Old-Fashioned Sliced Bread Pudding

Simple bread pudding with raisins and caramel sauce

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

  • Total: 70 mins
  • Prep: 15 mins
  • Cook: 55 mins
  • Yield: 6 portions (6 servings)
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
195 Calories
6g Fat
30g Carbs
7g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 portions (6 servings)
Amount per serving
Calories 195
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 7%
Saturated Fat 2g 12%
Cholesterol 112mg 37%
Sodium 103mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 11%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Protein 7g
Calcium 126mg 10%

If you're looking for a recipe for classic old-fashioned bread pudding with or without raisins, this is an excellent choice. Serve this pudding with a homemade or purchased dessert sauce or syrup. Whiskey sauce (or bourbon) is delicious drizzled over the pudding. Maple syrup—or cane syrup—is a good choice if you don't have a dessert sauce.

Chopped pecans or walnuts are some other possible additions to this pudding, or add dried cranberries or blueberries instead of raisins. The custard mixture isn't overly sweet, but the dessert sauce or syrup sweetens it for serving. Feel free to add an extra tablespoon or two of sugar to the custard mixture.

For a richer pudding, us a buttery brioche or challah bread. Part or all half-and-half can replace the whole milk. 


  • 4 slices white bread
  • 2 teaspoons butter (softened)
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 3 large eggs (beaten)
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Dash nutmeg
  • Optional: 1/2 cup raisins

Steps to Make It

  1. Heat the oven to 300 F/150 C/Gas 2.

  2. Lightly butter a shallow 2-quart baking dish.

  3. Trim the crusts from the bread; butter them lightly with about 2 teaspoons of softened butter and arrange them in the baking dish. If the slices are smaller than a standard loaf size, trim extra slices so they will make a full layer in the bottom of the baking dish. Set aside.

  4. Heat the milk in a saucepan over low heat until hot, but not boiling.

  5. In a bowl, combine eggs, sugar, and salt; stir well.

  6. While whisking briskly, gradually stir about one-quarter of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Add the remaining hot milk, stirring constantly.

  7. Whisk the cinnamon and vanilla extract into the egg and milk mixture.

  8. Sprinkle the raisins over bread, if you are using them.

  9. Pour the milk mixture over bread.

  10. Sprinkle ground nutmeg lightly over the pudding mixture.

  11. Bake the bread pudding uncovered in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

  12. To brown the top slightly, turn the broiler on and continue to cook for a minute or two, or just until the top has browned.

  13. Serve warm with vanilla sauce, a caramel sauce, or purchased dessert sauce, as desired.


  • Check the "best by" date on your ground spices from time to time. Though they won't necessarily be bad or harmful if they're past that date, the flavor and aroma could be diminished. 
  • When you whisk a small amount of a hot mixture into eggs, it is called "tempering." You are bringing the temperature of the eggs up gradually to avoid cooking them. If you added the eggs to the hot milk all at once, you could end up with scrambled eggs instead of a smooth custard.