Pumpkin Bread Pudding
intro
Cozy, custardy spiced pumpkin bread pudding with a crisp golden top, loaded with warm fall spices and soft brioche, ideal for cool autumn gatherings.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep oven and baking dish
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F), and generously grease a 20cm (8-inch) square baking dish with 1 teaspoon of the measured melted butter. Spread the cubed day-old brioche evenly across the bottom of the dish, and scatter golden raisins over the bread if using.
Mix pumpkin custard base
In a large 3-liter mixing bowl, whisk together the 3 large eggs, packed light brown sugar, unsweetened pumpkin puree, whole milk, heavy cream, remaining melted butter, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, grated nutmeg, ground cloves, and fine salt. Whisk steadily for 2 minutes until the mixture is completely smooth, with no visible lumps of egg or clumped spice.
Soak bread in custard
Pour the entire pumpkin custard mixture slowly and evenly over the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Press down gently on the bread cubes with a silicone spatula to ensure every piece is fully submerged in custard, then let the mixture rest for 15 minutes at room temperature to allow the bread to absorb the liquid while the oven finishes preheating.
Bake pudding until set
Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the preheated 175°C (350°F) oven, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The pudding is done when the top is deep golden brown and crisp around the edges, and the center jiggles only slightly when the dish is gently nudged, with no runny liquid visible on the surface.
Rest pudding to set
Carefully remove the baked pudding from the oven using oven mitts, and transfer the dish to a wire cooling rack. Let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature to allow the custard to fully firm up; slicing immediately will result in runny, messy portions.
Portion and serve warm
Cut the rested pudding into 6 equal square portions, and serve warm. Top each portion with 1 tablespoon of freshly whipped cream, a 1-teaspoon drizzle of salted caramel sauce, or a light dusting of powdered sugar, if desired.
Tips
2.Do not substitute canned pumpkin pie filling for unsweetened pumpkin puree; pie filling contains pre-added sugar, extra spices, and thickeners that will make the pudding overly sweet and gummy.
3.If the pudding top browns too quickly before the center is fully set, loosely tent a sheet of aluminum foil over the baking dish for the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent burning.
OMG made this for our Sunday family dinner last night and my kids literally licked their bowls clean! I used day-old sourdough like the recipe suggested and the warm spice blend was *chef’s kiss* — not too overpowering, just perfect cozy fall vibes. SO good, will be making this for every potluck from now until Thanksgiving.
Super easy to throw together after work, even for someone who burns toast half the time! I topped mine with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel, 10/10 would make again for game night with the guys.
I meal prepped individual portions of this for my work lunches this week and all my coworkers kept stopping by my desk to ask what smelled so amazing! The texture is perfectly custardy, not soggy at all. Total game changer for fall meal prep.
Solid recipe, though I wish it had a little more pumpkin flavor for my taste. Next time I’ll add an extra half cup of pumpkin puree and maybe a pinch of nutmeg, but overall it was a hit at my friend’s Halloween party.
Made this before our weekend camping trip and reheated slices over the campfire grate — absolute perfection after a cold morning hike. Not too sweet, packed with that warm spiced flavor we all crave when the weather drops.
This looks so good! Quick question — can I use regular sandwich bread if I don’t have sourdough or brioche lying around? I’m a total beginner and don’t want to mess this up for my first fall bake of the year!
Brought this to my neighborhood block party last weekend and people were going back for seconds and thirds! I added a handful of white chocolate chips to the mix before baking and it was chef’s kiss.
How far in advance can I assemble this? I’m hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year and trying to knock out as many prep tasks as I can the night before to cut down on chaos!
I made this with gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread for my sister who has celiac and it was incredible! No weird texture or aftertaste like so many GF bakes have, even my non-GF husband loved it.
Tasted great but mine was still totally jiggly in the middle after the 1 hour 20 minute cook time listed — I had to leave it in for almost an extra 20 minutes before it set all the way. Did I do something wrong?
I’ve been making pumpkin bread pudding for 40 years and this recipe is easily one of the best I’ve ever tried! The spice blend is exactly what I’ve been tweaking my own recipe to get for years, absolutely perfect. I served mine with a splash of warm bourbon sauce on top.
Has anyone tried making this with oat milk and coconut cream instead of whole milk and heavy cream? My son is dairy intolerant and I want to make this for our fall festival at school but don’t want it to turn out weird.
Wait a second, I had a whole leftover pumpkin loaf from my weekend bake go a little stale, so I used that instead of regular bread and Y’ALL. It was next level. My entire family asked when I’m making it again, total game changer. 10/10, no notes.
Is there any nut content in this recipe? I need to bring a treat to my kid’s class party and there are multiple kids with severe nut allergies, so I have to be super careful.
Made this for my fall brunch last weekend and served it warm with a side of vanilla ice cream that melted all over the top — every single guest asked for the recipe before they left! So easy to make even when you’re juggling mimosas and a million other brunch dishes.
Made this in my dorm oven and it was so good! The only issue was the top got a little too dark before the middle was done, next time I’ll remember to lower the rack a little I guess? Still ate every bite though lol.
This is going to be my new go-to Thanksgiving dessert instead of pumpkin pie this year! Half my family hates pie crust, so this is the perfect swap to keep everyone happy. Can I serve this cold or does it have to be warm?
I’m super sensitive to super spiced desserts — does this have a lot of clove? Clove is so overpowering to me and I can never handle more than a tiny pinch in my fall bakes.