Croissant Bread Pudding

This scrumptious croissant bread pudding with creamy vanilla sauce is easy to prepare, making it the ultimate comfort dessert or breakfast. It is always a hit with friends and family. Leftovers heat up like a dream and are perfect for school days and busy mornings.

Make it an over-the-top dessert with fresh berries and hot coffee. For breakfast or brunch, I love to serve it with fruit salad and strawberry mimosas.

What You’ll Need

• Croissants: large ones; Costco sells great ones
• Eggs: large ones
• Milk: preferably whole
• Sugars: granulated and light brown sugar
• Butter: unsalted or salted
• Spices: ground cinnamon and nutmeg
• Vanilla extract: the pure stuff
• Raisins: optional
• Whipping cream: for the vanilla sauce

How to make Croissant Bread Pudding

This is the summary version; see the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and the instructions.

First, cut the croissants into bite-size cubes and layer them in a casserole dish sprayed with nonstick baking spray. Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Then, pour the mixture over the bread, gently pressing the bread down into the mixture. If desired, sprinkle the top with raisins.

Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes so the bread can soak up the custard. Bake in a preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until the top is browned and the pudding is set. Let the pudding sit for about 15 minutes before cutting.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and cream. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. It will bubble a lot, so it needs constant stirring.

Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool for 10-15 minutes before stirring in the vanilla. Drizzle the warm vanilla sauce over the warm bread pudding.

Preparation Tips

• Substitute challah or brioche bread for the croissants.
• Bake until the center of the pudding reaches 160 degrees. The top will be browned, and the pudding will puff up a little bit. Another way to tell is to gently press down on the top and see if any liquid custard comes to the surface. If so, cook longer, checking about every five minutes.
• Cook the vanilla sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly. It will bubble and look like it does when you are making candy. Keep stirring and cooking until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. See here for more tips and a visual.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool for 10-15 minutes before stirring in the vanilla. It may still bubble up, so be prepared to stir vigorously.
• I find it best to add the vanilla sauce to each slice as I serve it. That way, the pudding does not get soggy, and the leftovers taste like the day I made them.
• The vanilla sauce reheats very well on the stovetop or in the microwave at a reduced power.

Storage and Reheat

You can store the bread pudding covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, or see the instructions for freezing below.

To reheat the pudding, cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and reheat in a 350-degree preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.  You can also reheat it in the microwave by the slice for 1-2 minutes at 50% power.

How to freeze bread pudding

You can freeze bread pudding as long as the sauce has not been poured on it. First, let it completely cool. If freezing the whole thing later, freeze it in the dish you prepared it in, provided it is freezer-safe. Cover it with multiple layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and remove the casserole from the refrigerator about 40 minutes before baking to let it come to room temperature.  Remove the plastic wrap and cover with aluminum foil. Reheat the covered casserole in a 350-degree preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.

If freezing individual slices, place them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and heat in an aluminum foil tent in a 350-degree oven until warm, or heat it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes at 50% power.

The vanilla sauce freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop or microwave at reduced power.

More Sweets

Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Peanut Butter Cake

Dutch Apple Pie

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Potato Chip Cookies

Oreo Truffles

Croissant Bread Pudding

An easy luscious Croissant Bread Pudding with a five ingredients stove top creamy vanilla sauce.  This delicious treat makes a great dessert or a welcome breakfast or brunch casserole.  Bake one up this weekend and indulge.

5 from 32 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 547kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

Croissant Bread Pudding

• 6 large day old croissants about 8 cups
• 4 large eggs
• 2 ½ cups whole milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup butter melted and slightly cooled
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup raisins optional

Vanilla Sauce

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9×9 inch (or equivalent size) with nonstick baking spray.
• Cut the croissants into bite size cubes.  Layer them in the prepared casserole dish.  Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.  Pour it over the bread gently pressing the bread down into the mixture. If desired sprinkle the top with raisins.
• Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes so the bread can soak up the custard. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is browned and the pudding is set.  Let the pudding sit for 15 minutes before cutting.
• Meanwhile in a small saucepan combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and cream.  Heat over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. It will bubble a lot so it needs constant stirring.  Remove from the heat and it let it cool for 10 minutes before stirring in the vanilla.  Be careful it may still bubble up.
• Drizzle the hot sauce over the warm bread pudding.

Notes

• You can substitute challah or brioche bread for the croissants.
• Bake until the center of the pudding reaches 160 degrees. The top will be browned and the pudding will puff up a little bit. Another way to tell is to gently press down on the top and see if any custard comes to the surface.  If so then cook longer checking about every five minutes.
• Cook the vanilla sauce over medium high heat stirring constantly.  It will bubble and almost look like it does when you are making candy.  Keep stirring and cooking until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. See here for more tips and a visual.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and let cool 10-15 minutes before stirring in the vanilla.  It may still bubble up so be prepared to stir vigorously.
• I find it best to add the vanilla sauce to each slice as I serve it.  That way the pudding does not get soggy and leftovers taste just like the day I made them.
• The vanilla sauce reheats very well on the stove top or in the microwave at a reduced power.
• To reheat cover the casserole with aluminum foil and reheat in a 350 degree preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.  You can also reheat in the microwave by the slice for 1-2 minutes at 50% power.

Nutrition

Calories: 547kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 146mg | Sodium: 298mg | Potassium: 250mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 1050IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 1mg

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