Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding is a classic made with Italian bread, eggs, milk and seasonings then drizzled with lemon buttercream sauce.
As a military wife, I spent a lot of time living in the southern United States. It was while living in North Carolina that I had my first taste of bread pudding, baked by my best girlfriends mom and it was so “not” what I was expecting. That bread pudding was one of the most delicious desserts I had ever tasted! So moist and with so much flavor! After that, I was hooked and am always on the lookout for new ideas for bread pudding.
There is something so soothing about pulling a pan of baked dessert out of the oven. Just the smell of bubbling fruit or vanilla wafting out of the oven makes people feel good.
For this bread pudding, I used leftover Italian bread that I had stored in the fridge. We never seem to eat a whole loaf so there is always extra. Throw your extra rolls and biscuits in the freezer, too. That frozen bread comes in real handy when you are running a little short!
Knowing I was going to make bread pudding with the extra loaves, I just added lemon and blueberries to my shopping list for the week. Rather than buying cream or half and half just for this one recipe, I substituted a half-can of evaporated milk that was in already in the pantry.
One of the hardest things about making this dish was keeping my guys out of it so I could take photos. This was baked early in the morning so I would have time to take pictures before I completely lost the sun, and I could serve it after dinner. (My kitchen tends to be dark even on the brightest days!) Even though there are only adults in the house, I would swear that every time I left the room and came back, blueberries were missing from the top of the pudding!
When was the first time you had bread pudding? It is made all over the world, have you had bread pudding in a foreign country? I would love to hear all of the details:)
Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3-1/4 cup milk 2% or whole
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1-1/2 tsp lemon zest about 1-1/2 tsp
- 1 loaf Italian bread cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 cups blueberries
Lemon Buttercream Sauce:
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk
- 8 tbsp butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish on the bottom and sides. Spread the bread cubes out evenly in the baking dish
- In a large bowl whisk the eggs. Add the sugar, milk, evaporated milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest, and whisk until combined and sugar has dissolved.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread, pushing down gently with a spoon. Let sit 15 minutes to allow the bread to mostly absorb the egg mixture.
- Top the bread with the blueberries. Tuck some down inside of the bread.
- Bake 45-50 minutes until risen and lightly golden, and some of the blueberries have popped.
- When removing bread pudding from the oven, it will be puffy. Let the pan rest for 10 minutes to return to normal size, then serve! You can drizzle the glaze over the top, or serve it on the side.
- While the Bread Pudding is baking, make the Lemon Buttercream Sauce.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the sugar and stir to combine. Then add the evaporated milk. Stir to combine.
- Keep stirring as you bring the mixture to a boil. Still stirring, cook for an additional 4-5 minutes. The sauce will start to thicken.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir thoroughly.
- Allow to cool slightly, sauce will thicken as it cools.
Chef Tips
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
© Copyright Christine Mello for Must Love Home. We would love for you to share a link to this recipe but please do not copy/paste the recipe instructions to websites or social media. We are happy for you to share a photo with a link back to this website instead.
Hi Bert, so glad you like it! Thanks for letting us know ?.
This was a wonderful tasting bread pudding. I made it for my parents and everyone loved it. Thanks
Hi Shawna, thank you so much for your comment and letting me know about the sugar. I have corrected the recipe to show 1/2 cup of sugar is needed for the egg mixture. I am so sorry about the missing ingredient! Hugs- Christine
I’m in the kitchen now making this. Realizing that there is no measurement for sugar in your recipe, so I am guessing…The only sugar measurement is for the glaze. ?
it surely looks super delicious, Christine. And I love bread pudding because it’s easy to make..
HI Christine, your bread pudding looks amazing, I want some for breakfast!!
Thanks for Co-Hosting with us this week, I appreciate you!!
I hope you are enjoying some spring as well!
Have a great week!
Karren
Pinned this delicious recipe. When I was a little girl, we would go to a buffet at our country club on Sundays and my favorite part of the meal was the warm, sweet bread pudding. Thanks for rekindling that memory.
I am all about anything that is lemon and blueberry. This looks delish!