This recipe for blueberry bread pudding has a streusel topping and is finished off with a drizzle of salted caramel. The ultimate comfort food!
Bread pudding is a time honored dessert, but when you load it up with fresh blueberries it really elevates this dish to the next level.
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Dinner at the Zoo possible!
We have this restaurant in our town where the food is good but the desserts are even better. The owner gets up at the crack of dawn and churns out about ten different dessert options every day. Each time I go there a seasonal bread pudding is on the menu – last time it was a blueberry bread pudding and I’ve been wanting to recreate it at home ever since. I think I did pretty well with this blueberry almond bread pudding, everyone loved it and it might even be better than the restaurant version!
How do you make blueberry bread pudding?
I used a challah (egg bread) for this pudding. Most stores sell some type of challah or other egg bread, you could also use brioche or a french bread. I layered bread cubes with fresh blueberries and almonds and poured the custard mixture over the top. I wanted to add a little texture so I created a streusel to sprinkle over the top and added some chopped almonds.
I couldn’t stop there – yes, the streusel adds something special but I also felt like a sauce was in order. I went with salted caramel to complement the almonds and that was an excellent choice! If you want to take it even further you can add a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries, and all of a sudden a humble blueberry bread pudding dessert becomes something spectacular.
This is a great make-ahead dessert; you can bake the pudding a day in advance and add the salted caramel sauce right before you serve it. If somehow you have leftovers you can even serve it as a decadent breakfast the next day – I won’t judge you! Either way, this blueberry bread pudding is sure to please any crowd.
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More dessert recipes
- Oreo Cheesecake
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
- Pear Custard Pie
- Apple Cinnamon Cake
- Greek Yogurt Cheesecake
Blueberry Bread Pudding
Ingredients
For the pudding
- Cooking spray
- 7 cups cubed challah bread can also use brioche or french bread
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups of milk I used whole milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup almonds finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the streusel
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup almonds finely chopped
For serving
- 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce store bought or homemade
- whipped cream optional
- fresh blueberries optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 inch square pan with cooking spray. In the pan, place 1/3 of the bread cubes in a single layer. Add half of the blueberries and almonds. Top with another 1/3 of the bread cubes. Add the remaining blueberries and almonds. Top with the remaining bread cubes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Pour over the bread and blueberry mixture; make sure the bread is completely covered by the custard.
- To make the streusel, mix together the flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into the flour and sugar with two forks or a pastry blender until coarse, pebble sized crumbs form. Stir in the almonds. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the bread pudding.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until bread pudding is golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven and cool for at least 30 minutes. Drizzle salted caramel over the top and serve with whipped cream and extra blueberries if desired.
Meg @ With Salt and Wit says
This is the best of so many worlds! Delicious enough for dessert or even breakfast! I can see this be a family favorite 🙂
Andi @ The Weary Chef says
OMG! This looks gorgeous and mouthwatering! Would be on my list of must-try!
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile says
Oh my gosh!! this looks absolutely amazing. Wow – anything smothered in salted caramel sauce has got to be good!
Justine | Cooking and Beer says
Bread pudding is SUCH a great way to put these almonds to use! Yum! I also love that you can justify eating bread pudding in the morning. 😉 Definitely pinning this for later!
Katering @ Diethood says
WOW WOW WOW WOW! I can’t stop saying WOW! I mean, salted caramel almonds?? And THIS gorgeous bread pudding?!? WOW! Okay, I’ll stop. 😀
Jaren (Diary of a Recipe Collector) says
What! Salted Caramel almonds!! I’ve got to try these, and this bread pudding sounds WONDERFUL!
Ashlyn @ Belle of the Kitchen says
Bread pudding is one of my husband’s favorites! This version with the almonds and blueberries could probably make it one of mine, too! It looks amazing with that drizzle!!
Alice says
oooh with challah bread – thats got to be tasty! 🙂
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily says
I’m thinking you should open up your own dessert based restaurant… ASAP! This is gorgeous!! Saving and sharing 😉
Mirlandra @ Mirlandra's Kitchen says
Mercy! Now that is breakfast. I had no idea they had a new version of their almonds out. I love their smoky ones. I know what is going on my grocery list tomorrow. Thanks!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
Looks fantastic, another hit at the zoo!
Marye says
Oh! What a delicious twist on a southern classic! This sounds delicious!
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
This is gorgeous and would be totally perfect for weekend brunch! I love the use of salted caramel almonds here, great way to take the flavors over the top.
Lara says
This looks delicious – great addition of the finely chopped nuts to the pudding itself. Can’t wait to try it!
Linda @ Food Huntress says
My husband loves bread pudding and we have a lot of blueberries around here right now. So I’d like to try this recipe. It looks delicious!
Greg says
Wow, looks great! That streusel looks amazing!
Beatrice says
This looks really yummy! I think I may try making it.
Paul Petresen says
looks delicious- recipe looks doable. Thanks!
debbie says
This looks so good and I just love anything with almonds!
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
I love bread pudding…this looks so amazing!! Definitely trying it!