This bread pudding with butter rum sauce starts with pieces of day-old bread, which get a long soak in a rich and flavorful spiced custard before baking. Studded with raisins, cinnamon chips, and/or chocolate chips, bread pudding is a texture lover’s dream. The creamy butter rum sauce is optional, but highly recommended!
If you’ve never made bread pudding before, think of it as the coziest cross between French toast, custard, and dessert casserole. The recipe relies on simple ingredients and technique: soak bread in a spiced custard and bake until each piece is soft and creamy on the inside, and lightly crisp and golden on the outside. Whether you’re serving this at a holiday gathering, brunch, or just because you have leftover bread on the counter, bread pudding is nostalgic and unfussy, yet completely special and satisfying.
…especially with homemade butter rum sauce poured on top!!
This Bread Pudding Is:
- Totally decadent and indulgent
- Perfect dessert for anyone who loves lots of texture and flavor
- Topped with a rich and creamy butter rum sauce
- Easy to prepare and feeds a crowd
- A convenient make-ahead dessert option
- A delicious holiday/special occasion recipe
Ingredients You Need & Why
- Bread: Start with a slightly stale loaf of sturdy bread. See below for more details on the best type of bread to use for today’s recipe.
- Eggs: Eggs are a main component of any pudding/custard or breakfast casserole, and that’s true for bread pudding, too.
- Milk & Cream: For the best, richest tasting bread pudding, use both whole milk and heavy cream.
- Spiced Rum: Spiced rum adds depth to both the custard and sauce. You can use a dark rum, or even bourbon in a pinch. For an alcohol-free version, simply replace rum with heavy cream or milk in the egg custard and add 1/2 teaspoon rum extract or an extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. For the butter rum sauce, replace with 1/2 teaspoon rum extract or vanilla extract.
- Sugar: We’re using both granulated and brown sugar to sweeten this dessert.
- Cinnamon, Salt, & Vanilla: Our favorite flavor-enhancing trio!
- Raisins/Cinnamon Chips/Chocolate Chips: These mix-ins add extra texture and flavor to every bite. I love the combo of half juicy raisins (either golden or dark) and half cinnamon baking chips, but you can use just one or the other, whatever your preference. Taste testers also loved a version with chocolate chips! In the pictured bread pudding, I skipped the cinnamon chips and chocolate chips, and used half golden raisins and half dark raisins. You can use any combination of these add-ins, totaling around 1 cup (150–180g).
Chocolate Bread Pudding
Do you prefer a chocolate dessert? Here is my dark and decadent chocolate bread pudding recipe.
Success Tips for Bread Pudding
- Use Quality Bread. Bread is—obviously!— the main ingredient in bread pudding, so don’t skimp here. Flimsy sliced sandwich bread makes for a flat, soggy bread pudding, so you want to avoid that. Rather, go for a fancy loaf like challah or brioche. You could also use French bread or baguette, sourdough, or even croissant bread. These sturdier breads are able to soak up the custard without falling apart.
- Let the Bread Get Stale. When you have the quality bread you need, let it sit out overnight (or for at least a few hours) to get a little stale. Like sausage & herb stuffing and bagel breakfast casserole, bread pudding is best when the bread is somewhat stale. If you forgot to leave time to let the bread get stale, you can spread the cubes of bread out on a baking sheet and lightly toast them in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Give It a Rest. Assemble the dish and then before baking it, let it sit for several hours—or even overnight—in the refrigerator. This gives the crusty bread the time it needs to soak up the flavorful egg custard. You can leave the prepared bread pudding in the refrigerator anywhere from 4 hours to 24 hours. I find the longer the bread soaks, the tastier it is.
FYI: These same success tips also apply to baked French toast casserole!
Follow These Easy Steps
Spread the bread cubes in a 9×13-inch casserole dish or baking pan. Sprinkle the raisins, cinnamon chips, and/or chocolate chips evenly on top.
Make the egg custard mixture. Just whisk it all together—easy peasy!
Pour this over the bread. At this point, cover and refrigerate the bread pudding for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
Butter Rum Sauce
To make the creamy, flavorful butter rum sauce, you need just 5 ingredients, most of which are repeated from the bread pudding ingredient list (with the addition of butter).
Begin heating the butter in a saucepan on the stove, and whisk in the brown sugar until it’s all melted and combined. Pour and whisk in the heavy cream, and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes. Remove the sauce from heat and stir in the rum and salt. Let the sauce cool for at least 10 minutes to thicken up a bit.
Enjoy bread pudding warm, topped with butter rum sauce, and vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Simply perfection!
For the best bread pudding results, use challah, brioche, French bread or baguette, sourdough bread, or even croissant bread. These sturdier breads are able to soak up the custard without falling apart. Avoid thin and flimsy sandwich bread.
Yes. For an alcohol-free version, simply replace rum with heavy cream or milk in the egg custard and add 1/2 teaspoon rum extract or an extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. For the butter rum sauce, replace with 1/2 teaspoon rum extract or vanilla extract.
You can replace the whole milk with almond milk or oat milk, but I don’t recommend skipping the heavy cream entirely. As a result, you’ll lose a lot of rich flavor and texture. The closest substitute is canned full-fat coconut milk, but the result will be different.
Yes. Bake it, cool completely, then cover the top with a layer of plastic wrap then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, remove the plastic wrap, cover with just aluminum foil, and then reheat in a 300°F (149°C) oven for around 20 minutes. For best results, make the butter rum sauce fresh. You can also freeze bread pudding before baking; see Note below.
Bread Pudding with Butter Rum Sauce
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours, 20 minutes (includes soaking)
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This bread pudding with butter rum sauce starts with pieces of day-old bread, which get a long soak in a rich and flavorful spiced custard before baking. Studded with raisins, cinnamon chips, and/or chocolate chips, bread pudding is a texture lover’s dream. The creamy butter rum sauce is optional, but highly recommended! See recipe Notes for freezing instructions and ingredients details.
Ingredients
- 12–16 ounce (340–454g) loaf of sturdy day-old bread, cut in 1-inch cubes (around 10–12 cups)
- 7 large eggs
- 2 and 1/2 cups (600g/ml) whole milk
- 1 cup (240g/ml) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (60g/ml) spiced rum (or regular dark/golden rum)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (150–180g) raisins, cinnamon chips, or chocolate chips (or mix of any)
Butter Rum Sauce
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 Tbsp-size pieces
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons spiced rum (or regular dark/golden rum)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. Let the cubed bread sit out uncovered for a few hours or up to 24 hours. (If you don’t have enough time, see Notes section below.)
- Make the bread pudding: Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan (or any 3–4-quart baking dish) with nonstick spray. Spread the bread cubes in the pan. Sprinkle the raisins and/or cinnamon chips evenly over the bread cubes.
- In a large bowl (preferably with a pour spout), whisk together eggs, milk, cream, rum, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until combined. Pour evenly over the bread.
- Cover the pan tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. This gives the bread a chance to soak up the custard and is a key step in this recipe.
- Remove bread pudding from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Bake, uncovered, for 50–55 minutes, or until the center is set (no longer liquid-y). If the top of the bread pudding is beginning to brown too much, cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil.
- Make the butter rum sauce: Place the sliced butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, and stir/whisk until melted and combined. Slowly pour heavy cream into the saucepan, whisking the entire time. Bring to a boil, then stop whisking and reduce heat to medium-low. Let the sauce simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the rum and salt. Let cool for at least 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
- Remove bread pudding from the oven and cool for 5–10 minutes before serving. Bread pudding deflates slightly as it cools. Pour butter rum sauce all over the bread pudding, or serve each slice with butter rum sauce. Cut into slices and serve warm with ice cream, if desired.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: To freeze the unbaked pudding, prepare the recipe through step 4 (after soaking) and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and continue with step 5, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time. You can also freeze leftover baked and cooled bread pudding for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat to your liking in the microwave or cover and bake in a 300°F (149°C) until warm throughout, at least 20 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Dish (or any 3–4-quart baking dish, such as this one pictured in the blog post) | Mixing Bowl With Pour Spout or Glass Mixing Bowl With Pour Spout | Whisk | Medium Saucepan
- Bread: Crusty, somewhat stale bread is best for bread pudding. If you’re in a rush and don’t have time to let the bread sit out as instructed in step 1, spread the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes. Let cool, then continue with the recipe.
- Rum: Spiced rum adds depth to both the custard and sauce. You can use a dark rum, or even bourbon in a pinch. For an alcohol-free version, simply replace rum with heavy cream or milk in the egg custard and add 1/2 teaspoon rum extract or an extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. For the butter rum sauce, replace with 1/2 teaspoon rum extract or vanilla extract.
