Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Thank you to Land O’Lakes® for sponsoring this post!
Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce is a creamy, delicious ending to any holiday meal. Made with simple ingredients, including Land O Lakes® Half & Half, this easy bread pudding recipe is fit for any celebration. Makes 9-12 servings.
I’m thrilled to be partnering with Land O Lakes® Half & Half to make this holiday recipe because I have the best memories of eating bread pudding at celebrations.
These memories involve weddings and birthdays, but I love the idea of serving a bread pudding at the holidays. It is the ultimate festive dessert.
What’s a holiday if not a celebration, right?
The bread pudding recipe calls for simple ingredients, and when combined, the flavors sing.
The creamy, fluffy bread pudding pairs beautifully with a homemade caramel sauce that’s lick-off-the-spoon divine. And I’ve finally found a caramel making method that works, as I’ve struggled in the past with burning caramel.
So if you’re looking at this bread pudding and shaking your head, thinking you can’t do it, let me tell you this: You, too, can make caramel. Learn from my mistakes, which I share below, and make this beautiful bread pudding for yourself and your people this season.
It’s worth the effort. And it’s utterly perfect.
This bread pudding with caramel sauce shines, whether you’re hosting a more traditional holiday gathering or if you’re looking for a lovely dessert for a smaller crowd (and you don’t mind leftovers).
What you’ll need to make this recipe:
- 9”x13” deep-sided baking dish
- Nonstick baking spray
- A large mixing bowl
- A glass measuring cup
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Heavy-bottomed saucepan (2 quarts or larger)
- Silicone pastry brush
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Brioche bread — or another fluffy, light bread. Challah bread would make a good substitute.
- Eggs — large eggs from my local grocery are what I used.
- Land O Lakes® Half & Half — this is rich and creamy. Also, it’s 100% real milk and cream with no preservatives or stabilizers. We’ll use it in the custard, as well as the caramel sauce.
- Whole milk — for rich flavor. I do not recommend using a lower fat milk.
- Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar, this is our sweetener for the custard. It’s also the base of the caramel sauce. (Please note that if we use brown sugar in the caramel, that makes it into a butterscotch.)
- Vanilla extract — the pure kind adds the most perfect vanilla flavor. It’s worth splurging for.
- Kosher salt — medium grain kosher salt is my go-to for baking recipes like this. A medium grain sea salt would also work.
How to make the BEST Bread Pudding recipe with Sauce
Prepare the bread.
First and foremost, cut the bread into 1” squares. I used brioche bread because its sweet flavor and texture are perfect for pairing with the custard base.
Brioche is a soft bread, so you need to purchase it in advance, open the bag, and let it get stale.
Yes, I know. This seems counterintuitive, but it’s going to ensure your bread doesn’t fall apart as it bakes with the custard.
Pro tip!
If you didn’t leave your brioche bread enough time to get stale, slice it, then toast in the oven until golden brown. Let it cool completely before you make the bread pudding.
Prepare the ingredients, and make the custard.
First, spray the baking dish with nonstick baking spray. You could also rub it with butter. This is essential in being able to remove the bread pudding from the pan, so don’t skip this step!
Next, add the stale bread cubes to your prepared dish. Make sure it’s in an even layer!
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, Land O Lakes® Half & Half, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and salt.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Use your hands or a rubber spatula to press the cubes down. Ensure they’re fully submerged so they can soak it up!
Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Why? So the bread can soak up the custard and become that much more decadent!
Bake the homemade bread pudding.
When the soak is completed, preheat the oven.
Uncover the bread pudding, and transfer to the preheated oven.
Bake until the center is set, about 50-60 minutes.
When it’s done, you won’t be able to see any liquid on top of it, either, and it should have puffed while baking.
If you’re concerned that it’s not baked through because it’s still a little jiggly, take its temperature. Alton Brown says it should be between 165-170ºF to be considered done.
Make the caramel sauce from scratch.
DID YOU KNOW?
You want your saucepan to be at least 2 quarts, if not larger.
Why? This caramel sauce bubbles up and doubles or triples in size when we add the liquid.
How do I know this? Because my 1 ½ quart saucepan overflowed when I was recipe testing.
First, measure the sugar into a saucepan. Pour the water on top of it. Stir these ingredients together as you turn on the heat to medium-low.
