Here’s a rich and comforting Cranberry Bread Pudding 🍞🍒 — perfect for breakfast, dessert, or holiday gatherings.
Cranberry Bread Pudding
Ingredients (serves 6–8):
- 6 cups day-old bread, cubed (French bread, brioche, or challah work best)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3 cups milk (or half milk, half cream for richer pudding)
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup sugar (brown or white)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg (optional)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- Optional: ½ cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
Optional Sauce:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup orange juice or liqueur (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven:
350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. - Prepare bread & cranberries:
Place cubed bread and cranberries in the baking dish. - Make custard:
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and melted butter. - Assemble:
Pour custard over bread and cranberries. Press down gently so all bread is soaked. Let sit 10–15 minutes to absorb. - Bake:
Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15–20 minutes until golden and set in the center. - Optional sauce:
Heat cream, sugar, vanilla, and orange juice in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves. Drizzle over warm pudding before serving. - Serve:
Serve warm on its own or with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or custard sauce.
⭐ Tips:
- Day-old bread works best — it soaks up custard without turning mushy.
- Freeze leftover cranberries for use in winter puddings.
- Press custard into bread to ensure every cube is soaked.
🔄 Variations:
- White chocolate & cranberry: Fold in ½ cup white chocolate chips.
- Maple version: Replace sugar with ½ cup maple syrup.
- Citrus twist: Add 1 tsp orange zest to custard for brightness.
I can also give you a slow cooker version so you can “set it and forget it” while it cooks low and slow — the custard becomes extra creamy.
Do you want me to give that version?
