Whether for breakfast or dessert, this Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce is sure to set your taste buds tingling. A sourdough bread base is poured over with a spiced, milky, sweet mixture, baked to bubbling perfection and topped with a hot, sweet rum sauce. Talk about a tantalizing treat!

We think sourdough makes the best base for this rich and mouth watering bread pudding. Serve it as dessert after enjoying Sausage Green Beans and Potatoes or Creamy Mushroom Chicken.

Easy Bread Pudding

As the weather finally begins to cool down, warm your insides with a cozy, sticky sweet, heaping helping of fresh out of the oven bread pudding. Spiced with flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg and topped with a decadent drizzle of hot spiced rum sauce. Indulge at breakfast, or serve for a perfect after-dinner dessert. Or… treat yourself to both. We certainly can’t get enough!

How To Make Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

For the Bread Pudding:

Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place the cubed sourdough bread in the baking sheet in an even layer.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Then, add the milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg and salt, and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the cubed bread layer and cover the dish with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or longer if time allows. This will let the liquid mixture really sink into the bread.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the bread pudding from the refrigerator and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is set and golden brown in color.

For the Rum Sauce:

Place the sugar, heavy cream, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat. Be sure to stir constantly to prevent burning.
Once the sugar melts completely, carefully pour in the rum. Stir to combine and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the sauce from heat.
Serve the bread pudding on individual plates, and drizzle the dessert with warm rum sauce.

Collage showing how to make bread pudding.

Tips and Variations

Add raisins or dried cranberries to this dessert for an additional sweet, fresh flavor.
Cloves, all spice, and pumpkin spice will all kick up that warm spiced flavor.
The rum sauce is an optional finishing touch. If you aren’t a fan of rum, use vanilla extract for the sauce. You could also make a simple confectioners sugar glaze to drizzle over top as well.
The amount of liquid needed for this bread pudding recipe can actually vary depending on the dryness of the bread you use. Be careful not to use too much of the liquid, or your bread pudding will become soggy.
Dry, stale bread works best. If your bread isn’t dry, after cutting it into cubes and placing it onto the baking sheet, go ahead and bake the bread at 250°F for about 15-20 minutes, or until it feels like the bread has dried out. This gives a much sturdier base to the bread pudding.
Store bought sourdough is recommended for this recipe, unless you’re comfortable making homemade sourdough bread pudding. Sourdough bread is high hydration which makes it difficult for it to soak up the egg/milk mixture. A store bought loaf tends to be drier and works much better.

Rum sauce being poured on a plate of bread pudding.

Storage and Reheating

Refrigerator: Store the bread pudding in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keep the rum sauce in a separate container.

Freezer: This bread pudding can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months while retaining its flavor. We recommend making the rum sauce once taken from the freezer and ready to serve.

Reheating: If frozen, let bread pudding thaw before reheating. To reheat, place the bread pudding, sauce spooned on top in a 350°F oven until warmed through. If it’s an individual serving, it takes about 5-10 minutes. You can also reheat the microwave, about 1 minute.

More Sourdough Recipes

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