Blueberry Bread Pudding

Homemade blueberry bread pudding recipe with cream cheese is easy and a sweet treat to make for breakfast or brunch during the holidays. Moist and delicious bites. If you loved our cake mix blueberry cobbler, this is another great treat.

Easy fresh blueberry recipe using fresh fruit and day old bread is here! Moist quick dessert recipe you’ll love after a busy week. After this we have a few other bread pudding recipes you can try using canned fruit pie filling too!

Use fresh fruit! I made a strawberry bread pudding recipe using canned fruit with a thick sweet sauce. Ok so yes that was amazing but I thought after making our fresh banana bread pudding with fresh fruit we needed to try another. Since we have a fruit farm nearby that we visit that came to mind and wanted to see how it would turn out.

What is the best bread to make homemade bread pudding?

With all of these I like using a loaf of day “old” French bread. It has a more dense outside so it doesn’t get as mushy when you add the eggs etc… The only packaged loaf of bread I say works better than others is Artesano by Sara Lee. It is thicker (which is necessary) but I still will leave the end open overnight to get it a bit stiffer.

Ingredient Notes

You will either want a loaf of French bread, day old ideally, or a loaf of bread that is thick, sliced works like the Sara Lee Artesano style. You could use sourdough bread cubes if you liked that taste

Large Eggs should be ideally added at room temperature and whisked until fluffy. This will make it a thick moist dessert.

1. White sugar is added for sweetness, you could use a sugar-free alternative
2. Milk (whole or 2%) or dairy free alternative works
3. Softened cream cheese will make it a creamy version
4. Vanilla extract I like, or almond works too
5. Confectioners sugar aka powdered sugar for the top
6. 9×9 pan or try our slow cooker bread pudding

Bread Pudding Fresh Blueberries

I mean you really could use any sort of berries like this. You would want to choose those that are firmer in nature so they hold up and don’t disintegrate entirely. Blackberries and huckleberries would be other great options with the same step by step instructions below.

Can you use frozen blueberries?

When it comes to using fresh or frozen fruit I don’t like using frozen. It has a really weird texture to me when defrosted. I just wait until they are in season to make our blueberry muffin in a mug and this. If that is all you have then sit in a bowl on the counter for 1.5 hours and then drain the liquid before measuring out.

Bread Pudding with Blueberry Pie Filling

You could skip the fruit inside entirely and just bake without it. Then on the top pour over a can of pie filling like we used in our cake mix blueberry muffins!

Can you make this dairy free?

If you cannot have milk products you can use almond or soy milk instead of “regular”. Still total comfort food x100 if you have a sweet tooth but need to make it lactose free. I have found dairy free cream cheese as well so it is easy to transition.

Frosting

I’m on the lazy side when it comes to that which means I just melt a tub of ready made, whisk up some powdered sugar with a bit of milk to create a glaze. You can make cream cheese frosting if you have time.This does have a cream base to it, if you need it omitted I will share another option below too.

Made With Creme Anglaise

I will say that I have served this up several ways, I like it with some creme glaze or whipped cream on top. Gives it a bit of extra sweetness and an Old Fashioned type of feeling.

Tips

You could use other smaller firmer choices like blackberries or make as a huckleberry recipe even. The base remains the same, you’d just swap out your fruit of choice. It can be served as is, warm, or a drizzle of frosting or glaze is a nice touch too.

This is enough to feed about 4-5 people in the morning. If you wanted more than that to fill a 9×13 pan you’d need to double this. Half a loaf of bread is used so it’s likely you won’t have leftovers. I kinda’ like that since this when reheated does get a lot softer and the texture isn’t for me. I just want it fresh out of the oven.

You’ll whip up everything and pour it on top of the bread and fruit in your pan. I always recommend you spray the inside of your casserole dish so it slides out into pretty squares when done.

Another trick to get it to serve up pretty is to allow it to sit and rest for 10 minutes or so when you remove it from the oven. It will give this a chance to solidify up a bit and slide out nicely with a spatula. You can print recipe at the bottom of the post but here is a quick rundown first:b

How Long to Bake Homemade Bread Pudding

Once your dish of deliciousness is prepped you are going to want to bake 45-50 minutes or until center has stiffened and edges are browned. You do not want to cook this too long as it should remain very moist and will continue to solidify when it cools in the dish too.

How do you know when bread pudding is done?

You should use your eyes near the end. The edges should start pulling away from the pan itself and the top should turn golden brown. When this occurs use a toothpick in the center. You want it to come out with moist crumbs attached, not dry (that means it baked too long and it will be on the dry side).

Ok now you have my mouth watering y’all. Use flavors you love and change up the base throughout the year depending on what is in season. Looking for other versions we have made that are delicious? Use pie filling to make our apple bread pudding sometime too.

How to save leftovers

Like I said, I don’t think this saves all that well. I’m big on texture and in the fridge this does get kinda’ extra mushy. If you don’t mind that then by all means warm it up in the microwave and add a bit of cream on top and enjoy again the next day. Tastes the same, just looks different.