Easy Sourdough Bread Pudding Recipe

Sourdough bread pudding is a baked dish consisting of stale sourdough bread chunks soaked in a creamy custard base and baked until soft and tender. The tangy taste of sourdough adds a tastefully sour balance to this sweet carb-filled casserole. Serve sourdough bread pudding as a breakfast or brunch food, or pair it with homemade vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

This unfussy treat will be a breeze for home cooks of all levels to make. Follow these tips to make the best sourdough bread pudding possible.

1. 1. Adjust the dairy. Many bread pudding recipes call for both milk and cream, but feel free to adjust the dairy to suit your preferences. For a more decadent dish, swap a portion of the milk for heavy cream or half-and-half. For a lighter dish, omit the cream altogether. Use a nondairy alternative like oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, or coconut cream for a dairy-free dessert.
2. 2. Use stale bread. As with French toast, stuffing, and croutons, home cooks should use stale or day-old bread to make bread pudding, which will hold its structure during the cooking process better than fresh bread. If you only have fresh sourdough bread on hand, quickly dry it out in the oven by arranging your bread cubes on a cookie sheet and baking them on low heat for 10 minutes until they’re slightly crisp.
3. 3. Experiment with additions. Alter the flavor and texture of your sourdough bread pudding by incorporating dried fruit (like dried cranberries, figs, or apricots), chopped nuts (like pecans or walnuts), or chocolate chips into the mixture. Fold in fresh fruit—like blueberries, raspberries, and sliced peaches—or add fresh orange or lemon zest for some fruity notes. For a boozy kick, soak the dried fruit in brandy or bourbon before adding it to the pudding.
4. 4. Serve with a sauce. For a show-stopping dessert, serve your sourdough bread pudding with a drizzle of butterscotch, rum sauce, maple syrup, chocolate sauce, crème anglaise, or a layer of cream cheese frosting.