Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce is a tasty dessert, perfect for Thanksgiving Day, or anytime you need a dessert for a crowd.

When growing up, my family rarely had desserts. So even today, I’m not a real fan, except on Thanksgiving. You’ve got to have like three different kinds of pies with ice cream or Pumpkin Bars with cream cheese frosting. It’s the one day you just have to indulge in something sweet and delicious, like this dessert. 

What goes into pumpkin bread pudding

The bread you use is up to you, but it should be sturdy bread, not Wonder Bread. Almost any white bread, whole wheat, or brioche would be good. I happened to use a sourdough bread that MaryJo made.

If your bread has a hard crust, it’s best to cut that off.  A sandwich bread crust is fine to leave on.

One can of pumpkin puree is mixed with sugar, spices, eggs and milk. I even added a little spiced rum…’cause that’s the way we roll. 

All this gets mixed in a large bowl and is poured over the bread cubes. Then your pumpkin bread pudding is just about done.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can mix it to this point, then put it in the frig overnight and bake it for breakfast (probably without the rum, though).

When you’re ready to bake it, throw it into the oven for 50 minutes, let it cool a bit, and then enjoy.

How to make caramel sauce

This is a super easy caramel sauce recipe….there’s no white sugar to boil until it gets to the correct color and you won’t have to wonder if the sauce will be grainy, (as it often is).  Make a caramel sauce using corn syrup.

The ingredients are, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or regular table salt. And I added 1/4 cup of spiced rum. 

Use a saucepan and add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Use medium heat and stir occasionally until the mixture starts to boil. Let it boil for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the cream, vanilla extract, salt, and spiced rum if use are adding it.

This foolproof recipe is courtesy of Karo® brand corn syrup.

How to serve the pudding

Eating the bread pudding by itself is good, but a few extra touches take it over the top. 1. The caramel sauce for sure. 2. Whipped cream.  3. Ice cream. 4. Toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts. 

So this Thanksgiving, maybe think about some pumpkin bread pudding. I know it would go really well with turkey.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce is a wonderful fall dessert and perfect for Thanksgiving.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread pudding, pumpkin bread pudding

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 243kcal

Author: Joe Boyle

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lbs bread cubes, about 3/4" square
• 1 can pumpkin puree, 14 oz.
• 6 lg. eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 2 cups half and half
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup spiced rum, optional
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• non-stick cooking spray

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Instructions

• Coat a 9" X 13" baking dish with cooking spray and add the bread cubes in an even layer.
• Mix together all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the wet ingredients over the bread cubes.
• Stir the bread around to coat all the cubes. Set aside for 1 hour for the bread to absorb the liquid. You can also cover it and put it in the refrigerator overnight to bake in the morning.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Stir the bread cubes around again. They will have absorbed some of the liquid. Place in the oven for 50 minutes until firmly set and slight browning occurs.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving. Serve warm with caramel sauce, ice cream, whipped cream and toasted pecans or walnuts.

Notes

The bread you use is your choice...sturdy white, or whole wheat. I'd stay away from strong tasting breads like rye or pumpernickel.

Beat the eggs prior to adding to the bowl. I didn't do this and ended up having to use my electric hand mixer to get them blended in. (Just something else to wash).

Let the bread and liquid sit for at least and hour before baking. If desired, you can make this and refrigerate it overnight. Just be sure that you use a baking dish that can go from the cold refrigerator to the hot oven, like Pyrex.

Toppings are optional but it tastes so good with the caramel sauce, whipped cream, and toasted pecans.

Nutrition information is for the pudding only. With caramel sauce and whipped cream, add around 150 calories. (It's for Thanksgiving...we don't count calories on that day).

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.

Nutrition

Calories: 243kcal