Old Fashioned Bread Pudding
This delicious custard dish makes a filling breakfast, dessert, or snack and is a great way to use stale bread and extra eggs or milk. Leave the raisins out if you're not a fan, or replace them with nuts or other dried fruits.
Ingredients
- 8 eggs beaten
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup sugar or equivalent sugar substitute
- 2 tsps ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, optional
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 8 cups stale bread, torn into 1" pieces about 10 slices
- 1 cup raisins, optional or other dried fruits or nuts
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13" pan with butter, margarine or oil. Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit.
- Place bread pieces and raisins or other dried fruits and nuts in the pan and set aside.
- Add eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla to a large bowl and whisk together. Pour mixture over bread pieces.
- Place pan in a preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour.
- Bread pudding is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean but moist. Cool pudding for 10 minutes before serving.
- Refrigerate leftovers and use within 3 or 4 days for best flavor.
Notes
This recipe is very versatile and can be changed to suit your tastes.
Use skim milk to reduce fat and reduce the amount of sugar, or replace it with stevia or another sweetener.
For holidays, try replacing the milk with eggnog and increase the nutmeg to 2 teaspoons for a special treat.
Add walnuts, pecans, or slivered almonds for an extra boost of protein.
If you don't like raisins, try replacing them with dried apple, pineapple, or mango pieces... or leave the fruit out entirely.
For a savory dish, omit the sugar, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Add 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning or adobo seasoning, 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, and 1 cup chopped green onion to the bread pieces and toss together before pouring the egg mixture over the bread. Sprinkle the top with 1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese.