Donut bread pudding is a decadent breakfast or dessert dish made with day old donuts soaked in a rich cinnamon vanilla custard. Once baked, this doughnut pudding can be topped with powdered sugar and jam.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
I love a decadent recipe that works just as well for breakfast as it does for dessert. My Apple Bread Pudding, Pumpkin Bread Pudding, Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce, Chocolate Bread Pudding, Banana Bread Pudding and Brioche French Toast Casserole are just a few of the many that I love making. This donut bread recipe is no exception. Here are a couple reasons I know you’ll reach for this donut pudding over and over again.
- Easy to make. This cozy bread pudding tastes like something you could find in a restaurant, but you may be surprised to learn just how easy it is to make! This quick and easy recipe comes together in about 10 minutes. All you have to do after mixing all the ingredients is to simply bake it, top and enjoy!
- Perfectly cozy and made for indulgent holiday breakfasts or desserts. There’s nothing more satisfying than enjoying a deliciously indulgent breakfast or dessert everyone will love. This simple bread pudding with donuts is the perfect easy to make breakfast or dessert.
Ingredients
This easy bread pudding with donuts recipe requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge.
Ingredients: Gather day old or stale donuts, eggs, sugar, milk, heavy cream, ground cinnamon and nutmeg, salt and vanilla extract.
Substitutions
This donut pudding recipe is as easy to make as it is delicious. Here are my recommended substitutions if you need them.
- Yeasted Donuts: This bread pudding needs 12 stale, yeasted glazed donuts. Feel free to use donuts from your favorite donut shop.
- Eggs: Bread pudding needs eggs. Therefore, this ingredient can not be substituted for this bread pudding with donuts recipe.
- Sugar: Maple sugar is a wonderful refined sugar free alternative.
- Heavy Cream: Use an equal amount of half and half.
- Milk: Whole milk is preferred, but feel free to use any milk you like. Alternatively, use an equal amount of half and half.
- Ground Cinnamon and Nutmeg: If you don’t have both cinnamon and nutmeg, feel free to omit or use your preferred spices.
- Vanilla Extract: This gives a lovely flavor boost to the spiced donut pudding.
How To Make
Learn how to make donut bread pudding in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Cut each donut into 8 cubes. Bake the donut pieces for about 20 minutes or until the cubes are dried out. Alternatively leave the donuts out overnight to dry out. Pour a tablespoon (15 ml) of melted butter into the bottom of a 9x13 oven safe casserole dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in the sugar, milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon and nutmeg (if using) until well combined.
- Add the cubed donut pieces. Gently mix the doughnuts into the spiced custard. Allow the bread pudding mixture to rest and soak in the vanilla custard for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C) for about 30 minutes. Add the soaked donuts to the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake the donut bread pudding for 50 - 60 minutes. The center should be puffed up as high as the sides. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. Top the bread pudding with powdered sugar and jam if you like.
How To Store, Freeze, Thaw and Reheat
- Store: Fully cool the baked cinnamon banana bread pudding. Cover the dish with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Fully cool the baked donut pudding. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Thaw and Reheat: Transfer the entire bread pudding dish (or sliced pieces) to the fridge to thaw overnight. Reheat the donut pudding by baking it in a 350 F (177 C) oven until warmed though or slice into pieces and heat through in the microwave. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy.
M’s Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly and easily resulting in a smoother cinnamon vanilla custard filling.
- Use dried out donuts. The best donut bread pudding uses stale donuts. Leave the donuts out overnight or cut and then bake in them in a 325 F (160 C) oven for about 20 minutes. Cool the donuts and then follow the rest of the recipe as written.
- Evenly cube the donuts. Cut each donut into 8 pieces per donut.
- Use a 9x13 casserole dish. This bread pudding really puffs up while baking so make sure to use the correct size dish. For this recipe use a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) oven safe dish. If you need to use a smaller dish, cut the recipe in half and bake this in an 8 x 8 (20 cm) dish for about 30 - 35 minutes.
- Top the warm bread pudding with your favorite toppings. Although this dish tastes amazing without toppings, I love topping this donut bread pudding with the suggested powdered sugar and raspberry jam. It reminds me of a jelly donut! Caramel sauce, store bought caramel sauce, chocolate chips, toasted chopped pecans or vanilla sauce are all excellent toppings as well.
FAQs
Doughnut bread pudding is a rich and creamy bread pudding made with stale yeasted glazed donuts soaked in a spiced vanilla custard.
If you have the time, leave the donuts out on the counter overnight in a single layer. If you don’t have the time, cut the donuts into the recommended cubes, and bake them in a 325 F (160 C) pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.
Yes, bread pudding is best made with day old, stale doughnuts. Fresh donuts will soak up too much of the custard and will become mushy. Stale bread soaks up just enough custard to retain its shape and still bake up into a delicious bread pudding.
Bread pudding takes about an hour to bake. The top should be golden brown and no custard should seep through when the center of the bread pudding is gently pressed down.
Other Donut Recipes
If you try this Donut Bread Pudding recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M
Donut Bread Pudding Recipe
Equipment
- 1 large baking sheet
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan
Ingredients
- 12 day old or stale yeasted donuts about 1 pound
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1½ cups (360 ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Cut each donut into 8 cubes. Bake the donut pieces for about 20 minutes or until the cubes are dried out. Alternatively leave the donuts out overnight to dry out. Pour a tablespoon (15 ml) of melted butter into the bottom of a 9x13 oven safe casserole dish.12 day old or stale yeasted donuts
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in the sugar, milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon and nutmeg (if using) until well combined. Add the cubed donut pieces. Gently mix the doughnuts into the spiced custard. Allow the bread pudding mixture to rest and soak in the vanilla custard for about 30 minutes.4 large eggs, room temperature, 1½ cups (360 ml) whole milk, room temperature, 1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream, room temperature, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract , ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, optional
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C) for about 30 minutes.
- Add the soaked donuts to the prepared baking dish. Bake the donut bread pudding for 50 - 60 minutes. The center should be puffed up as high as the sides. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. Cool the bread pudding for about 15 - 20 minutes. Top the bread pudding with powdered sugar and jam if you like.
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