Bread pudding is an amazing thing. It combines croissants with custard for a creamy light luxurious texture that is beyond delicious. The best bread pudding that I've ever tasted (yep, it happens to be this recipe) uses croissants instead of brioche or other types of bread. Croissants are the secret to the lighter texture. If you prefer denser bread pudding, you can use brioche.
This is easily one of the more decadent desserts you will ever eat. I can't tell you how many times I've brought it to a party and people rave about how it is the best bread pudding they have ever had. If you love creme brulee and french toast, you are going to love bread pudding even more.
You can even make bread pudding in the smoker! Yes, it's delicious too!
Croissants are already sort of a food group of their own, right? You can literally plan an entire vacation around croissants and never get tired of trying different versions. Sure, they aren't necessarily "healthy," but they are so light how could they really be that bad?
Adding bourbon-soaked raisins gives the bread pudding some nice bright acidity which adds a lot to balance everything out.
This croissant bread pudding has converted non-bread pudding eaters.
The texture of bread pudding is the most important part. When dense bread is used, the texture is often the same from top to bottom. It can be dense and not crunchy on top. That's not the case when you use croissants. The top of the bread pudding is crunchy and the inside is light and custardy.
For dessert, breakfast or both? When I make it, it's one of my favorite breakfasts. Combines croissants with French toast.
Ingredients for Croissant Bread Pudding
The ingredients are pretty basic and you just might have everything you need during the holidays: Croissants, eggs, heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, vanilla extract, raisins, and bourbon (or dark rum) for soaking the raisins, which is optional.
The bourbon butter sauce is made of bourbon, brown sugar, butter, heavy cream and cinnamon.
Tip: Sourcing the Croissants
As wonderful as fancy croissants from the French bakery are; It's all about the Costco croissants when making this bread pudding. They are super cheap ($5.99 a dozen) and you only need about 6 of them for this recipe.
How to Make Croissant Bread Pudding
The concept of making bread pudding is quite simple. Add a custard base to bread and bake it until it's cooked through and golden on top. Here's how we go step-by-step to completion.
Step 1: Dry the Croissants
Start off with 1 pound of croissants. Cube them and dry them out in a low temp oven.
It's key to dry out the croissants. And no, "stale" croissants are not the same as drying them in a low oven. When they are dried out, they will be much more like a sponge to soak up the luxurious custard.
Step 2: Make the Custard
Make the custard in a large bowl with the eggs, cream, milk, sugar and vanilla extract. Add the custard to the croissants and let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours to fully soak up the custard.
Step 3: Bake it
Bake the bread pudding at 350° F for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it is cooked through and until the top is puffed up and golden.
Step 4: Serve it
Let cool slightly before slicing and serving with the bourbon butter sauce.
Bread pudding is best served warm, but it can also be eaten cold. It's also a delicious treat to be enjoyed in the morning for breakfast with a cup of coffee.
The Sauce
As good as it is on its own, adding a sauce kicks it up a few notches. For this bread pudding, we're pairing a delicious buttery bourbon sauce to drizzle over the top. It's made with dark brown sugar, butter, cream, bourbon and cinnamon to add some nice spice. The sauce can be made ahead and gently reheated when you are ready to serve it.
Other sauces that pair wonderfully are a spiced rum sauce, vanilla butter sauce, crème anglaise or fruit purees. You can even top it with ice cream.
A Few Notes:
- This recipe makes quite a few portions (about 12), which is perfect for parties or sharing with friends and neighbors. They will love you for it. You can easily halve the recipe and it will turn out great.
- If you don't have croissants, you can use the same recipe with brioche bread. It will still be wonderful, but the texture will be denser.
FAQs
One of the great things about bread pudding is how easily it re-heats. Simply microwave individual portions on high for 30 to 45 seconds, or until it is warmed through. It's best not to heat it up too much, so start with less time until you find the sweet spot.
Absolutely. After the bread pudding is baked and fully cooled, it can be frozen. I recommend cutting it into individual portions, wrapping them in parchment paper or plastic wrap, then freezing in Ziplock bags. Wrapping individual portions in parchment paper will make it easy to remove the wrapper while keeping it fresh.
Yes, absolutely. If you want to make this into chocolate croissant bread pudding, you can totally add chocolate chips or chunks on top before baking. I would not recommend using chocolate croissants because we dry out the croissants in the oven and the chocolate would melt before it is desired.
More Delicious Dessert Recipes
Croissant Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 lb croissants (about 6 croissants)
- 8 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 ½ cups whole milk
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins
- bourbon for soaking the raisins
Bourbon Sauce
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
To make the bread pudding
- Slice the croissants with a sharp serrated knife into 1” cubes. Place the croissant cubes onto a parchment-lined sheet pan and into a 225 degrees Fahrenheit oven until dried out, about 30-45 minutes. Cool slightly.
- While the croissants are in the oven, soak the raisins with bourbon covered in a small bowl.
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then whisk in the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla extract until dissolved.
- Butter or spray a 13x9” baking dish, then place the cubed/dried croissants in the dish.
- Drain the raisins and place in the custard mixture, reserving the bourbon for the sauce.
- Pour the custard into the croissants, mixing and pushing down with your hands to fully submerge all of the bread. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bread pudding uncovered for about 40 to 50 minutes until the top is puffed up and golden.
- Let cool slightly and server warm with the bourbon butter sauce.
To make the bourbon sauce
- Combine butter and brown sugar in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Stir until melted and smooth.
- Add bourbon and cook for 30 seconds before adding the cream and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- keep warm or re-warm before serving.
Video
Notes
- The recipe can be scaled down and still comes out great.
- Raisins on top can burn, so try to push them down.
- Re-heat individual bread pudding portions in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds.
- Rum can be substituted for bourbon in the sauce.
- Brioche bread or challah can be used instead of croissants.
Patty E says
I just finished eating a piece of your amazing Croissant Bread Pudding with the Bourbon Sauce, it was really delicious, but I think that it was too sweet. I definitely will make the recipe again, but I believe that I will reduce the sugar to 1 1/4 cups of sugar. I did add a tablespoon of bourbon to the custard and I added 1 tbsp of turbinado sugar to the top for the last 10 minutes of baking, the turbinado added a nice crunch. Great recipe! I will let you know when I make it again with the reduced amount of sugar and let you know how it turned out.
justin says
Hi Patty. I am so glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for the feedback! I will have to try it out sometime with adding some Turbinado Sugar to the top. Definitely let me know how you like it with less sugar. Thanks!
Renee Barbosa says
My kids always ask for this dessert for their birthday. We love it!
Ann says
This is the best croissant pudding I've ever tasted/made!
Can I use two smaller pans instead of 9x13 pan with the same quantity of ingredients? If so, can I keep the bake time the same?
justin says
So glad to hear that, Ann!!
Yes, you can make it in two separate pans. The bake time might be reduced slightly. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Sue says
I made this for New Year's party and I would give it a rating "Excellent"
On a scale of 1-10. It's a 10+. I use orange zest instead of raisins. Try it with the sauce....yummy.
RJ says
This is an amazing recipe as I've made it numerous times now. I've now mastered my own personal recipe and substituted the raisins for white & dark chocolate chips. I added 5 tablespoons of bourbon and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the actual BP mixture. Then I make more sauce that the recipe calls and double the bourbon amount. I found that using Kerry Gold butter and Jim Beam bourbon works the best. Jim Beam has that distinctive sweet bourbon taste, while being within budget as well. I'll be adding espresso to the mixture next time, as I love coffee.
Cheers
justin says
So glad to hear it, RJ. Oh my gosh. White and dark chocolate chips in there sound amazing. My kiddo would love that. I will definitely have to try it sometime, but not the coffee version for him. haha.
Enjoy that bread pudding. 🙂
Jules says
Love this recipe! Lately having a hard time tolerating dairy... any workarounds for that??
justin says
Thanks, Jules. I haven't personally tried it, but in theory almond milk or full-fat coconut milk. Or you could use non-dairy half and half for all of the liquid.
Olivia Hernandez says
You could use Lactaid whole milk, I’ve used this and it tastes great.
justin says
That's a great tip, Olivia! Thanks so much for contributing it.
Tiffany says
If the croissants are already stale do you need to bake them first?
justin says
Hey Tiffany. Sorry for the slow reply. Yes, you would still bake them if stale but might not need to for as long. The baking will help to remove moisture so they can absorb more of the custard.
Lu says
can i substitute kahlua instead of boutbon?
justin says
You could try it but the sauce would be completely different. Let me know if you do try it and how it turns out. Cheers!
RJ says
Don't do yourself such a disservice, stick with the bourbon. You'll burn off the alcohol with this recipe and you'll keep that trademark bourbon taste.
Chris says
Hi. Can I prep this the night before and bake it the next morning? It says to only refrigerate the mixture for 2 hours before baking. Would it be too soggy if I refrigerate it overnight?
justin says
Hi Chris,
Yep. You can refrigerate overnight instead of just two hours and it should still come out wonderful.
Deborah says
AMAZING!! Ive made it dozens of times now! I follow the recipe to a T and it is a showstopper every time. Thank you for an awesome recipe
Melissa Jean says
hi. I am looking to make this recipe but i think the 8 eggs is bothering me. Is ok if I use less eggs. May 4 to 6?
justin says
Hi Melissa,
Sure, you can cut down on the eggs and increase the cream/milk a bit. It is going to be less custardy and might not hold together quite as well. If you do try it out with less eggs, let me know how it turns out. Thanks for stopping by!
Ken Rath says
Amazing Recipe!! Everyone loves this Bread Pudding
justin says
Awesome, Ken! That's so great to hear. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes and it's just about the season to start making it again. Maybe a chocolate variation would be good too?
Mari says
Making this recipe now....hope it's good!
Jim says
I've never like bread pudding, but it turns out, I'd just never had GOOD bread pudding. This recipe was delicious!
justin says
Glad to hear you are a convert. I knew you could do it. Haha
Kerri says
I am a bread pudding connoisseur and this was honestly one of the best I’ve ever had. Using croissants is genius, and the bourbon sauce kicked it up another level. I ate way more of this than I’d like to admit :).
justin says
So glad to hear that you loved it, Kerri! I always have way too much of it too. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.