Bread and Butter Pudding (Without Eggs)

Made with 10 pantry staple ingredients that are so much more than the sum of their parts, this eggless Bread and Butter pudding recipe is the epitome of comfort food. If you’re on the lookout for a simple dessert using items you probably already have on hand, stop your scrolling!

What is Bread & Butter Pudding

This deliciously cozy dessert is of British origin. Traditionally, the pudding is made with few days old bread, butter, sultanas or raisins, and a vanilla custard base made from milk, cream, and eggs.

While it is similar to regular bread pudding (like my Caramel Bread Pudding), it usually has a bit more custard and almost always includes dried fruits, and this recipe is baked rather than steamed.

Bread Butter Pudding is a delightful dessert unto itself, but there are plenty of ways to dress it up. You can drizzle it with chocolate sauce or caramel sauce, if you prefer.

It is also delicious when topped with ice cream, whipped cream, or even just a drizzle of clotted cream.

About This Recipe

My recipe for bread and butter puddings makes a few changes to the traditional version. First, since I prefer my bakes to be slightly healthier, I opted to use a homemade whole wheat bread in place of the white bread that is usually called for. You could easily substitute a hearty brown bread as well.

This recipe only calls for about ½ a loaf of bread, which is perfect for our household. We often can’t get all the way through a loaf before it goes stale! In this case, we used half to make Bombay Sandwich and the other half went towards dessert.

Secondly, while many bread butter pudding recipes call for the use of eggs, mine is made with an easy eggless custard that has been thickened with cornflour (a.k.a. corn starch). Once you master this custard made without eggs, you can easily adapt any recipe that calls for custard!

Aside from those changes, this delicious bread and butter pudding is a wonderful recipe to keep in your back pocket. It is very inexpensive to make and uses just 10 pantry ingredients that you likely already have on hand.

In addition, it is quite easy to make! You’ll only need to spend about 20 active minutes making bread butter pudding — the rest of the time is dedicated to letting the bread soak up all the custard and then letting it bake to puffy, golden perfection!

How To Make Bread Butter Pudding

1. Spread butter on 8 to 10 bread slices, then cut them into bite-sized pieces. Slice them in cubes, squares, triangles or rectangles per your fancy; I chopped mine into small cubes.

Since I used homemade bread, I opted to not slice the crusts, but you can if you prefer.

2. Add a single layer of bread in a greased baking tray with the buttered side up. Sprinkle the bottom layer with 1 tablespoon of raisins.

Layer again with bread slices and another round of 1 tablespoon of raisins. Set aside.

4. In a broad pan or a sauce pan, mix 3 cups whole milk, 6 tablespoons sugar (or as needed), and 2 tablespoons cornstarch very well with a wired whisk.

5. Bring this mixture to a gentle simmer on a low heat. You just need to gently heat the custard sauce and stir it often for it to do its magic.

6. The sauce will start to thicken. Continue to stir so that no lumps are formed.

7. The consistency should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, like that of a custard sauce.

8. Once the sauce is thickened, add 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 2 pinches of nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg.

9. Stir to combine, then pour this eggless custard over the bread layer. Dot with some softened butter on top and optionally sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar evenly on the top layer.

While the bread soaks in the custard, preheat the oven at 180° C (350° F) for 15 minutes.

10. Bake in the preheated oven at 180° C/356° F for 35 to 40 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pudding comes out clean and the pudding is set firmly. The top should also be a lovely shade of golden-brown.

Note: I had to use two baking pans for the pudding. Feel free to make it in individual ramekins or bowls, adjusting the baking time down as needed depending on the size of your containers.

11. The baked eggless bread butter pudding photo below.

12. Let the pudding cool enough to handle the pan, and then slice and serve the Bread and Butter Pudding while still warm.

Optional Variations

This lovely and simple dessert recipe is quite nice just as written, but there are plenty of opportunities to customize it to your liking. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Use different mix-ins. If you don’t like raisins or don’t have any on hand, try using toasted nuts, other dried fruits, or even chocolate chips in their place.
• Top with sauce, chantilly, or ice cream. Serving bread and butter plain is perfectly acceptable, but you can easily dress it up. Try using chocolate or caramel sauce, crème anglaise, lightly sweetened whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream.
• Use a different type of bread. This recipe will work with any puffy sort of bread including white sandwich bread, brioche, or croissants. You can also use up the last of your cinnamon raisin bread if you like!
• Make it vegan. The eggless custard will work just as well with a creamy plant-based milk like canned coconut milk or oat milk.

Expert Tips

• Use a few days old bread (or toast it). If you use bread that is too fresh, it’ll have a hard time soaking up all the custardy goodness! If your bread is still springy, dry it out in a warm oven before using.
• Allow the custard plenty of time to soak in prior to baking. I like to assemble the bread pudding before I set my oven to preheat. You’re also welcome to let the unbaked bread and butter pudding hang out in the fridge overnight if you prefer.
• Add a bit of sugar to the top before baking for a pretty, caramelized appearance. Sometimes I sprinkle brown sugar on top before baking the pudding. Not only does it look extra pretty, but it’ll make your kitchen smell like heaven.
• Serve warm. While you’ll want to refrigerate any leftovers, reheat the slices as you serve them. They’re simply much tastier that way!

FAQs

This Bread and Butter Pudding recipe from the archives first published in June 2014 has been updated and republished on January 2023.