When the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil — and do not stir or touch it. THIS IS IMPORTANT!
If you sugar crystals are stuck to the sides of the pan, use a wet pastry brush to wipe them down. Be very careful, as this boiling sugar is hot.
Boil the sugar for 5-8 minutes, or until it starts to turn a light amber color.
Please note that the sugar’s color will change quickly when it does begin to appear. Do not walk away from the stovetop.
When the sugar is amber, turn off the heat. The sugar will continue cooking after the stovetop is turned off. (This is especially true if you’re using a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Learn from my mistakes!)
Right after you turn off the heat, slowly pour in the Land O Lakes® Half & Half, stirring vigorously. The caramel will bubble and expand, so be careful!
When the bubbling slows down, stir in the butter, vanilla and salt.
Pour the mixture — which should be quite thin — into a jar to cool. The caramel will thicken when it cools.
Then serve over the sliced bread pudding and enjoy!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
While it’s more time-intensive than a regular cake, there’s something special about bread pudding for entertaining. This recipe makes 9-12 servings, depending on the hunger of your guests, so it was basically made for entertaining.
You have two routes you could do for this bread pudding with caramel sauce, so I’ll explain ‘em both:
Bake the bread pudding 1-2 days ahead of time. Store it in the fridge covered when it’s cooled completely. Reheat in a 325˚F oven covered in foil until heated through.
Or you can make the bread pudding the same day you’re hosting guests. If this is the case…
- Make a detailed cooking timeline, especially if you plan to serve this straight from the oven. Remember: it has to soak for 1-2 hours before you bake it, and it bakes for at least 50 minutes, then it has to cool for 15 or so minutes before you can slice it.
- Get the bread nice and stale. This means going to the store 2-3 days beforehand and chopping the bread. I like to leave mine out in a bowl that’s covered so little hands can’t grab snacks as they walk by. 😉
- Make the bread pudding sauce recipe beforehand. Keep it in the fridge until it’s go time, and reheat in 15-second increments in the microwave until bubbly. (Be careful to not heat it for too long or it could burn!)
Frequently Asked Questions
I ran into a lot of troubles using the dry caramel method, where you simply put sugar in a pan, heat it, and let it caramelize. For whatever reason, mine would not caramelize evenly, and I’d end up with some granules that hadn’t melted and other ones that were burned.
The wet method, which I detail here, has you add a little water along with the sugar. This way, the sugar dissolves into the water, but the water evaporates as the sugar begins boiling.
To me, this was more manageable.
Stand by the stovetop, watch and when the sugar is a light amber color, pour in the Land O Lakes® Half & Half, butter, vanilla and salt and stir, stir, stir!
First, let me say: I see you, and I feel you. I burned the caramel sauce (or botched it) more than enough times for this recipe to make me feel hesitant when I finally did get it right.
If you’re intimidated by making caramel sauce, I suggest taking it slowly. Keep the heat on a low (instead of cranking it up), and keep a close eye on the sugar as it melts and begins changing color.
There’s no award in making the fastest caramel sauce. In my opinion, going slowly is perfectly fine so you get a delicious end result.
The caramel sauce will be runny when it’s hot, and it will thicken as it cools. Please do not add heat to it or cook it for longer, for fear of overcooking or burning it.
To an extent, yes! We want it to be decadent and soft and a little gooey inside without the custard mixture being raw or undercooked.
It will be set, which means it won’t be liquidy. Another way to confirm your bread pudding is done baking is to insert a butter knife into the center of it. When you remove it, nothing should stick to the knife.
This happened because you cooked it for too long. There’s not a way to revive this, so you need to remake the sauce.
Days-old bread is the way to go. I used a brioche loaf, but you could easily use challah. Italian or French bread or even a baguette would work here, so long as they are stale.
Quick tips for making Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
- Don’t skip the part where your bread gets stale. It’s essential to the bread pudding, and you should plan to purchase groceries in advance because of it.
- Don’t skip the soak, either. The stale bread sops up the custard and the flavors meld. It’s worth the 1-2 hours in the fridge… just be sure you don’t let it go for too long!
- Give yourself time to make the caramel. The recipe itself seems really simple, but it’s easy to mess up. Go slowly and make that beautiful, decadent caramel sauce!
- Swap out what you serve it with. If you’d prefer homemade whipped cream, use that, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Add a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg, too.
