Cinnamon Brioche Bread Pudding
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This Cinnamon Brioche Bread Pudding is a simple yet rich dessert with comforting flavors. It's a bread pudding recipe that is deceptively easy to make, yet special and beautiful to serve.
If you love bread pudding, try our bread pudding in a mug, or this easy croissant bread pudding with vanilla cream sauce. For a traditional British takem you might also enjoy my bread and butter pudding, a softly set custard classic.
A Timeless Dessert
This simple brioche bread pudding, warmly flavored with cinnamon and pecans, is especially lovely during the holidays or on brisk winter evenings - best enjoyed with a cup of tea by the fire, perhaps with a scoop of homemade ice cream.
Bread pudding itself has a long and practical history. Historians trace its origins to the early 11th and 12th centuries, when it was created as an ingenious way to use up stale or leftover bread. By the 13th century, the dish - often called "poor man's pudding" - had become a familiar and comforting staple, valued as much for its thrift as for its warmth.
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What I Love About This Bread Pudding
There's something timeless about bread pudding - especially in the quiet days of winter. This Cinnamon Brioche Bread Pudding is warm, custardy, and gently spiced, turning simple ingredients into a dessert that feels both comforting and elegant.
Made with buttery brioche and fragrant cinnamon, this recipe is a lovely way to use leftover bread while creating something worthy of a holiday table or a cozy weekend at home. Whether served simply with a dusting of powdered sugar or finished with a warm vanilla or caramel sauce, it's the kind of dessert that invites everyone to linger just a little longer.
As the new year begins and the pace slows, this classic bread pudding feels especially fitting - unfussy, welcoming, and deeply satisfying.
- A beautiful use for leftover brioche: Slightly stale brioche soaks up the custard perfectly, creating a soft, rich texture without being heavy.
- Comforting but not complicated: Simple pantry ingredients come together with very little effort.
- Versatile for any occasion: Lovely enough for guests, cozy enough for a quiet winter evening.
- Easy to customize: Add dried fruit, change the sauce, or serve it just as it is - warm and fragrant.
Ingredients You'll Need
This bread pudding uses simple, familiar ingredients that come together into something truly comforting:
- Brioche bread: Buttery and tender, perfect for soaking up the custard
- Eggs & milk: Create a soft, creamy base
- Sugar: Just enough to sweeten without overpowering
- Cinnamon & vanilla: Warm, classic flavors that define the dish
- Butter: Adds richness and helps create a golden top
(Exact amounts are listed in the recipe card below.)
How to Make Cinnamon Brioche Bread Pudding
This recipe comes together in just a few easy steps:
- Prepare the brioche: Cut the bread into cubes and arrange in a buttered baking dish.
- Make the custard: Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.
- Assemble: Pour the custard over the bread and let it soak briefly.
- Bake: Bake until puffed, golden, and set in the center.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Change it up by adding your favorite dried fruit, like cranberries, raisins, apricots, figs or dates. Garnish with toasted nuts like walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts.
While it's tempting to skip this step, in the end, it will save time. Scalding the milk actually cuts down on cooking time and gives the flavor and texture of the custard a boost. Be sure to let it cool before adding it to the egg mixture. I found this tutorial very helpful.
More Cozy Desserts:
- Best Easy Banana Bread Pudding
- Easy Croissant Bread Pudding with Milk
- Microwave Bread Pudding in a Mug
- Baked Lemon and Blueberry Pudding
- Amish Apple Baked Oatmeal
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Cinnamon Brioche Bread Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups brioche cubes or use a country white loaf as an alternative
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ cups scalded milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Prepare individual ramekins or four 10-ounce individual pie plates (or a 2-quart baking dish) with non-stick cooking spray or for extra flavor, butter each dish.
- Cut brioche into ½-inch cubes and divide evenly into individual ramekins or pie plates. If desired, divide ½ cup dried fruit and a handful of toasted nuts to the bread cubes in individual ramekins or pie plates.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, scald the milk until just before the boiling point. Allow it to cool slightly.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the warm milk into the egg mixture. Divide the mixture evenly between the individual ramekins or pie plates and place them on a baking sheet.
- Baked until puffed and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. About 25 minutes. Allow the bread pudding to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Bread Pudding Sauces
Warm Vanilla Sauce: (Richer flavor, browned butter color)- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cup whipping cream
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Can you use almond milk in this recipe?
Hi, Charlotte. I’ve not tested this recipe using almond milk, but I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t work equally well. I would use a 1:1 ratio for measurement.
So easy and so good! Went with the brown sugar sauce... wow!!! Easy fast and yummy treat!!
Thanks, Carol! I’m so glad you liked it!! The brown sugar sauce is my favorite too.
This recipe sounds delicious. I'd like to make a larger amount in the 2 quart baking pan. I see you've made note of the increased time. Should I double the recipe? Thanks in advance!
Hi Rosemary! So glad you’re making the bread pudding. It’s one of our favorites! Fill the baking pan with bread cubes and definitely double the custard portion. Watch the baking time until it is set. Enjoy!!
Absolutely without a doubt one word description. AMAZING!! really delish. I had gotten brioche rolls from a friend who couldnt sell them due to being a few days old so i repurposed them into this dessert !! Thanks again!! I dont see how i can send you a pictire of it so i will leave my recipe page below an hope you like my page and your recipe is on there with a picture
Absolutely without a doubt one word description. AMAZING!! really delish. I had gotten brioche rolls from a friend who couldnt sell them due to being a few days old so i repurposed them into this dessert !! Thanks again!! I dont see how i can send you a pictire of it so i will leave my recipe page below an hope you like my page and your recipe is on there with a picture
Thank you so much! We love it too!
Making this as i type. Will be back after we taste it. But all went well just waiting on the milk to cool so i can add to mixture. I tripled the recipe and smells yummy!!!
Roe, great minds think alike! We made it tonight as well. Such a cozy treat.
How come in the picture it shows the sauce being white? Mine turned out brown. I'm assuming from the brown sugar and then the added vanilla.
Thanks for the comment, Amanda. The Warm Vanilla Browned Butter sauce does lend a darker color but also gives a richer flavor. The Warm Vanilla White Cream sauce is definitely lighter in color and a bit thinner in consistency. I'm sitting here with a bowl of this Brioche Cinnamon Bread Pudding tonight -- thank you for giving me the idea!
it would be nice to be able to just print the recipe and not everything on the page.
Just saying...
Thank you for your suggestion! We've updated it.