- Raisins/Cinnamon Chips/Chocolate Chips: These mix-ins add extra texture and flavor to every bite of bread pudding. I love the combo of half juicy raisins (either golden or dark) and half cinnamon baking chips, but you can use just one or the other, whatever your preference. Taste testers also loved a version with chocolate chips! In the pictured bread pudding, I skipped the cinnamon chips and chocolate chips, and used half golden raisins and half dark raisins. You can use any combination of these add-ins, totaling around 1 cup (150–180g).
- Can I Make This Nondairy? You can replace the whole milk with almond milk or oat milk, but I don’t recommend skipping the heavy cream entirely. As a result, you’ll lose a lot of rich flavor and texture. The closest substitute is canned full-fat coconut milk, but the result will be different.
- Double Chocolate: Do you prefer a chocolate dessert instead? Here is my dark and decadent chocolate bread pudding recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi I want to try this recipe this weekend wanted to know that will this recipe be soft and a but chewy sorry if this sounds dumb because I ate a bread pudding at a restaurant I really liked it it had a lot of textures and had like a little hard jelly like structure
Hi Manal, it will be soft and custard-y, with some crispy crunchy bits on the top.
Thank you so much
Absolutely delicious!
Made this for Christmas and it was a huge hit! We made it exactly as written and it was perfect. Loved the rum butter sauce! Served with a little bit of whipped cream….we will serve this every year from now on!
I loved this dessert! It was so easy to make, and I couldn’t stop eating it! I’m not fond of the rum flavor, so I added Baileys instead, and it was absolutely delicious! Thanks, Sally!
Hello! I’ve been hoping to make a caramel bread pudding similar to one I’ve had in a restaurant and this is the closest recipe I’ve found (plus I always enjoy Sally’s recipes). The one I had had a bit of a caramel crust on top, and I’m thinking of trying to replicate that by pouring some of the rum caramel sauce onto the bread pudding for the last 10 minutes of baking. Does that seem reasonable or is such a sauce not built to be baked? Thank you so much for the recipe, looking forward to trying it.
Hi Katherine, that sounds delicious and you can certainly try it. I’m unsure if it will “crust” though; it may just seep down to the bottom. Let us know how it goes.
This was divine! I added a small amount of pure vanilla extract to the rum sauce just because I wanted a hint of vanilla in there and it really good! I served the bread pudding with whipped cream & every plate came back to kitchen cleaned. It was not boozy. The rum just takes this to another level. Would absolutely recommend! Thanks Sally & team for another amazing recipe
I’m wanting to make the french bread from scratch for this bread pudding. Do you have any recommendations for which french bread or bread recipe to use? Or would you recommend not using a homemade bread a day old stale?
Hi Rachel! Our artisan bread recipe should work well here (it’s similar to a French bread), or brioche or croissant bread would be fantastic, too.
Hi Sally,
Have baked bread pudding in a canning jar? I’m thinking of doing this to to out-of-state family.
Hi Alan, we haven’t tested anything like that, but let us know if you do.
This turned out beautifully and super delicious! Be sure to let the bread soak; that really is an important step. This pudding will “convert” even the most stubborn bread pudding avoiders, lol.
I made this for our work Thanksgiving potluck today. It was superb! The only modification I made was a bit more salt in the butter rum sauce. I felt that saltier sauce balanced the sweet of the bread pudding nicely. It was the first dessert to go. Thanks for another winner.
I made this with day old Panettone. It was delicious.
I’m looking forward to trying this … I know my husband will love it! I would like to try part raisins and part chopped walnuts or chopped pecans for my add ins. Has anyone tried add in nuts?
Hi Pat, nuts would be fantastic! You could do 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/2 cup of nuts.
Yes! I used toasted pecans along with golden raisisns (no choc chips) and it was incredible.
How many cups of bread cubes do you think this is?
Hi Marla, usually around 10 to 12 cups of bread cubes.
Hi Sally,
I can’t wait to make this! How can this be using a crockpot?
Hi Penny! I’m sure you can make this in a slow cooker, but I have not tested it. If you try it, I would grease the insert, add the soaked bread mixture, and cook on LOW for about 2.5–3.5 hours, or until the center is set. The texture will be softer than the baked version, but still delicious. Serve warm with the butter rum sauce.
This was easy and a banger. Used chocolate chips in mine and will be adding pecans or walnuts next time. Pro tip. Add a cinnamon stick to some rum and let it infuse. Use that rum for recipe*chefs kiss*