My Dad’s Old Fashioned Bread Pudding Recipe with Lemon Sauce is incredibly delicious! Fluffy bread with raisins and custard and I top it with a homemade lemon sauce. So good.
Over 15 years ago, my dad shared this simple bread pudding recipe with the family. It remains one of my favorite desserts to this day. Total comfort food!
This post for bread pudding with lemon sauce was originally published in April 2011. The photos and recipe notes were updated in June 2025.
Aimee’s Recipe Notes
Taste & Texture: Moist bread pudding with a soft texture, chewy raisins and sweet lemon sauce.
Topping: I love this homemade lemon sauce, but my buttermilk syrup is delicious on this bread pudding as well!
Make in Advance: Assemble as directed and cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. Allow to sit at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.
Ingredient Swap: swap out the bread and raisins for a thick cinnamon raisin bread instead!
Top Tip: Let your bread get a little stale before using. The bread will soften with the custard to the perfect texture.
This was so easy to make and the best bread pudding I have tasted in a very long time.
– noreen
Ingredients for Bread Pudding
Most traditional bread pudding recipes have raisins, vanilla, and a sweet sauce to top it all off. This recipe is different from Instant Pot rice pudding, in case you’re wondering!
And yes, if this makes you think of french toast casserole, it’s very similar!
Here are a few key ingredients, be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for a complete list with measurements.
- White Bread- My dad uses cubed white bread, I prefer a brioche or cinnamon raisin bread for more flavor. The key though is to use stale bread when possible!
- Eggs- you’ll need eggs for the sweet custard.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg- the perfect duo for this easy bread pudding.
- Raisins- of course you can omit them, but if you love oatmeal raisin cookies, you’ll love them in bread pudding too! You could also swap them out for nuts.
How to Make Bread Pudding
Make the bread base.
- If your bread is crazy soft, this dish can get pretty mushy (it’s already a soft custard texture). To firm up fresh bread, bake for about 5 minutes in a 375 degree F oven. Mix with melted butter, cinnamon, and raisins.
- Spread bread mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.
Mix the custard.
- In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Add milk and whisk together.
- Pour over bread cubes. Sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg. Bake in 375 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned.
While baking, make the lemon sauce.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, butter, water, egg, and lemon juice over medium high heat.
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil one full minute. Remove from heat.
- To serve, drizzle lemon glaze over the warm bread pudding.
Sauces for Bread Pudding
- If you don’t like lemon sauce, try this Bourbon Caramel Sauce. So delicious and perfect on this easy bread pudding recipe!
- You can also try this Caramel Bread Pudding recipe for a different twist on a classic!
- Buttermilk syrup– a delicious topping for waffles, but also today’s bread pudding recipe.
- Give this recipe for bread pudding a twist and try my Apple Bread Pudding instead. Seasoned with my sweet chai apple bread and chai spice mix, it’s the perfect dessert!
Easy Dessert Recipes
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Bread Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE BREAD:
- 12 slices stale white bread cubed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup raisins
- 6 large eggs beaten
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups milk hot
- 1 pinch nutmeg
FOR THE GLAZE:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup water
- 1 large egg well beaten
- 3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 qt baking dish or 8-inch square baking pan.
- Combine bread cubes with melted butter, cinnamon and raisins. Place in bottom of baking dish. Beat eggs with sugar, vanilla and salt. Add hot milk and pour over bread cubes. Sprinkle with pinch of nutmeg. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until browned.
- While baking, make the lemon glaze. Combine sugar, butter, water, egg, and lemon juice in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil one minute. Remove from heat.
- To serve, drizzle lemon glaze over warm bread pudding. Enjoy!
- Store covered in refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Bread- It’s best to use “day old bread.”If your bread is crazy soft, this dish can get pretty mushy (it’s already a soft custard texture). To firm up fresh bread, bake for about 5 minutes in a 375 degree F oven. Set aside. Dad always used white bread, but challah, brioche, and french bread work too!
- Milk- whole milk or buttermilk works best.
- Make it in Advance- To make bread pudding in advance, assemble as directed and cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. Allow to sit at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.
- Storage- If properly stored in the refrigerator, after baking, bread pudding will keep for 3-4 days.
