Apple Pie Bread Pudding
Apple pie bread pudding is a wonderful warm apple treat, better than apple pie! Comforting apple bread pudding made with easy homemade apple pie filling. Serve it hot and with some vanilla ice cream on top for the ultimate taste experience.
Yes, it truly IS a heavenly apple treat!
“Better than apple pie” is a pretty strong claim to make, but I’m sticking by it. As wonderful as a good ol’ apple pie can be, especially the Dutch kind with crumble on top, this is just better. Taking two delicious and comforting desserts and putting them together is what makes this extra special.
As soon as I took the first bite this warm, apple filled bread pudding, with melting vanilla ice cream, my whole body melted into the chair with delight. Hubs and I raced to finish the piece we were splitting and then sat there, enjoying the taste and love it left behind.
The next morning, I couldn’t wait to have some more so I had a slice of this divine apple pie bread pudding for breakfast. Hey, it has eggs and milk, it can totally count as breakfast food!
How To Slate Bread Fast
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Cut the bread into cubes and spread them on a large rimmed baking sheet in one even layer.
Place the baking sheet(s) into the oven. Let them harden for about 1.5–2 hours.
How To Make Apple Pie Bread Pudding
Apple Pie Filling:
- Peel, core and dice apples into small cubes. Mix the apple cubes with flour, sugar, and apple pie spice.
- In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, melt butter and add the apple mixture. Mix well and pour in the water.
- Stir, cover with a lid, and cook over medium-low heat until the apples are soft, stirring often. (10-15 minutes.)
- Take off heat and strain through a strainer. Make sure to saving the juices!
Apple Bread Pudding:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Spread stale bread in the baking dish evenly and add cooked apples all over the bread. Move it around a little to let some apples get between the bread.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract, brown sugar, apple pie spice, and cinnamon.
- Pour egg mixture all over the bread and apples. Press down on bread lightly and put in the oven.
- Bake bread pudding for 30 minutes and then cover the top loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil. Bake another 15-20 minutes until baked through.
- Pull bread pudding out of the oven and pour saved juices from cooking apples all over the bread pudding.
How To Tell If Bread Pudding Is Done?
You can always test it by touch or internal temperature. Touch the middle of the pudding and see how jiggly it is. If the middle hasn’t baked through yet, it will be quite jiggly and it might feel a little squishy. If it starts to feel firm and yields when you gently press into it, it is fully cooked.
You can also check the internal temperature using an instant digital thermometer in the center of the bread pudding and aim for 170°F-175°F.
What is Apple Pie Spice?
Apple pie spice is a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. You can buy this seasoning mixed at the store or make your own.
To make your own, simply combine 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon with 2 teaspoons or ground nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Mix it all together and store in a small glass jar with a lid.
Make Ahead Suggestion
You can easily make the whole dish ahead of time or parts of it.
Apple pie filling: follow the recipe to make apple pie filling, strain the cooked apples, and save the apples and the sauce separately. Make sure to store them in air-tight food storage containers and in the refrigerator.
Bread Pudding: you can also prepare the whole bread pudding, assemble it in the baking dish but instead of baking, let it cool, cover it air-tight, and refrigerate. Refrigerate it overnight or for up to 24 hours but no longer.
To cook: the next day, pull the casserole pan out of the refrigerator and let it warm up on the counter for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven and bake according to the recipe.
More Bread Pudding Recipes To Try
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!
Apple Pie Bread Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz French baguette
Apple Pie Filling:
- 1 3/4 lb gala apples 4-6
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tsp apple pie spice*
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water
Bread Pudding:
- 5 large eggs
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 1/4 cups whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Optional: ice cream for serving
Instructions
To Stale Bread:
- About 24 hours before preparing this bread pudding: cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes and spread it out on a large baking sheet. Leave it out to get stale for about 24 hours.
- To stale bread fast: Preheat the oven to 200°F. Cut the bread into cubes and spread them on a large rimmed baking sheet in one even layer. Place the baking sheet(s) into the oven. Let them harden for about 1.5–2 hours.
Apple Pie Filling:
- Peel, core and dice apples.
- In a mixing bowl, mix the apple cubes with flour, sugar, and apple pie spice.
- Preheat a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, and melt butter. Once melted, add the apple mixture. Mix well and pour in the water.
