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This Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread Pudding is more than just a rich, creamy, holiday treat; it’s an absolute game-changer for your Thanksgiving dessert table.
This recipe has been shared thousands of times by readers who make it year after year.
They love its combination of spiced pumpkin custard filling and a sweet, crunchy, and sticky pecan praline topping.
Table of Contents
- What Is Pumpkin Bread Pudding?
- How I Created This Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Thanksgiving Dessert
- Important Ingredients for Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding
- How To Make Pumpkin Bread Pudding With Praline Sauce
- Pro Tips for Perfect Pumpkin Bread Pudding
- Recipe Variations
- More Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Desserts
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Recipe
- Reviews
What Is Pumpkin Bread Pudding?
At its heart, this classic Southern dessert transforms day-old bread into a rich, pumpkin custard soaked holiday treat. Unlike traditional bread pudding that relies on a basic vanilla base, this recipe infuses warm pumpkin puree and autumn spices directly into the cream mixture so that every single bite is bursting with festive pumpkin flavor.
How I Created This Recipe
Traditionally, our Thanksgiving dinner includes the classics – Roast Turkey with gravy, Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad, Green Bean Casserole, and our classic Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows, and Chess Pie.
However, back in 2013 my husband announced that he was tired of pumpkin pie. Shocked, I went on a mission to create, before the holidays, an alternate pumpkin Thanksgiving dessert that he would love.
After an epic failure of a pumpkin cake roll recipe, I decided to try an easy yet impressive variation of a bread pudding recipe I remembered.
I added pumpkin puree and a warm blend of pumpkin pie spice to the custard, poured it over challah bread, and topped it with pecans and a rich praline sauce. The result was heavenly – even my pumpkin-hating husband loved it. Now it’s a permanent favorite on our Thanksgiving dessert table.
Below is the original photo that went viral on Facebook and Pinterest when this recipe was first published. Many of you may recognize it.
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Thanksgiving Dessert
- Ultimate Make-Ahead Convenience: This is an incredible make ahead Thanksgiving dessert! You can fully assemble and bake the bread pudding a day in advance, storing in the refrigerator until your holiday dinner.
- Better Than Pumpkin Pie: It offers all the same warm, comforting flavors of classic pumpkin spice but features a much richer texture contrast thanks to the crunchy, sticky pecan praline topping.
- Budget-Friendly Pantry Ingredients: Despite looking highly impressive and gourmet, this recipe is perfect for the budget-conscious because it relies on staple baking ingredients like eggs, sugar, butter, and day-old bread that you likely already have on hand.
Important Ingredients for Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding
To guarantee the absolute best texture and flavor, pay close attention to these key recipe ingredients before you start baking.
- The Bread: Use a sturdy, dense, day-old bread like Challah, Brioche, French, or Italian bread. Soft sandwich bread will disintegrate into mush whereas a rich egg bread like Challah holds its shape beautifully while soaking up the pumpkin cream custard.
- Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin puree, not pre-spiced pumpkin pie filling so you can fully control the rich autumn flavor and sugar balance.
- Pecans and Praline Sauce: Toasted pecans add that essential, satisfying crunch that cuts through the pumpkin bread base.
How To Make Pumpkin Bread Pudding With Praline Sauce
Making this holiday favorite is incredibly straight forward and doesn’t require any complicated pastry skill.
Step 1: Prep the Bread: Tear or cube the day old bread into small, bite-sized pieces and scatter them evenly into a greased 9×13 baking dish. They don’t have to be cubed, just roughly about the same size.
Step 2: Make the Pumpkin Custard: In a large bowl, thoroughly combine your heavy cream, half-and-half, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and the homemade pumpkin spice blend.
Step 3: Soak: Slowly pour the vibrant pumpkin custard over the bread pieces, ensuring every piece is covered with custard. You can spoon any extra custard in the dish over any pieces of bread that may have been missed.
Step 4: Bake: Bake pumpkin bread pudding casserole at 350°F for about an hour.
Step 5: Make the Praline Sauce: Simmer your butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and toasted pecans on the stovetop to create the thick, gooey praline sauce to pour over the top of the baked bread pudding before serving.