- Reheat- Reheat each slice in the microwave for about 45 seconds.
- Freeze- Freeze bread pudding in airtight container. To thaw, refrigerator overnight.
Video
Nutrition
More Easy Dessert Recipes
- Lover of chocolate? Make this easy Chocolate Pound Cake or Chocolate Cheesecake for that real chocolate flavor!
- Make some of this creamy and delicious Banana Split Dessert that is a classic!
- Lover of classics? This Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is one of my favorites! Right behind this Rice Pudding recipe!
- If you’re a big fan of classic desserts, be sure to try our homemade Angel Food Cake recipe! Top it with fresh berries and easy whipped cream for a light and flavorful treat.
The Best Bread Pudding Recipe with a creamy lemon sauce. Whether you serve this for dessert or breakfast, it’s always a hit!
I love everything you do!
My question is, Can I use a can of custard instead of the lemon sauce or caramel sauce?
I am not sure what a can of custard is? But the topping is completely optional.
I can’t wait to try this it looks so DELICIOUS 😋 I don’t really care for raisins, I think fresh blueberries or cherries would be so good in this so I might try that or maybe just plain bread pudding🤔 either way I know it’s going to be good 😋 I’m out also try a homemade caramel sauce😋😋😋
this was so easy to make and the best bread pudding I have tasted in a very long time.
Oh my!! I have not thought of bread pudding for years. I used to make it with biscuits. My mother use to make it with left over yeast rolls. She had a restaurant and would use the rolls left from the day before.
My sister used to make a vanilla sauce. My fav is lemon. So good!!
Hi There
The bread pudding looks delicious. I was wondering, if I left out the raisins would I need to replace it with anything?
Thanks 😊
Lovely old fashioned dessert! Just had an inspiration…I have some leftover cinnamon rolls, I’m thinking those might work out well in this dessert as well as regular bread.
Sounds delicious!
I would if ya dont like them and replace it chocolate chips cuz there might be people that dont like raisins. And it looks good
My family isn’t big on lemon glaze, or really anything with lemon. Is there a recipe for some type of a vanilla sauce or something?
I agree with Premzie’s comment! I make homemade bread, so size is different than store bought bread. How many cups or grams of bread do you use??
Try topping it with cajeta (sorta like dulce de leche), caramelized goat milk and sugar with vanilla.
What a keeper. I use extra large eggs here so next time I’ll use only 5 eggs and cut back 1/2 cup on the milk as it was a little ‘eggy’. I used my leftover home made bread and the crunchy top against the soft middle was just delicious. The lemon sauce came together quickly and is to die for! This is a keeper for sure. Thanks so much for your recipe.
Hi..would love to try your bread pudding…when you say 12 slices of bread …I am confused. Could you give me the grams of it as bread varies in every country… appreciate it and thank you
How do you make lemon sauce using lemon curb
im sure you could take lemon curd and thin it out with a little milk to make a sauce
Dear Aimee,
Your recipe looks delicious and I will be attempting your recipe this week.>>As a French Canadian, my mother always made bread pudding the traditional way……and your recipe caught my attention, and as I like to try new recipes versus tradition, I can’t wait to try your Dad’s recipe.
Thank you for caring and sharing…..I am sure I will delight and enjoy this bread pudding.
The only thing wrong is that it should be an egg yolk, not a whole egg. for the sauce
I make bread often but sometimes my husband and I can’t finish it in time. This seems like a great way to use it up! My bread doesn’t always fit the sliced white bread mold though. Can you give an idea of how many cups. The bread will end up being?
P.s., I don’t like raisins but I’ve got an excess of frozen cherries and I think they’ll be great in this
It was such a huge hit!
Hi. The bread pudding looks delicious. Can you recommend a brand of bread that works best for this recipe please? Thank you. Karlie
My kids really loved it! So good!
It’s cute that you mention it’ll last 3-4 days in the fridge because this is going to disappear so quickly around my kids, haha! I may have to get my portion first just to ensure I get some too.
Are we supposed to pour the entirety of the glaze over the bread pudding while it’s in the baking dish or is it just meant to be drizzled over each individual serving as it’s being dished out?
I’ve done it both ways! I have a couple NON glaze lovers, so we usually serve separately, but either way is fine.