Transform stale French bread into this amazing vegan fruity breakfast pudding

Make this vegan fruity breakfast pudding with crusty, leftover French or Italian bread and watch it disappear. The custard is super simple and comes together in seconds, and on top of the pudding goes a delicious bourbon sauce. A vegan, soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free recipe.

Do you sometimes have half a loaf of crusty old bread that’s been sitting around for a day or more, has hardened into a rock, and you simply don’t know what to do with?

The next time you do, try this fruity breakfast pudding and you’ll be in love.

I love crusty breads like Italian breads and French baguettes but when I bring home a loaf, with only three mouths to feed, we usually don’t work our way through most of it.

There are of course things you can do to revive a hardened loaf of bread, and you could always make breadcrumbs, but how many breadcrumbs can you make?

On the other hand, you can’t make enough of something as delicious as this pudding.

I make this recipe an excuse to use up old fruit as well. Overripe bananas? Peaches that look like they should have been eaten yesterday? Strawberries that are not in their first flush? Bung them in. The more the merrier.

The best thing about this pudding is, it comes together fast. You can make the custard in the blender, takes all of five minutes, and pour it over the bread. Let the bread soak in it for 30 minutes, throw it into the oven, and breakfast is served!

You’ll be back for seconds and thirds.

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More vegan breakfast recipes to try:

Vegan PB&J Bread Pudding

Vegan French Toast

Vegan Orange Rolls

Vegan Apple Pie Pull-Apart Bread

Vegan Banana Nut Muffins

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Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Fruity Bread Pudding with leftover crusty bread

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Standing time30 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Breakfast/Brunch

Cuisine: American, nut-free, Soy-free, Vegan

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Vaishali Honawar

Ingredients

• 5 cups cubed French or Italian bread (If the loaf is too hard to slice, spray it all over lightly with water and place in the microwave for 15 seconds. Check loaf and continue warming for 15-second intervals until soft enough to cut.)
• 3 cups nondairy milk (I used almond, but if you're nut-free or soy-free, choose accordingly)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup turbinado sugar (vegan cane sugar works too)

For bourbon sauce:

• 1 cup nondairy milk
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp bourbon
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar (add more of less based on your preference)

Instructions

Make the pudding:

• Place the bread cubes in a casserole dish.
• In a blender, blitz the nondairy milk, banana, strawberries, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. 
• Pour the custard evenly over the bread cubes and let stand 30 minutes. Press down on the bread cubes a few times with the back of a spoon or ladle to ensure they steep in the custard. If you want to make this the next morning, you can cover with plastic wrap at this time and refrigerate.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the casserole in the middle rack and bake 45 minutes.

Make the bourbon sauce:

• Whisk all ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Add more sugar if you want your sauce sweeter. Turn off heat.
• Serve the pudding drizzled with the bourbon sauce.