This Eggnog Bread Pudding is the ultimate holiday dessert. You'll love this rich brioche bread soaked in creamy eggnog custard, baked until golden, and topped with whipped cream or custard sauce. It’s the perfect Christmas treat for eggnog lovers and a great way to use up leftover eggnog. Plus, you can make it ahead of time, making it great for busy holiday entertaining.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's quick and easy to make -one bowl and 10 minutes prep.
- We love this holiday twist to an old classic that makes it extra special.
- It's delicious and creamy, and perfect for any eggnog lover.
- You can make it ahead of time, and keep in the fridge until you're ready to bake it.
This was delicious! Easy to make and everyone loved it. Better than traditional bread pudding. -Judy, Via Pinterest
This Eggnog Bread Pudding is the perfect festive treat. Easy, delicious comfort food, with a Christmas twist that makes it extra special.
I first had a traditional bread pudding ages ago when I was in my early twenties and living in England for school. It is a classic English dessert. It's so warm and comforting and truly easy to make. It was often made to use up stale bread. This eggnog version is lovely for the holiday season.
The rich buttery flavour of the brioche bread makes the pudding extra special. And the best part of this recipe is that using eggnog as one of the main ingredients cuts down on the ingredients and makes this recipe super quick and easy, but also so, so delicious.
You might also like our Pumpkin Bread Pudding, Easy Bailey's French Toast, or Caramel Apple Trifle.
I love this easy eggnog bread pudding. It's easy enough for any day you'd like to add a little holiday cheer to with simple grocery store ingredients, but special enough to be welcome at any party or special get together this Christmas. This is my favorite way to use up any leftover eggnog or bread during the holidays.
Eggnog Bread Pudding Ingredients
Full list of ingredients in the recipe card below.
- Brioche Bread: We used brioche bread for our eggnog bread pudding because it adds a wonderful richness to the dessert. You could also use egg bread.
- Eggnog: In place of regular cream or milk this recipe uses eggnog, which adds wonderful flavor to the dish.
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg: These traditional eggnog spices add warmth and a holiday taste to the meal. We've used fresh grated nutmeg which is full of flavour, but regular ground nutmeg is fine in this dish also.
Substitutions
- Brioche Bread: If you don't have brioche or egg bread for this dish you and substitute a French loaf or even regular white bread or try raisin bread. The brioche adds a richness to the dish, but it's also delicious made with regular bread.
- Gluten Free: If you are on a gluten free diet you can substitute gluten free bread for the bread in this recipe.
Variations
- Raisin Bread or Raisins: I also like to make this dish with raisin bread egg bread. A regular raisin cinnamon bread would be a great choice also. You can also add in ½-1 cup of raisins separately. Be sure to soak the dried raisins in some warm water for a few minutes to plump them up, then drain them before adding to the bread cubes.
- Pecans: If you'd like to add a little crunch to the dish, you can add ½-1 cup pecans with or without the raisins. Just chop and add to the bread cubes.
- Dried Cranberries: To make this festive dish even more festive you can try adding in ½ cup of dry cranberries to the bread cube mixture.
Instructions
Step 1: To make the eggnog bread pudding, first cut your brioche into one inch cubes.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl combine eggnog, eggs, melted butter, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. (Make sure your butter isn't too hot, you don't want to cook the eggs at all.) Stir the egg mixture well.
Step 3: Add the all the bread cubes into the eggnog mixture in the large bowl, and stir to combine. Optional: add some raisins (or use cinnamon raisin bread) or add pecans, or both to the mixture. Let it sit 10 minutes or a couple of hours so the bread can absorb most of the liquid.
Step 4: Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with non-stick spray, and add in the soaked bread mixture to the prepared baking dish. Bake in a 350 F degree preheated oven 40-45 minutes, until set and golden brown on top. Serve hot, warm, or cold sprinkled with a little icing sugar. Serve with whipped cream, custard sauce, or ice cream.
What To Serve It With
- Whipped Cream: I served the Eggnog Bread Pudding with whipped cream as a holiday dessert. To make it mix heavy cream with vanilla extract, and sugar, you could even add a splash of rum to make it more festive. We served the eggnog warm, but not piping hot. You can serve it hot, warm, or cold.