Pro Tips for Perfect Pumpkin Bread Pudding
- Type of Bread: Use Brioche, Challah, croissants, or other type of bread that has a dense crumb, and sturdy structure that can absorb the pumpkin custard without turning to mush.
- Day Old Bread: For the best results and texture, it’s important to use day old bread that can withstand the heavy custard and praline sauce without losing its structure.
- Pumpkin Puree: Ensure you are using pumpkin puree and not a pre-spiced pumpkin pie filling. This allows you to better control the flavor, sweetness, and texture of the custard, and avoid it from being too sweet and overly spiced.
- Cover Thoroughly: Ensure that every piece of bread is covered in the pumpkin custard to avoid dried out bread without any pumpkin flavor.
- Make Ahead Bread Pudding: You can tear up the bread and make the custard and bake the bread pudding, except the praline sauce, the day before.
- Pecan Praline Sauce: Pour the praline sauce over the bread pudding just before serving and serve warm.
Recipe Variations
- Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce: Switch out the praline topping for a quick caramel or bourbon sauce if you prefer a smoother, nut-free finish.
- Swap Out The Bread: While challah or brioche is our favorite, leftover croissants work beautifully to soak up the pumpkin custard.
More Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Desserts
- Pumpkin Pecan Pie: A flaky pie crust filled with a creamy pumpkin spiced custard filling and pecan topping.
- Pecan Pie Cobbler with Cake Mix: This dessert is a gooey, buttery, nutty mashup of a pecan pie and a pecan cobbler.
- Texas Pecan Pie: A pecan pie with a gooey, caramel-like pie filling topped with crunchy Texas pecans.
- Pumpkin Empanadas: These empanadas de calabaza are hand-held pies with creamy pumpkin filling and a golden brown crust.
- Pumpkin Fluff: This dreamy, creamy, no-bake pumpkin dessert dip makes an incredibly easy make ahead party dip or Thanksgiving dessert.
- Pumpkin Flan: This pumpkin dessert consists of a creamy pumpkin custard dessert covered din a caramel sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Absolutely! You can bake bread pudding (without the praline topping) up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate until to cover with the praline sauce and bake. Make the praline sauce shortly before cooking and pour over the top of the bread pudding just before serving.
Challah and Brioche are the best choices because their rich, sturdy texture soaks up the pumpkin beautifully without getting soggy.
While fresh works, canned pumpkin provides a highly consistent moisture level and texture that makes the pumpkin custard rich, and perfectly spiced and creamy every time.
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Recipe
Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
- 1 pound loaf day old Bread (French, Italian, or Challah), torn into small pieces
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Half and Half
- 1 15-ounce can Pumpkin Puree
- 1-1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 3 tablespoon Melted Butter
- 4 Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice *
Praline Sauce
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Chopped Toasted Pecans
Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and place torn pieces of bread in the dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, half and half, pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Slowly pour the batter over the bread pieces in the baking dish. Be sure to cover all the bread pieces.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 1 hour.
- While the bread pudding is baking, make the praline sauce. In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar; bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, and stir pecans into the cream mixture. Simmer until the sauce thickens, for about 5 minutes.
- Pour over bread pudding to serve.
Video
For more desserts, see below. Check out Flavor Mosaic for recipe ideas for Thanksgiving sides dishes.
Check out these recipe ideas to round out your Complete Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
For another pumpkin recipe idea, try this Pumpkin Maple Coffee Cake from Life Tastes Good.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using this link, at no additional cost to you.
Hi, I’m Michele Feuerborn, a home cook with 25+ years experience, and former AllRecipes Allstar, creating bold & easy Southern, Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Instant Pot recipes. Featured in publications like Parade and BuzzFeed. Read More…
Gina says
Have you tried using any other breads? How do you think it would be with sourdough or brioche bread?
Michele says
Hi Gina, you can certainly use other breads. Brioche and sourdough should both work well.
Thanks,
Michele
Kim says
i like to use sweet hawaiian rolls
Lisa Clemans says
Took it to work today and have received numerous compliments. I did make one change and used butter croissants. This recipe is a definite keeper !! Thank you !
Michele says
Hi Lisa,
I’m so glad everyone liked it. Thanks for letting us know.
