the large bowl and mix making sure the cubed bread is fully soaked.
- Place a smaller clean bowl on top of the bread pudding to allow the bread to fully soak in the egg mixture. Allow the batter to sit for 25 minutes.
- If baking in a small pie pumpkin wash the pumpkin and cut the top off making sure to save for later use. Take out the seeds and clean the insides as. Place the pumpkin on a large ramekin on a baking sheet.
- If you are baking in a pan grease a small casserole pan or an 8×8 pan.
- Pour the pumpkin bread pudding batter into the prepared pumpkin or the greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until the center is set. If baking in the pumpkin it takes a little longer, add another 10 minutes.
- Once the bread pudding is done baking. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled caramel if preferred. Enjoy!
