Forget the challah and brioche for this one, because Sourdough Bread Pudding is the way to go. I love the way the sourdough balances the richness of the custard, and the texture is exactly what I crave in a dessert.
Bread pudding is one of those rare desserts that I think I’ve made in every single restaurant and bakery I ever worked in. It’s always on the menu. To be honest, when I first started making it for fancy restaurant menus, I thought it was kinda nerdy and old fashioned. But I was wrong – bread pudding will forever be in style. It has all the right flavors and textures, and it does something I always appreciate, which is preventing a delicious ingredient from going to waste.
Traditionally, bread pudding is served with vanilla sauce, which is absolutely delicious, but I wanted something brighter to balance the richness. Instead, I serve mine with vanilla-infused strawberries and whipped cream. The berries cut through the richness perfectly, and together it tastes like a cross between French toast and strawberry shortcake.
I’ll teach you everything I’ve learned about how to make the best bread pudding, including a few simple tips for getting that perfectly silky texture every time.
Recipe highlights
- Silky custard & chewy sourdough, the dreamiest texture combo
- Perfect flavor balance between richness and sourdough tang
- One of the easiest restaurant-quality desserts to make at home
- Served with optional strawberry sauce for balance and freshness
- A great use for leftover sourdough bread so nothing goes to waste
- Endless possibilities for creating variations
Recipe overview
⏱️ Prep: ~30 mins • Soak: 30 mins • Cook: 45 mins • Total: ~1 hr 45 mins
🍴 Yield: One 8-inch pan, 6-9 servings
💪 Skill level: Beginner
😋 Flavor profile: Creamy, eggy, and super vanilla, with subtle sourdough tang. Pairs well with: Fresh berries, strawberry sauce, whipped cream, vanilla sauce, ice cream, coffee.
Choosing sourdough bread for bread pudding
One of the reasons I love this recipe is because it’s the best possible use for leftover sourdough bread. I like to freeze extra slices before they go stale, and once I’ve built up enough of a stash, I make this bread pudding.
Day-old or slightly stale bread works best here, but you can also use fresh bread if that’s what you have on hand (just be sure to read the tips below first).
This recipe is also great with a mix of breads. Leftover cinnamon swirl sourdough, sourdough baguettes, or other rustic sourdough loaves would all be delicious in this bread pudding.
How to make sourdough bread pudding
Find the full ingredients list and detailed recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview of how to make this recipe:
- Slice & toast bread: Cut or tear your bread into chunks. Place in a buttered dish and toast in a 350° F oven until lightly crisped, about 10 minutes. Add pats of butter on top, let it melt a bit, and toss to fold in.
- Make custard: In a large bowl, whisk eggs, then add half and half, sugar, vanilla, and salt until well combined.
- Soak: Pour custard mix over toasted bread, pressing gently to submerge so that all bread gets coated. Rest for 30 minutes to allow bread to soak up custard.
- Macerate berries: While the pudding soaks, slice strawberries and toss with sugar, vanilla bean, and lemon juice. Set aside.
- Bake: Bake bread pudding at 350° F in a water bath until custard is baked. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.
- Make strawberry sauce: Purée half of the syrupy strawberries to make a simple sauce.
- Make whipped cream (optional): Whisk together heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form.
- Serve: Once bread pudding has cooled, serve slices topped with strawberry sauce, sliced strawberries, and whipped cream.
Pro tips for perfect bread pudding
I made countless batches of bread pudding over my years as a pastry cook, and I learned a few key professional restaurant tricks along the way:
Toast the bread slightly. This does two things: It brings out more flavor in the bread, and it enables the bread to soak up more custard without getting soggy.
If your bread is already quite stale, you’re ok to skip this step. If you’re using fresh bread, this step is a must!
Let the custard soak in before baking. Give your bread 20-30 minutes to ensure it soaks up the custard evenly. This allows the vanilla flavor to thoroughly soak into the sourdough bread and will give you a more uniform bake, preventing the custard from sinking to the bottom.
