Spiced Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Cranberry Maple Syrup will fill your home with cozy aromas of pumpkin, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cranberry maple syrup. Almond milk makes this a dairy-free dessert, breakfast, or brunch dish everyone will love digging into.
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You’re going to love this
Maple cranberry syrup. A drizzle of warm maple syrup with fresh cranberries gives it a baked French toast casserole vibe that will taste delicious for breakfast, dessert, or any time of day.
Cozy bread pudding. Nothing quite warms the belly like a warm bowl of creamy bread pudding drizzled with cranberry maple syrup.
Fall dessert. When you’re craving a fall dessert with pumpkin, pecans, cinnamon, cranberries, and maple syrup, this spiced pumpkin bread pudding is sure to mark off all the flavors on your fall bingo card.
Easy to make. This is an easy pumpkin bread pudding recipe you can make in just minutes. Just stir together the pumpkin spice custard, pour it over your cubed bread, let it soak for about an hour, and bake.
Make ahead bread pudding. If you want to wake up to the smell of pumpkin pie spice, you can make this the night before and let the bread cubes soak in the custard overnight.
Dairy-free bread pudding with almond milk. I use almond milk in this pumpkin bread pudding recipe to make it dairy-free. If you’re new to dairy-free baking, also check the label on your bread, since milk or milk powder is a common ingredient.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Bread. I used marble rye because I thought the flavors would go well with the fall spices — and I had a loaf in my freezer that needed to be used. But I’ve also made this with brioche bread, plain white bread, gingerbread, or even fritter bread. It is recommended to use stale or day-old bread for bread pudding because dry bread will soak up more custard. I’m not convinced that it makes all that much difference, but if you think your bread is too soft to soak up the custard, you can just set it out on the counter for a few hours or toast your bread cubes in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
Dried cranberries. I used dried cranberries in the bread pudding because I was looking to add a little more texture to the otherwise very creamy consistency. But if you’d rather use fresh cranberries, by all means, you certainly can!
Pecans. Nuts add a nice crunch and I love how well pecans, specifically, go with the fall spices in this pumpkin bread pudding. But, of course, you can use walnuts, almonds, or whatever nuts you like.
Almond milk. I used almond milk in this recipe, but you can substitute any kind of milk, cream, half and half, evaporated milk, or a combination of any of these types of milk.
Canned pumpkin puree. Check to make sure you use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. The difference between pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling is that pumpkin puree contains just pumpkin, while pumpkin pie filling contains pumpkin, sweeteners, and pumpkin pie spices.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. These classic warm spices will give your pumpkin bread pudding a ton of fall flavor. You can substitute pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice, or add even more cozy spices like ginger, cardamom, allspice, coriander — or even a dash of black pepper or cayenne pepper!
Brown sugar. If you are out of brown sugar, no need to run to the store to make this spiced pumpkin bread pudding. You can easily make your own with white sugar and molasses or maple syrup. For each cup of light brown sugar, use one cup of white sugar plus one tablespoon of molasses or maple syrup.
Maple syrup. To get true maple flavor in the maple-cranberry syrup, use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Pure maple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees that has been boiled down. Pancake syrup is made from corn syrup and artificial maple flavoring.
Fresh cranberries. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries in the maple-cranberry syrup. If you’re using frozen, no need to thaw them, just throw them in like you would fresh cranberries. If you can’t find fresh or frozen cranberries, you can plump up dried cranberries in boiling water for 10-15 minutes, drain them, then add them to the maple syrup before warming it up.
How to make Spiced Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Cranberry Maple Syrup
Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
Combine the bread cubes, dried cranberries, and ⅓ cup pecans in the baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk the almond milk, pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together until well combined.
Pour the pumpkin spice mixture over the cubed bread. Press down to immerse the bread into the custard. Let the bread soak for at least an hour or up to overnight.
If making this ahead of time, press a layer of plastic wrap over the surface of the bread pudding. This will help keep the bread cubes fully immersed in the custard. Refrigerate until ready to bake. Place the cold baking dish in the oven while it preheats.
Before baking, sprinkle 3 tablespoons pecans over the bread pudding.
Bake for approximately one hour or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean or the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.
In a microwave safe dish, combine the maple syrup and the cranberries. Heat on high for 2-3 minutes or until the syrup comes to a boil and the cranberries pop. Keep an eye on it towards the end so the syrup doesn’t boil over.
Serve spiced pumpkin bread pudding with warm maple cranberry syrup drizzled over the top. For extra decadence, add a sprinkle of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Spiced Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Cranberry Maple Syrup
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed bread (about 6 slices)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons chopped pecans
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
- Combine the bread cubes, dried cranberries, and ⅓ cup pecans in the baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk the almond milk, pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together until well combined.
- Pour the pumpkin spice mixture over the cubed bread. Press down to immerse the bread into the custard. Let the bread soak for at least an hour or up to overnight.
- If making this ahead of time, press a layer of plastic wrap over the surface of the bread pudding. This will help keep the bread cubes fully immersed in the custard. Refrigerate until ready to bake. Place the cold baking dish in the oven while it preheats.
- Before baking, sprinkle 3 tablespoons pecans over the bread pudding.
- Bake for approximately one hour or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean or the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.
- In a microwave safe dish, combine the maple syrup and the cranberries. Heat on high for 2-3 minutes or until the syrup comes to a boil and the cranberries pop. Keep an eye on it towards the end so the syrup doesn’t boil over.
- Serve spiced pumpkin bread pudding with warm maple cranberry syrup drizzled over the top. For extra decadence, add a dollop of whipped cream or even a scoop of ice cream!
- Store bread pudding covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
The idea behind using stale bread or day-old bread for bread pudding is that the slightly dry bread will do a better job of soaking up the custard than bread that has more moisture in it.
Yes. To freeze bread pudding, bake it first, let it cool completely, then place it in an airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Store bread pudding covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Yes, in fact, I think bread pudding is better when it’s made ahead of time. Prepare the bread pudding all the way through pouring the custard over the bread cubes, then place a layer of plastic wrap over the surface of the bread pudding and refrigerate it overnight. To bake, place the cold baking dish in the oven while it preheats, then bake as per the instructions.
One easy test you can use to tell if your bread pudding is done is by inserting a knife in the center. If it comes out clean, your bread pudding is done. I also like to use a thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 170, I know it’s done.
Cover bread pudding in foil and reheat it in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
MY KITCHEN ESSENTIALS
Pyrex 2-cup Measuring Cup
The cranberry maple syrup pretty much makes itself in this measuring cup. Just measure the syrup, add the cranberries, then nuke until the cranberries pop.
Vintage Pyrex Bowl
This is THE bowl I use for everything. It was handed down to me from my mom -- she got it in 1967. It's the right size for everything and it has handy pour spouts on each side. Don't put it in the microwave though, or those roosters will start to spark (not that I know from experience...)
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