In a season overflowing with good things to eat, let’s add one more cozy, custardy, pecan-studded delight to the dessert table, shall we, darlings?
This pumpkin bread pudding with pecan praline sauce is the sweet little love story between classic bread pudding and pumpkin pie. It has soft, spiced, pumpkiny centers, golden-brown edges, and a glossy caramel sauce loaded with chopped pecans. In other words, if pumpkin pie and bread pudding had a baby, this would be it.
And while it looks holiday-worthy, it’s secretly one of the most practical desserts in our fall recipe collection. You can serve it hot, warm, or cold, for dessert, breakfast, brunch, snack time, potlucks, or edible gifts for friends and neighbors. Versatile? Absolutely. Delicious? Without question. Frugal? You bet your beautifully budget-conscious boots.
If you’re planning a seasonal spread, browse more ideas in our fall recipes, dessert recipes, or holiday recipe collection.
The frugal magic of stale bread
The good news: this recipe uses ordinary ingredients to make something that tastes gloriously special.
The bad news: there is no bad news. Well, except perhaps that someone may accuse you of making dessert for dinner.
Use a one-pound loaf of day-old bread, including French, Italian, artisan bread, baguettes, challah, croissants, doughnuts, or even cinnamon rolls. Bread from the “oops, we baked too much” rack is absolutely welcome here. Stale bread is not sad bread, it’s sponge-ready bread.
And confession time: recipes like this are exactly why I refuse to panic when bread starts looking a little lifeless. A custard soak can turn those dry little chunks into a tender, golden-brown pudding with serious holiday swagger. We’re reducing food waste and making dessert at the same time. That’s what I call a win-win, sugarplum.
Why evaporated milk works so beautifully
Many bread pudding recipes call for heavy cream, but we’re using evaporated milk for creamy richness without the cream-price drama.
Please note: use evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed milk. They are not interchangeable. Evaporated milk is unsweetened and adds body to both the pudding and the praline sauce.
You’ll use part of the can in the bread pudding and the remainder in the sauce. One can, two delicious jobs.
How to make pumpkin bread pudding
1. Prepare the bread and pan
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Slice or tear the day-old bread into small pieces and place them directly in the baking dish. No need to fuss over perfect cubes. Rustic chunks are charming, and we are not holding auditions for a bread cube beauty pageant.
2. Whisk together the pumpkin custard
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk or half-and-half, evaporated milk, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and kosher salt.
Make sure you’re using plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices, and adding it here could turn your pudding into a sugar-slicked sodium-and-spice situation.
3. Soak the bread
Pour the pumpkin custard over the bread pieces. Lightly press the bread down until every piece is covered.
Let the mixture rest for about 15 minutes so the bread can soak up all that pumpkin-spiced goodness. This is the difference between a pudding that is tender and luscious and one with dry, disappointing patches. Nobody invited dry, disappointing patches.
4. Bake until golden and set
Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the pudding is set and browned on top.
A little softness in the center is lovely, but the middle should not be liquid. Let it cool slightly while you make the sauce.
Easy pecan praline sauce
While the pudding bakes, combine the brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat.
Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce is smooth and syrupy. Remove the saucepan from the heat, then stir in the vanilla and chopped pecans.
The sauce will thicken as it cools. If it gets thicker than you’d like, gently warm it again before serving. Then pour that glossy, nutty, caramel-colored goodness over the pudding and prepare for compliments.
Serving ideas for your pumpkin pudding
This pudding is a flexible little diva. Serve it:
- Warm, with plenty of pecan praline sauce
- At room temperature for a potluck or buffet
- Cold, straight from the refrigerator
- For dessert after Thanksgiving dinner
- At breakfast with coffee
- As a festive brunch centerpiece
- Wrapped up as a thoughtful gift for a friend or neighbor
And yes, my niece once suggested that since pumpkin is a vegetable and the pudding is mostly bread and eggs, she should be allowed to have it for dinner.
Of course, I said yes.
That’s because I’m the cool auntie. There will be plenty of time for eating properly. Tomorrow.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Yield: 12 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes to 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 one-pound loaf day-old bread
- 2 cups milk or half-and-half
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Slice or tear the bread into small pieces and place them in the prepared baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk or half-and-half, evaporated milk, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and kosher salt.
- Carefully pour the custard mixture over the bread pieces.
- Lightly press the bread down until it is completely covered in the custard.
- Let the pudding rest for about 15 minutes so the custard can soak into the bread.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the pudding is set and browned.
Easy Pecan Praline Sauce
Yield: 2½ cups
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups light brown sugar
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is smooth and syrupy, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and chopped pecans.
- Pour the sauce over the bread pudding to serve. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
Bread pudding is a stellar example of simple ingredients becoming something greater than the sum of their parts. A little stale bread, a can of pumpkin, a few eggs, some warm spices, and a handful of pecans come together to create a dessert that feels generous, festive, and fabulously fancy.
No shame, no waste, no whopping grocery bill. Just warm, wonderful comfort in a baking dish. Now that’s a holiday miracle, my frugal foodies.
BACON WRAPPED ASPARAGUS
Equipment
- Barbeque or grill
Ingredients
- asparagus 4 spears per person
- bacon, thinly sliced 4 slices per person
Instructions
- Preheat grill to 350°F degrees.
- Trim the tough ends from asparagus spears.
- If your asparagus spears are thick, lightly steam asparagus in the microwave until warmed through but not soft. Allow them to cool until you can handle them.
- Wrap each spear with one slice of bacon. You can opt for half a slice per spear; it’s still wonderful and a little more budget friendly.
- Using long bamboo skewers, assemble wrapped spears into “rafts” to keep them from falling through the grill grates and make them easier to turn.
- Place on grill and cook until bacon is crisp.
OVEN DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
- You can follow the instructions as written using your broiler rather than the BBQ. The asparagus is semi-cooked already so you’re just cooking the bacon.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. If the bacon looks anemic, use the broiler to crisp and brown the bacon.
Easy Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 one-pound loaf day-old bread
- 2 cups milk or half-and-half
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 15- ounce can pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Slice or tear the bread into small pieces and place them in the prepared baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk or half-and-half, evaporated milk, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and kosher salt.
- Carefully pour the custard mixture over the bread pieces.
- Lightly press the bread down until it is completely covered in the custard.
- Let the pudding rest for about 15 minutes so the custard can soak into the bread.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the pudding is set and browned.
Easy Pecan Praline Sauce
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups light brown sugar
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is smooth and syrupy, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and chopped pecans.
- Pour the sauce over the bread pudding to serve. The sauce will thicken as it cools.