- Stir well and bring to simmer. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and cook until the apples are soft, stirring often. (10-15 minutes.)
- Take off heat and strain through a strainer. Make sure to saving the juices! You will use the juices as a topping for the bread pudding.
Bread Pudding:
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ and lightly grease a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Spread stale bread in the baking dish evenly. Spread apples all over the bread evenly. Move it around a little to let some apples get between the bread.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, apple pie spice, and cinnamon.
- Pour egg mixture all over the bread and apples. Press down on bread lightly to ensure it's soaking up the egg mixture, and put in the oven.
- Bake bread pudding for 30 minutes and then cover the top loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil. (This will prevent the top from darkening too fast.) Bake another 15-20 minutes until baked through.
- Pull bread pudding out of the oven and pour saved juices from cooking apples all over the bread pudding. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to rest before cutting.
- If you wish, serve bread pudding warm and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Video
Notes
- Apple Pie Spice: Apple pie spice is a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. You can buy this seasoning mixed at the store or make your own. (Simply combine 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon with 2 teaspoons or ground nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Mix it all together and store in a small glass jar with a lid.)
- Storing: you can easily store bread pudding in the same dish you baked it in. Make sure to cover it air-tight with plastic wrap or use a baking dish that comes with a lid. Store it for 3-4 days in the refrigerator!
- To reheat, simply cut off a slice and microwave just until heated through.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in September 2016.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Can I use almond milk? I’m allergic to cows milk.
Hi Debbie,
Yes, you can use almond milk. I hope you enjoy it!
Would this work with almond milk? I am allergic to cows milk.
This was so easy and amazing. I used a loaf of stuffing bread and added walnuts.
Yum! So glad you liked it! I bet the walnuts were really good with it!
Can I bake this and then reheat it the next day? I dont have enough time to make it day of so im wondering how I should go about it
Hi Lauren,
You can prep apples and bread ahead of time. (Still drain it and save apples and juices separately. You can put them in some Tupperware and keep in the fridge until ready to use.) Putting it together and whisking egg mixture doesn’t actually take much time at all. So you can put the bread pudding together and pop it in the oven when ready. (I’m just thinking that if you let bread stand with eggs for too long, it would be a little too soggy.) I hope you enjoy it!
Love it!!
Thank you, Catherine! I love that you love it!
This sounds delicious! However, I am allergic to gluten and eggs. Has anyone used subsitutes for these ingredients in this recipe?
Hi Kayla,
As far as gluten you can absolutely use gluten-free bread, my personal favorite brand to use is Schar. As far as eggs I am not completely sure since I have not tried it. You can try an egg replacement that you can find at the local grocery store or some other vegan recipes call for mixing flaxseed with the milk, you could look up some vegan bread pudding recipes to look for other substitutions. I hope you’re able to make it! 🙂
Absolutely Superb! So Delicious. I try many recipes on Pinterest but this is the best.
Thank you, Angie! This made my day, I am so happy you like it!
Hi your recipe says 14ounces of bread- should I use a measuring cup or a kitchen scale to measure the bread?
Can this be made thru step 12 the day before and refrigerated?
Hi Ann,
You can prep apples and bread ahead of time. (Still drain it and save apples and juices separately. You can put them in some tupperware and keep in the fridge until ready to use.) Putting it together and whisking egg mixture doesn’t actually take much time at all. So you can put the bread pudding together and pop it in the oven when ready. (I’m just thinking that if you let bread stand with eggs for too long, it would be a little too soggy.) I hope you enjoy it!
Absolutely loved this when I made before and guests loved it too but now with social distancing can you tell me how to make for just two people. Thanks
Hi, Nana! I am so happy to hear you like my bread pudding! You can definitely make this in a smaller portion, you can half this recipe and use a 8×8 casserole dish.
Just note that there is a type in the recipe notes. It says a “school” of vanilla ice cream instead of “scoop”.
Thanks, I’ll fix that 😉
I’ve made this recipe several times for family and friends – everyone loves it! I did add a crumble topping from my apple crisp (flour, brown sugar, butter, oats, and chopped pecans) which adds a nice crunchy texture. I serve the bread pudding warm with vanilla ice cream and spoon the reserved warmed juiced over the ice cream and pudding as a “sauce” Yummy!
Hi, Janis! I am so glad you liked it and made it your own! 🙂
How exactly did you prepare the crumble topping? Did you cook it?