Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding

Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding is an easy, gooey mix of soft, toasted bread, vanilla extract, bourbon, cinnamon, and pecans. Perfect for a holiday breakfast!

This delicious Bread Pudding makes the ultimate indulgent Breakfast Recipe, or Decadent Dessert topped off with Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s sweet, toasted, tender, and the bourbon sauce adds a wonderful richness that makes it absolutely irresistible. 

Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding serving on plate with bourbon vanilla sauce

BOURBON PECAN BREAD PUDDING

Classic Bread Pudding is one of those terrific dishes that’s perfect to serve to a crowd. We’re always making different kinds of bread puddings around the holiday because they’re an easy dish to toss together, pop in the oven, and take out to feed a big group. Just put the finished dish out on the table and your family can serve up their own individual servings for minimal work on your part. 

This Bourbon Pecan version of bread pudding takes the classic comfort food to a whole new level. The custard mixture is made with sweet vanilla, sugar, and a little bourbon for a dark, rich, and distinct taste. The alcohol bakes out of the bourbon so you’re left with bourbon’s smooth taste of smoky sweetness. On top of that, the recipe includes pecans for a delicious, crunchy addition to the soft toasted bread. 

TOPPINGS

This recipe comes with a delicious Pecan Bourbon Sauce. However, there are plenty of other toppings you can try to experiment with the Pecan Bread Pudding. 

  • Whipped Cream: You can top each serving of Bread Pudding off with fresh whipped cream. Make your own whipped cream using heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. 
  • Dulce De Leche: You can also make sweet, Dulce De Leche using 4 cups milk, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
  • Bourbon Caramel Sauce: Use our recipe for Caramel Ice Cream Topping and add a little bourbon to make a Bourbon Caramel Sauce. 

PREPPING BREAD FOR BREAD PUDDING

When you’re making Bread Pudding or French Toast it’s best to use stale bread. If the bread cubes are a few days old, the stale bread will do a better job soaking up the custard for a more gooey, cohesive, and delicious treat than fresh bread can make.

If you only have fresh bread, you can still make it work for your Bread Pudding. One option is just leaving the loaf of bread out overnight to dry out. You can also toast the cubed bread in the oven. Lay the bread cubes out on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in a 250-degree oven to dry them out. 

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TIPS FOR MAKING BOURBON PECAN BREAD PUDDING

  • Prep time: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and prep the casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Don’t skip this step or the bread will bake to the sides of the pan. 
  • Bread: Break the sandwich bread into inch pieces. Then spread the bread into the prepared casserole dish. 
  • Custard: Put the softened butter in a microwave-safe small bowl and melt butter. In a mixing bowl combine sugar, vanilla, milk, eggs, and melted butter. Combine the sugar mixture until sugar dissolves. Pour the combined custard over the bread. Then top it off with chopped pecans. 
  • Bake: Let the custard soak into the bread pudding for 15 minutes before popping the dish in the preheated oven. Bake for 60-70 minutes until golden brown. 
  • Bourbon Pecan Sauce: In a separate bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, egg, butter, milk, pecans, and salt. Once it’s combined pour it into a small saucepan to a medium saucepan. Continue mixing the pecan butter mixture over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken and stick to the back of your spoon. Once that happens remove the sauce from the heat and add in the vanilla and bourbon before serving over the Bread Budding. 

Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding in baking dish before baking

VARIATIONS ON BOURBON PECAN BREAD PUDDING

  • Sweeteners: In the Pecan Pudding you can replace the white sugar with brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup. You could also use half brown and white sugar, or use coconut sugar in place of the granulated sugar.
  • Bread: For the bread strips you can use different kinds of bread instead of sandwich bread. Try cubed brioche, croissant pieces, french bread, or challah. 
  • Add-ins: For some delicious mix-ins along with the toasted pecans try adding almonds, walnuts, chocolate chips, or toffee bits. For some extra flavor mix in lemon juice or almond extract. 
  • Bourbon Apple Pecan Bread Pudding: To make delicious Apple Pudding add apple slices to the top of the bread pudding. You can also top it off with caramel sauce before serving so that the apple slices are like caramel apples.
  • Muffin Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding: Make your Bread Pudding into adorable single servings by dividing the recipe into a muffin tin and baking.

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HOW TO STORE BOURBON PECAN BREAD PUDDING

  • Serve: Don’t leave Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding at room temperature for more than 2 hours. 
  • Store: Let the Bread Pudding cool to room temperature, then store it in the fridge. Cover and store it in the fridge for up to 1 week. 
  • Freeze: Stored in an airtight container or covered tightly, Pecan Bread Pudding can last in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding in baking dish

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Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding

Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding is an easy, gooey mix of soft, toasted bread, vanilla extract, bourbon, cinnamon, and pecans. Perfect for a holiday breakfast!
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Keyword Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 16 Servings
Calories 340 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

Pecan Bread Pudding:

  • 16 ounces sandwich bread , day old-cubed
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter , melted
  • 8 large eggs
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 cup pecans , chopped

Bourbon Pecan Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 pinch ground cinnamon
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup pecans , finely chopped
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon bourbon

Instructions

Banana Bread Pudding:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking dish with baking spray.
  2. Add the bread to the baking pan.
  3. In a large bowl whisk together melted butter, eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract.
  4. Pour over bread mixture then top with chopped pecans evenly.
  5. Let soak for 15 minutes.

  6. Bake for 60-70 minutes until custard is gone and the top is slightly browned.

Bourbon Pecan Sauce:

  1. Whisk everything but the vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat constantly for 10 minutes until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

  2. Remove from heat and add in the vanilla and bourbon, whisking well. Serve over the pudding.

Recipe Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition Facts
Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding
Amount Per Serving
Calories 340 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 124mg41%
Sodium 219mg10%
Potassium 224mg6%
Carbohydrates 36g12%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 22g24%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 417IU8%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 193mg19%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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