Easy Bread Pudding Recipe with Bourbon Sauce

I’m always on the lookout for a terrific old fashioned bread pudding recipe. It’s my favorite dessert to order when I eat out and I experimenting with different bread pudding recipes at home.

So for a food blogger recipe challenge, I took a couple of Kathy of A Spoonful of Thyme’s recipes for bread pudding – San Francisco Bread Pudding and  Bread Pudding with Brandy Sauce – and turned them into something unique and delicious!

How to make bread pudding allergy free

First, I made A Spoonful of Thyme’s easy bread pudding recipes both dairy free and gluten free. Indulging in that much cream, milk and gluten would send me to bed with a tummy ache for a week!

Inspired by Kathy sneaking in shredded coconut into her recipes, I used canned coconut cream instead of cream and rice milk instead of milk. (You can also use unsweetened coconut milk or soy milk.)

I also used leftover gluten free hot dog buns I had in the freezer – waste not, want not! (You can use your favorite gluten free bread.)

Also, instead of sugar I decided to sweeten the bread pudding recipe and bourbon sauce with sorghum syrup, another southern staple. If you don’t have access to sorghum syrup, you can use honey, maple syrup or dark agave nectar instead.

Making bread pudding with bourbon sauce

Traditional, an old fashioned bread pudding recipe could use rum. However, Kathy made her bread pudding with brandy sauce, but I wanted to try a bread pudding with bourbon sauce. (Or something close!) So, I used Chattanooga Whiskey that I bought on a trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Feel free to use your favorite brand of bourbon or Southern whiskey.

Also, to keep the sauce dairy free, instead of butter I used a vegan buttery spread .

Finally, Even though my Easy Bread Pudding Recipe with Bourbon Sauce is perfect for folks with food sensitivities to dairy, whey and gluten, it’s by no means a light dessert. So watch your portions and keep it for special occasions like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Easy Bread Pudding Recipe with Bourbon Sauce

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Recipe

Ingredients

For the pudding:

• 8 cups gluten free bread, cut up into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 cups unsweetened rice milk, coconut milk, or soy milk
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream
• 1 cup sorghum syrup
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 2 tablespoons gluten free vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

For the whiskey sauce:

• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream
• 1/2 cup unsweetened rice milk, coconut milk, or soy milk
• 1/2 cup sorghum syrup
• 2 tablespoons rice starch
• 1/2 cup bourbon, divided
• Pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons non-dairy buttery spread

Directions

For the pudding:

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and blend well. Let sit for 20 minutes so bread absorbs the liquid.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Pour into a greased 11 3/4 inch oven-safe skillet or similarly large baking dish.
4. Bake for 50 minutes until set. The pudding is done when it is puffy and golden brown. Serve warm with the whiskey sauce.

For the whiskey sauce:

1. Combine coconut cream, rice milk, and sorghum syrup in a one-quart saucepan and set over medium heat.
2. In a small mixing bowl, blend the rice starch and 1/4 cup of the whiskey to make a slurry.
3. Pour the slurry into the coconut cream and rice milk mixture and bring it to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
5. Remove the sauce from the heat, add the salt, buttery spread, and the remaining whiskey.
6. Serve warm.

Prep Time: 40 Minutes

Cook Time: 50 Minutes

Total Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Servings: Makes 16 servings

• Serving size: 1/16 of recipe

Originally published on October 14, 2013. Updated with new pictures and information.