This blueberry bread pudding is sure to impress everyone because it has fresh blueberries, tangy sourdough bread, and a rich custard. It has the ideal balance of sweetness and richness, as well as the ideal proportion of soft, custardy bread within to crispy, brown, buttery bread exterior. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 9×13-inch pudding |
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 medium lemon, zested
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 (1 pound) loaf stale sourdough French or Italian bread, cut into 3/8-inch slices
- 4 tablespoons melted butter, divided
- 1 pound fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Vigorously whisk eggs, egg yolks, salt, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl until mixture turns light and frothy, about 1 minute. Add vanilla, cinnamon, lemon zest, milk, and cream; whisk to combine. Toss in bread slices and press down until they start to soften and are submerged. Let sit, pressing down occasionally with a spatula, until custard has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Brush 2 tablespoons melted butter in the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Grab a few intact bread slices from the top of the bowl if possible and set aside. Transfer 1/2 of the remaining soaked bread into the prepared baking dish. Don’t worry if it’s falling apart, it should be; if not, break it up into pieces. Add blueberries and spread with your fingers to press them down into the bread. Add remaining bread pieces in an even layer, then top with the reserved slices. Pour any remaining custard batter over top and brush with remaining melted butter.
- Transfer bread pudding onto a baking sheet and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 1 hour. Let sit for at least 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
- This will work with any French or Italian bread, but I recommend using a sourdough because the tang works so well with the sweetness of the fruit.
- The bread must be stale and very dry as it won’t absorb all the custard if it has any moisture in it. If your bread isn’t stale, place the slices on a baking sheet in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven. Immediately turn off the heat and leave bread in for 3 to 4 hours, flipping halfway through.
- You can use 6 whole eggs in place of 4 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks, but the texture is nicer without the substitution.
- You can do this in individual-sized ramekins.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 476 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 56 g |
| Cholesterol | 201 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 11 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 390 mg |
| Sugars | 32 g |
| Fat | 25 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I liked the recipe, but my bread was not stale enough , so at the end I added 4 slices of raisin bread. I also added a 1/4 cup of condensed milk. However, I always use coconut milk with only 2 beaten eggs because of the blueberries.
This has way too much milk. Pudding did not set AT ALL. Way too soupy. I would say to AT LEAST cut the milk by a cup. Maybe even two. Very disappointing.
Did exactly as the recipe, I was delighted! Shared with many friends and they all loved it. I am about to make it again!
My husband loved this and said it was “The Best “for sure! I do love this recipe. You end up searching for that perfect blueberry bite. I added fresh cherries and deleted the lemon zest.
I crumbled the bread, added half the blueberries, another crumbled layer of bread, topped w rest of blueberries. I used melted butter on top w brush. So yummy and crunchy.
This recipe is fantastic. Like a summery version of a wintery dessert. Wonderful either warm or cold. Not terribly photogenic, but tasty! I have to add that the search engine on this site is really bad. It isn’t a good recommendation when you have to go out of the site and use Google to find what you’re looking for.
Love this recipe. The custard is spot on, yummy. & savory with the lemon zest, cinnamon. I followed the recipe to the letter, and what I found was that the 1 lb of stale bread was not really enough bread to cover the bottom of the pan. I used “Inked Organics Bread Co,” Rosie’s SF Bay Sourdough Bread (I love its’ strong sour qualities). It’s from Costco. 10 slices gave me a little more than 1 lb, but I had to add 4 more slices to do the job. Fortunately, there was plenty of the yummy custard to thoroughly saturate the last 4 slices! Also, using this bread did not take 3-4 hours to dry, it took only about 45-60 minutes. I can se using this custard recipe for french toast and who knows what else. Afterall, I AM the Colonel Mustard of Chef John’s Custard!!
This was a lovely recipe. I made as directed, except that I successfully substituted (thawed) frozen blueberries for the fresh blueberries. While the crusty, buttery top was lovely, and more formal looking, I preferred the delicious, custardy goodness that was underneath it. Next time I will chop all the bread and forego the extra steps of the fancy top layer. When all was said and done, we had ZERO leftovers and all thumbs up. I recommend this recipe. Thank you for sharing it.
Followed the recipe precisely, except my Bread was sliced a little thicker. This was my first time ever making bread pudding, so I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out. It’s so perfect that hubby says if it’s any better the 2nd time he won’t be able to stand it. This is definitely a keeper.
I have literally just made this and it is DIVINE. Thank you once again Chef John
Yup, it’s a very good bread pudding. Store was out of heavy cream so bought 32 oz of half/half and added a cup of milk. The brushed butter on top is a nice touch. Custardy, sweet and a bit tart with toasted butter warmth. Recipe is perfect as is.