Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

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Caramel apple bread pudding is the perfect treat for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. It’s one of the best apple recipes you can make with festive fall flavors!

Can you believe that it’s almost September? How did this summer so so quickly? The one good thing about summer coming to a close is that it is apple season. And I LOVE baking with apples.

Apple dumplings, apple pie, apple cookies and apple cake. This Caramel Apple Bread Pudding will quickly win you over too. Delicious bread pudding is mixed with cinnamon apples and topped with a smooth homemade caramel sauce. I added the ice cream in there just for fun because really it does take this dessert over the top.

caramel apple bread pudding with ice cream and one bite missing

Why you’ll love this recipe:

  • It’s versatile. Serve as a sweet breakfast casserole or dessert.
  • Make ahead the night before and bake the day you want to serve it.
  • A smooth, sweet homemade caramel sauce that is easier than you think.
  • That traditional caramel apple flavor you love.

What is bread pudding?

Bread pudding is a bread based dessert that is popular in the United States, but in many other cultures as well. It’s the perfect recipe to use up stale bread, because you pour a sweet milk & egg mixture over the top and bake. That stale bread soaks up all of the liquid and creates a sliceable “pudding” like dessert.

You make many different flavors, even almond bread pudding.

Doesn’t it just taste like soggy bread?

It might seem like that, but it really doesn’t. Especially if you watch how much egg and milk you add to the bread. I like to lower the liquids in my bread pudding recipes so they don’t get overly soggy. I like to see & taste the bread texture when I’m eating it.

How to Make Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

  • Prepare. To prepare, cut a one pound loaf of bread into cubes and place in a greased 9×13 pan.
  • Mix. Mix together the wet ingredients, then pour over the bread.
  • Pie filling. Spoon the pie filling over the top of the bread and smooth as evenly as possible. Then sprinkle with pecans.
  • Bake. Bake the casserole covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 25 minutes.
  • Caramel sauce. The caramel sauce is super easy. Heat the butter, sugar and cream just until it starts to boil, then remove from heat. Add the vanilla and mix well, then drizzle it over the bread pudding.
a piece of bread pudding on a plate

Overnight Instructions

If you’d like you can make this casserole the evening before, but cover it and place it in the fridge before baking. The morning you’d like to bake it, remove it from the refrigerator about 1 hour before you bake it so the chill comes off. Bake as the recipe calls for.

Recipe Variations:

Another perk of bread pudding is that you can interchange ingredients! Use Italian or French bread (or even sliced whole wheat if that’s in your cabinet). Craving berries? Switch out the apple pie filling for blueberry and raspberry, if desired.

The possibilities are endless, and here are different bread pudding recipes:

bread pudding with caramel sauce and two slices missing
bread pudding with caramel sauce and two slices missing

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

4.49 from 43 votes
Caramel apple bread pudding is the perfect treat for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. It's one of the best apple recipes you can make with festive fall flavors!
Servings 12
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

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Ingredients
 

  • 16 ounces French bread diced into 1" pieces
  • 1 cup 2%`milk
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 21 ounces apple pie filling I used Comstock More Fruit Pie Filling

Caramel Sauce

Instructions
 

Make the bread pudding:

  • Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray and spread the bread cubes evenly in the pan. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined.
  • Pour this mixture over the diced bread in the pan. Use a spatula to lightly mxi the bread and make sure it is completely coated.
  • Spoon the apple pie filling evenly over the bread.
  • Cover the casserole with foil.
  • Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 25 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.

Make the caramel sauce:

  • In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the butter, cream and brown sugar. Mix and allow the butter to melt.
  • Heat the mixture, stirring often, until it starts to bubble.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
  • Pour the sauce over the bread pudding.
  • Slice and serve. Ice cream is optional, but delicious!

Video

Notes

The calories shown are based on the casserole being cut into 12 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread pudding with sauce. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**

Nutrition

Calories: 425kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 305mg | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 786IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 2mg
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 425
Keyword apple recipes, bread pudding, breakfast casserole

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About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Wanda
5 years ago

Was disappointed with this recipe. It sounds so good but could never get it to be firm enough to cut, center stayed mushy even though I increased cooking time. Loved the caramel sauce

Chrissy
5 years ago

5 stars
Should I refrigerate the leftovers?

Chris
6 years ago

Can this be done in a. Crock. Pot?

Suzie
6 years ago

Can this be made ahead and refrigerated before adding the caramel sauce? Thanks