Best Ever Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

This easy brioche bread pudding with bourbon sauce is baked in a rich, delicious custard with cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and scrumptious pecans. It’s best served warm and drizzled with lots of creamy bourbon sauce!

You should know by now that I’m a master of custard desserts. The proof is literally in the pudding (pun absolutely intended) which is why you also need to try my key lime pie, tiramisu, and sweet potato pie recipes!

Jump to:

• 🍞 What is bread pudding?
• ❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
• 📋 Ingredient notes
• Recipe substitutions and additions
• 🍞 Step-by-step instructions
• 💭 Tips and Tricks
• 🥄 Serving suggestions
• ❓Recipe FAQ’s
• ⭐ Other recipes you’ll love
• Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

🍞 What is bread pudding?

Bread pudding is an old-fashioned dessert that’s made by soaking stale bread in a wet mixture (usually a combination of milk and eggs). After the bread soaks up the custard, it’s baked until it sets. The middle is warm, soft and decadent.

It’s considered a classic dessert in the United States, but other cultures make bread pudding as well. You may have heard it referred to as ‘pudim de pão‘ in Portuguese or ‘budim de pan‘ in Spanish.

❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe

• Bourbon sauce makes this bread pudding so indulgent! Bourbon is often used to enhance the flavor of old fashioned desserts. For this recipe, the alcohol cooks off, making it safe for non-drinkers.
• Brioche bread is one of the best choices for bread pudding because it soaks up the custard and bakes well without getting soggy.
• No need to temper the eggs for this recipe, since we aren’t adding anything hot. Some recipes call for the addition of melted butter which can cook the eggs and curdle the custard if not tempered correctly.
• No raisins – but you can add them if you want to! Some people might feel a way about not including raisins but I much prefer the crunchy texture of pecans.

📋 Ingredient notes

• Stale, brioche bread, torn or cut into cubes – you can use brioche in any form whether it’s a loaf, buns or rolls. I used brioche dinner rolls that I cut into cubes and let sit on the counter overnight.
• The custard base is made from eggs, milk and heavy cream, a combination of white and light-brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt.
• The bourbon sauce is made from egg yolks, brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla extract and a touch of cornstarch.
• Pecans are added for texture since we’re not using raisins.

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact measurements and quantities.

Recipe substitutions and additions

• If you don’t have brioche, some other types of bread you can use are challah, sourdough or a french baguette. All of these options are great because they stand up to the heavy texture of custard without getting mushy or soggy.
• It’s perfectly fine to replace the bourbon with rum or whiskey or just omit the liquor.
• Feel free to replace pecans with another nut like walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts. Or replace the nuts with black or golden raisins, or dried cherries.
• For a richer, sweeter bread pudding, try adding semi-sweet chocolate, butterscotch, or caramel baking chips!

🍞 Step-by-step instructions

Make the bread pudding

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the pieces of bread in a large bowl and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs using a whisk.

Step 2: Create the base of the custard by slowly pouring the heavy cream into the bowl with the eggs and whisking quickly. The custard base should thicken slightly as you whisk the eggs and heavy cream together.

Step 3: Add the milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and both types of sugars to the custard-mixture and continue to whisk until combined. Pour this mixture over the cubed bread, then fold in the pecans and let sit for 45 minutes at room temperature.

Step 4: Transfer the bread pudding to a greased 2.5 quart baking dish. Sprinkle some extra pecans and remaining brown sugar on top. Bake the bread pudding for 50 minutes, uncovered.

Step 5: Remove the bread pudding from the oven. The edges should be firm and the center should jiggle slightly. Let the bread pudding cool while you make the bourbon sauce.

Make the bourbon sauce

1. Whisk the egg yolks, heavy cream, brown sugar and vanilla together in a small saucepan.
2. In a small bowl or cup, create a slurry by whisking together the cornstarch and bourbon.
3. Add the slurry to the pan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Let the sauce cook until thickened.

💭 Tips and Tricks

• If you don’t have time to wait around for bread to get stale, spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and heat them in the oven at 225°F for 10-15 minutes. Check the texture every few minutes, the bread should feel dry but not hard!
• Toasting the pecans for 5 minutes at 350°F helps to release some of the natural oils, which intensifies the flavor. Make sure to let the pecans cool fully before adding them to the custard mixture or you’ll run the risk of scrambling the eggs.
• Make sure you let the bread soak for a full 45 minutes at room temperature. The bread needs time to soak up the custard or else you’ll end up with too much liquid in your bread pudding.
• Never leave bread pudding sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours. The combination of milk and eggs makes this dessert super-moist, and it can spoil quickly if left out.

🥄 Serving suggestions

• Serve the warm bread pudding by the spoonful or cut it into squares.
• Use a spoon to drizzle the bourbon sauce over the bread pudding.
• For even more indulgence, top the bread pudding with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.

❓Recipe FAQ’s

⭐ Other recipes you’ll love

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