- If you see sugar crystals sticking to the sides of your saucepan when the sugar is boiling, use a silicone pastry brush dipped in water to brush them away. These crystals could lead to a grainier caramel sauce.
- The sugar will continue to cook after you remove the pan from the heat, so don’t wait too long to add the Land O Lakes ® Half & Half.
- The caramel is runny when hot. It’ll thicken up as it cools!
Love celebratory desserts? Don’t miss Upside Down Cranberry Cake, Funfetti Sugar Cookie Bars and Shortbread Brown Butter Cookies.
Other seasonal desserts you might enjoy: Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownie Bars / Mini Apple Spiced Rum Cakes / Cranberry Crumb Bars / Peppermint Brownie Cookies
Searching for more holiday dessert inspiration? Check out my Dessert recipe index.
Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
Bread Pudding
- 1 1lb loaf brioche bread, cut into 1” cubes
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups Land O Lakes® Half & Half
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and cut into ½” cubes
- ¾ cup Land O Lakes® Half & Half
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
- Make the Bread Pudding
- Spray a 9”x13” baking dish with butter or nonstick baking spray.
- Add bread cubes to the prepared dish in an even layer.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, Land O Lakes® Half & Half, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and salt until combined.
- Pour the custard over the bread cubes, and press the cubes down to ensure they’re submerged in the liquid.
- Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. (This step allows the bread to soak up the custard, so don’t skip it!)
- When the soak is completed, preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- Uncover the bread pudding, and bake until it’s set in the center, about 50-60 minutes. It should be slightly puffed and golden brown, too.
- Make the Caramel Sauce
- In a deep saucepan (at least 2 qt.—my 1.5 qt. one overflowed when testing this recipe), add the sugar and the water. Heat over medium-low until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula.
- When the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil—and do not stir or touch it. If you see sugar crystals stuck to the sides of your pan, use a wet pastry brush to wipe down the sides. Be very careful, as this boiling sugar is hot.
- Boil for 5-8 minutes, until the sugar turns a light amber color. (Please note that when the sugar begins to change color, it happens quickly. Do not walk away from the stovetop. Also, be aware that the sugar will continue to cook after the heat is turned off, so working quickly with the additional ingredients is important.)
- Turn off the heat, and immediately pour in the Land O Lakes® Half & Half slowly, stirring it constantly. It will bubble vigorously, so please be careful!
- Next, stir in the butter, vanilla and salt.
- Pour the mixture into a jar to cool (it will thicken as it cools, so don’t fret it if seems thin), and then serve over the bread pudding!
Notes
- Give yourself time! Meaning—don’t rush. The caramel sauce can take you as little as 15 minutes, but it can take upwards of 30 if you’re keeping the heat lower. (And if you keep the heat lower, that’s totally OK!)
- If you see sugar crystals sticking to the sides of your saucepan when the sugar is boiling, use a silicone pastry brush dipped in water to brush them away. These crystals could lead to a grainier caramel sauce.
- The sugar will continue to cook after you remove the saucepan from the heat. Keep this in mind, and don’t wait too long to add the Land O Lakes® Half & Half.
- Don’t be discouraged if it’s runny. It’ll thicken up as it cools!
- Reheat it in the microwave for 15-20 second increments until warm, if making it in advance. You don’t want to overcook it by heating it for too long!
Easy entertaining tips and tricks:
If you’re planning to serve this bread pudding to guests at the holidays, you have two options. Option 1: Bake the bread pudding 1-2 days ahead of time. Store it in the fridge covered when it’s cooled completely. Reheat in a 325˚F oven covered in foil until heated through and delicious. Option 2: Make the bread pudding the same day you’re hosting guests. If this is the case…- Make a detailed cooking timeline beforehand, especially if you plan to serve this bread pudding straight from the oven. Remember: it has to soak for 1-2 hours before you bake it, and it bakes for at least 50 minutes, then it has to cool for 15 or so minutes before you can slice it.
- Get the bread nice and stale. This means going to the store 2-3 days beforehand and chopping the bread. I leave mine out in a bowl that’s covered with a kitchen towel.
- Make the caramel sauce beforehand. Keep it in the fridge until it’s go time, and reheat in 15-second increments in the microwave until bubbly and delicious. (Be careful to not heat it for too long or it could burn!)
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
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