Bake in a hot water bath. This is optional, but it does create the silkiest, most velvety egg custard texture! The water bath helps the eggs cook more gently and evenly. It prevents the outside edges from drying out before the center is baked through and keeps the eggs from curdling.
Variations
Bread options:
The obvious choice for sourdough bread pudding is a basic sourdough loaf, but there’s several other options that would also work well. Some ideas include sourdough sandwich bread, cinnamon sugar sourdough, honey whole wheat sourdough, or sourdough baguettes. You could also mix several of these together!
Sauce & topping options:
Bread pudding is traditionally served with vanilla sauce. It’s also delicious with:
- Salted caramel sauce or spiced toffee sauce
- Chocolate sauce
- Elderberry sauce
- Passionfruit curd or mango curd
- Vanilla ice cream or homemade bourbon peach ice cream
- A mix of fresh berries
Additional flavor options:
I skipped the traditional cinnamon here because I wanted the vanilla bean and fresh strawberries to shine, but you can absolutely add cinnamon if you prefer a more classic bread pudding flavor. A little freshly grated nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice would also be delicious.
You can also customize the mix-ins however you like: Try raisins, currants, dried fruit, chocolate chunks, or even extra vanilla bean or vanilla paste for a richer flavor.
Storing & serving sourdough bread pudding
Store bread pudding in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It’s delicious cold, warm, or at room temperature. In my opinion, it’s even better on the second day, as all the flavors have really soaked in at that point.
Serve with strawberry sauce, a pile of syrupy macerated strawberries, and a big scoop of fresh whipped cream. Or choose different toppings and/or sauces from the ideas above!
If you try this Sourdough Bread Pudding, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Please leave a comment and star rating below. This helps support my work and allows me to keep sharing free recipes.
Sourdough Bread Pudding
Equipment
- 8×8-inch pan (or 2 quart casserole dish)
Ingredients
Bread pudding:
- 6 packed cups (about 13 oz) sourdough bread, cubed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups half & half
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
Strawberries:
- 2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Whipped cream (optional):
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350° F and butter an 8×8-inch baking pan.
- Slice & toast bread: Cut or tear bread into chunks or cubes until you have 6 packed cups. They don't have to be perfect (different shapes and sizes are great!). Place in prepared dish and toast in the oven until lightly crisped, about 10 minutes. Cut 2 Tbsp of butter into little pats and dot them on top of the toasted bread. Return to the oven briefly to melt the butter, then toss to coat all the bread with the melted butter.
- Make custard: In a large bowl, whisk the 3 eggs until well blended. Add 2 cups half and half, ½ cup sugar, 1 Tbsp vanilla, and ½ tsp salt until well combined.
- Soak: Pour custard mix over toasted bread, stirring lightly and pressing top pieces gently to submerge so that all the bread gets moistened. Rest for 30 minutes to allow bread to soak up custard.
- Macerate berries: While the pudding soaks, slice 2 pints of fresh strawberries into a large bowl and toss with ¼ cup sugar, the seeds from 1 vanilla bean, and 2 tsp lemon juice. Set aside (fridge or room temperature is fine). The strawberries will get increasingly syrupy and flavorful as they sit.
- Bake (see note): Bake bread pudding at 350° F until custard is baked in the center, about 40-45 minutes. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean and the bread pudding should give just a little bit of jiggle and resistance if you press down on it. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.
- Make strawberry sauce: Scoop roughly half of the strawberries out of the bowl and purée them using a food processor or emulsion blender to make a simple sauce. Adjust the thickness to your liking by adding more or less of the strawberry syrup to the sauce.
- Make whipped cream (optional): Whisk together 1 cup heavy cream, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla until soft peaks form.
- Serve: Once bread pudding has cooled, cut into individual servings. I like to slice it into 9 small squares, but you could also choose to serve it as 6 slightly larger servings.Serve slices topped with strawberry sauce, some of the remaining macerated strawberries, and whipped cream.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment below!