Michele
Johanne says
Made this recipe, I used Brioche Bread and added Maple Flavor Extract instead of the Vanilla. I also did not find any Heavy Cream but substituted for Whipping Cream. It turned out very well and by the end of the meal, there was not a crumb left in the dish.
Michele says
Hi Johanne,
I’m so glad you liked it. I’m going to have to try the maple extract next time. That sounds delicious!
Michele
Kim says
instead of half n half try pumpkin pie creamer
Andrea says
If you were making this ahead of time, would you go ahead and pour the praline sauce over the bread as soon as it came out of the oven or would you keep the praline sauce warm in a small crock pot and put on when served?
Michele says
Hi Andrea,
That’s a great question. I’m glad you asked. I recommend doing the latter. Warm it in a small crockpot and pour it over the pumpkin bread pudding when serving. I hope everyone enjoys it!
Thanks,
Michele
Meg says
Hi! I would love to make this recipe, but need to do a Gluten free version. Are there any suggestions on what kind of Gf bread to use? I’d love to buy one, but could bake homemade if necessary. Thanks for this recipe idea!
Andrea says
Do you need to let the bread sit out a day before tearing it up? Also can this be made a day ahead and baked the next. It may be on my Thanksgiving table.
Michele says
Hi Andrea,
You can let it sit out for a day but you don’t have to. Yes, you can make the bread pudding in advance, and then reheat it in the oven or in a crockpot on low. I would recommend making the praline topping the day you plan to serve it and pour it over the bread pudding just before serving.
I hope you like it!
Thanks,
Michele
Kim says
i always dry out my bread i think the liquid soaks up better for a great flavor
Sue Ellen Koch says
Great recipe! I used croissants (I always keep the marked down ones in my freezer!) and cut the sugar to 1 cup only. I never use the full sugar amounts in baking) It turned out great! I ended up pouring the sauce over the bread in the pan (and had some left over). I will do that again the next time I make it. I also poured a bit of bourbon in the sauce…just because I love it! Ha The heat burned out the alcohol.
Highly recommend this recipe.
Kelly says
Am I missing something on the Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding recipe? You use pecans but I don’t see pralines in the recipe?
Michele says
Hi Kelly,
Praline in the title refers to the praline sauce that you make to pour over the bread pudding.
Thanks,
Michele
Griff says
Hello, could I prepare this dish the day before and leave overnight uncooked? Then bake the next day?
Michele says
Hi Griff,
Yes, you can prepare the bread pudding portion of the recipe the day before. However, I would make the praline sauce shortly before serving.
Thanks,
Michele
Izabella says
For the sugar is it 1 1/2 cups of sugar or is it 1/2 cup of a sugar?
Michele says
Hi Izabella,
It is 1 1/2 or 1.5 cups of sugar.
Thanks,
Michele
Joyce says
I made this for Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie. It was so delicious and everyone loved it!
Marylou says
If you make it ahead of time, would you bake it or just leave it soaking?
Michele says
I baked it ahead of time, and then covered it, and make the sauce the day of and reheated the bread pudding the day of. I hope that helps.
Debbie says
I made this yesterday for the family and it was a huge success! Everyone loved it and voted it for Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie. Thanks for sharing this recipe
Michele says
Hi Debbie,
That’s awesome! I’m so glad your family loved it! I agree with your family I vote for Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding over pumpkin pie!
Thanks,
Michele
Amber says
could I cook this in one of the roasters that sit on the counter? just to free up my oven for more dishes. we all know the struggle of juggling dishes in the oven on holidays.
Michele says
Hi Amber,
If the roaster can cook at the temperature needed for the length of time needed, and the dish will fit in there, I don’t see why not.
Thanks,
Michele
Ashlee says
Can you make this in a crockpot? If so, how long? And low or high setting?
Michele says
Hi Ashlee,
Thanks for your question. Yes, it can be made in the slow cooker. Follow steps 2 – 4 in the instructions, except instead of placing the bread cubes in a baking dish, place them in a slow cooker. Pour the pumpkin mixture evenly over the bread, and then slow cook either on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Before serving, and while the bread pudding is cooking, make the praline sauce in a saucepan on the stove, and serve hot with the bread pudding.
Thanks,
Michele