Easy Bread Pudding with Bourbon Cream Sauce
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This easy bread pudding with bourbon cream sauce is a rich and comforting dessert. Day-old bread and plump raisins are soaked in a classic mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, and melted butter and then baked until golden. It’s a simple recipe you can enjoy for breakfast too, and it’s ready in just 55 minutes!
If you’ve never made an old-fashioned bread pudding, you’re in for a real treat. To me, it’s the coziest cross between French toast and a creamy custard, baked into a soft, spoonable casserole with crisp edges and a rich, custardy center. Warm spices, buttery bread, and plump bits of fruit come together in a way that feels instantly nostalgic.
This is the dessert I reach for when I’m hosting because it’s wonderfully forgiving and can be assembled up to a day ahead. I love serving it straight from the oven, when the top is lightly golden, and the inside is still warm and soft—especially with the bourbon cream sauce poured generously over top. It’s classic, comforting, and tastes exactly like the kind of dessert you remember from your grandma’s kitchen.
The ingredient list is refreshingly simple and perfect for using up day-old bread. Any soft, white bread works here— French bread, challah, or brioche—soaked in a mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and salt, with raisins or other dried fruit folded in. The bourbon cream sauce is equally straightforward and completely worth making, adding a silky, boozy finish that turns this humble bread pudding into something truly special.
Bread pudding variation ideas
There are lots of ways you can add to this basic bread pudding recipe. Here are some of my favorite add-ins:
- Give it some crunch – if you like a satisfying crunch, nuts are a wonderful addition. Walnuts and pecans are our top nut choices.
- Switch up the dried fruit – raisins are a classic bread pudding ingredient, but other dried fruit like dried cranberries, chopped dates, or even apricots work too.
- Make it boozy – add a few tablespoons of bourbon to the milk and egg mixture for more boozy flavor!
- Chocolate bread pudding – swap the raisins for chocolate chips for all the chocolate lovers in your life.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make it ahead of time?
Yes! This recipe is great for making ahead of time. You can prepare the bread pudding, cover it, and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before baking. You can also prepare the sauce up to 3 days ahead. Store it in the fridge in a jar or sealed container, then warm it on the stove with a splash of additional cream before serving.
How long do leftovers last?
Store any leftover bread pudding in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How do I know when it’s done cooking?
Your bread pudding is done baking when the edges are browned, and the center is still jiggly, but set. Since everyone’s oven is a bit different, it’s best to keep an eye on it.
Easy Bread Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups white bread (torn into pieces)
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter (more to grease the pan)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch sea salt
Bourbon Cream Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ tablespoon flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8×8-inch baking dish with butter. Place the torn bread into the baking dish and sprinkle the raisins over the top.4 cups white bread , ½ cup raisins
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs, whole milk, sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, and sea salt. Pour the milk mixture over the bread and lightly press down on the bread with a spatula to make sure the bread is covered with the milk.2 large eggs, 1 ½ cups whole milk, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 pinch sea salt, 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the edges are browned. (The center will still look soft.) Serve warm or at room temperature with the bourbon cream sauce over the top.
Bourbon Cream Sauce
- Put the heavy cream in a small pot and sprinkle with the flour. Whisk until it is combined then bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 1 minute, or until it has thickened. Remove it from the heat and whisk in the sugar, bourbon, and sea salt.1 cup heavy cream, 1 ½ tablespoon flour, 2 tablespoons bourbon, ⅓ cup sugar, ¾ teaspoon sea salt
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Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
I tried bread pudding with fruit yuck! Just make the recipe as is delish!
To be fair, I looked this up only for the bourbon cream sauce. We found it too salty with not enough bourbon, and very thick. So I would reduce the salt by 1/2, the flour to 1 TBSP and double the bourbon. There you have it.
Loved the bourbon in here. Really tasty.
I’m about to be really pedantic and I’m sorry because this does look totally delicious and I love your blog … just that this is a bread-and-butter pudding, not a bread pudding! In a bread pudding you soak the bread in milk and then mush it up completely and bake it with fruit so you get a kind of really dense, moist fruit cake.
I’ve never heard of adding fruit. It can’t be Bread and Butter pudding …the butter is just to coat the pan!
I’m from New Orleans.. we eat lots of bread pudding.. I’ve never had it the way you describe it