Savory Bread Pudding

This savory bread pudding with mushrooms and butternut squash is easy to prepare and tastes great for breakfast or dinner.

What is Bread Pudding?

Bread pudding is usually a sweet dessert made with day-old bread and flavored with spices like cinnamon and vanilla. But, I’m much more of a savory bread pudding fan! For this recipe will be highlighting fall flavors like butternut squash. I love this recipe because it’s almost like a deconstructed quiche. You get the baked egg flavor and texture along with the crust flavors from the bread pudding. This makes an easy breakfast to serve or a hearty side dish for dinner. Use whatever veggies you have on had or your fall favorites, and the possibilities are endless!

Obviously, you need a good loaf of bread for bread pudding. You can use day-old bread that might be almost stale. The egg mix will soften it up, and you’ll get crunchy tops that cook above the egg mix, and softer parts that are soaking in the mix. You could use a crusty baguette, or a rustic crusty bread. I also like to use my bread recipe that makes a tasty loaf. It’s best to have the bread made ahead of making the bread pudding so that the bread is cooled and a bit harder.

Culinary Skill: Checking for Doneness

How many recipes do you see that ask you to stick a toothpick into the dish or dessert to see if it’s done? This is a common way to check for doneness, and it’s really important because all ovens cook differently! If you’re oven is set at 350, it might really hover around 340 degrees. Some ovens have hot spots where one side of a pan might cook quicker than the other. This is important because the person who tested a recipe is using a different oven than you are. Recipe times might be a little different than what you need for your oven.

Cooking times are helpful, but they are an estimate.

It’s important to check on food in your oven to see if it’s finished early or need 5 more minutes. That’s where the toothpick comes in. Most batters are runny and sticky when they are uncooked. Once a cake, bread, or quiche are cooked, the texture changes. Sticking a toothpick in the middle to see if it comes out clean let’s you see that the dish is done. Seeing if your dish is set and checking with a toothpick are two simple ways to see if your dish is done.

Savory Fall Bread Pudding

This savory bread pudding with mushrooms and butternut squash is easy to prepare and tastes great for breakfast or dinner.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Side Dish

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

  

• ½ medium yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups mushrooms quartered
• 1 cup butternut squash cooked
• 2 cups half and half
• 6 eggs
• 1 loaf bread (about 1.4 lbs/ 650g)
• 2 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Cut the butternut squash into 1 inch cubes. The recipe works best if they have been cooked ahead of time so they are soft by then end of cooking time. Roast them in the oven for about 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the dish if not already prepared. 
• Cut the onion into about 1/2 inch pieces. Mince the garlic. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and quarter the caps. 
• In a oven-safe skillet over medium heat, add a neutral oil and add the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent. 
• Add the mushrooms and cook until they have released their liquid. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the cooked butternut squash, and remove from heat. 
• In a separate bowl, and the half and half and eggs and whisk to combine.
• Cut the bread into about 1 inch cubes and add to the egg mixture. Add the basil, salt, and pepper. 
• Pour the egg and bread mixture into the skillet and stir to make sure the veggies and bread are evenly distributed. If you do not have a ovenproof skillet, you can pour all the ingredients into a pie pan or oven safe casserole dish. 
• Bake for about 30 minutes or until the egg is set when you shake the pan or a toothpick comes out clean.

Notes

Optional Ingredients include parmesan cheese for topping. Any bread will work, but the best option would be a loaf with a thick crust or even bread that is older and almost stale. To make the recipe dairy free, sub in your favorite plant milk for the half and half. I have not tested this recipe with Just Egg, but I have seen others use it for a plant-based egg bake.

Keyword Vegetarian

I’m obsessed with butternut squash around this time of year. I knew I needed it in this savory fall bread pudding. However, you could use this bread pudding base and swap out the squash and mushrooms for any of your favorite veggies! Let me know what veggies or flavors you’d use in the comments below. Let me know how yours turns out!