- Ice Cream: It is also really delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream also, or a classic English custard sauce, or even eggnog custard, vanilla sauce, rum sauce, or caramel sauce. You could also dust it with a little powdered sugar before serving.
- Sauces: You could also add a little drizzle of caramel sauce or whiskey sauce with your eggnog bread pudding. And for the chocolate lovers, a drizzle of chocolate sauce over the top is delicious too.
Make Ahead and Storage
You can make this dish ahead of time, which makes it perfect for holiday entertaining. Prepare the dish, but do not bake it, up to a day ahead of time and store the unbaked bread pudding in the refrigerator. Just before your guests arrive, bake the eggnog bread pudding and serve warm.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container or in the casserole dish wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature, or reheat in the microwave.
Top Tip: Use this recipe to use up any leftover eggnog during the holiday season.
If you're a fan of eggnog, this dessert is perfect for Christmas Eve, Christmas, or New Year's Day. And if you need to bring a dish to a holiday party, make it this one. With Eggnog Bread Pudding, life is really a party!
Frequently Asked Questions
Bread pudding is often made with stale bread. It's a great way to use up stale bread. But you can also make it with fresh bread.
Yes, just substitute gluten free bread for the brioche or regular bread in this recipe.
Yes. Prepare the dish, but do not bake it. Store in the refrigerator up to a day ahead, and bake just before serving.
The quickest and easiest way to reheat your eggnog bread pudding, without drying it out, is in the microwave.
More Dessert Recipe Inspiration
If you try this Eggnog Bread Pudding Recipe or any other recipe on my blog please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Recipe
Eggnog Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 loaf brioche bread
- 3 cups eggnog
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Non-stick Baking Spray
- 2 teaspoon Icing Sugar for dusting over the top
- ½ - 1 cup Optional: raisins, pecans, or both
Instructions
- First cut your brioche into one inch cubes.
- In a large mixing bowl combine eggnog, eggs, melted butter, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. (Make sure your butter isn't too hot, you don't want to cook the eggs at all.) Stir the egg mixture well.
- Add the all the bread cubes into the eggnog mixture in the large bowl, and stir to combine. Optional: add some raisins (or use cinnamon raisin bread) or add pecans, or both to the mixture. Let it sit 10 minutes or a couple of hours so the bread can absorb most of the liquid.
- Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with non-stick spray, and add in the soaked bread mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in a 350 F degree preheated oven 40-45 minutes, until set and golden brown on top.
- Serve hot, warm, or cold, sprinkled with a little icing sugar and accompanied by whipped cream, custard sauce, or ice cream.
Dannyelle says
Love this easy and delicious dessert, and it's perfect for any eggnog lovers!
Dannyelle says
Hi Kelly,
Yes make it the night before and cook in the morning. Enjoy!
Kelly says
Hi! Can I soak it overnight to pop in the oven at breakfast?
Dannyelle says
Hi Teri, an average bread loaf is about 10 cups when cubed.
Dannyelle
Dannyelle says
Hi Deb, yes this recipe needs to be refrigerated, lots of milk and eggs in it.
Dannyelle
Deb D says
Does this have to be refrigerated?
Teri says
How many cups of brioche bread in a loaf?
dnr says
Hi Rebecca, yes you can certainly double the recipe and bake in a 9 x 13 pan. I hope you enjoy it, all the best
Dannyelle
Rebecca says
Oops,,,,, I meant to type a 9 x 13 sized baking dish.
Rebecca says
Would I double the recipe (exactly) to make it in a 9x11 pan?
dnr says
Hi Julie, yes I think milk as a substitute for the eggnog should work fine. Enjoy!
Dannyelle
Julie says
Can I substitute milk for eggnog if it's not Christmas?
dnr says
Hi Carly, I have added it to the recipe, it's just a garnish at the end. And yes icing sugar is powdered sugar. I googled it and apparently there are different names for it depending where you live. I'm in Canada and this is a common name for it here. All the best, Dannyelle
Carly Smith says
When do you use the icing sugar? That is powdered sugar, right?