Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce is here just in time to make your fall season SO much more scrumptious! Every bite of this warm, soft, and fluffy dessert is rich with real fall flavor and drizzled with an absolutely dreamy homemade rum sauce.
I can never get enough pumpkin flavor during the fall months! From September to November, all I dream about is pumpkin spice everything. However, there are other popular fall flavors that I enjoy in recipes like Southern Apple Pie, Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding, and Candied Pecans!
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
This might just be the ultimate fall dessert… EVER! Move aside, pumpkin and pecan pies, there’s a new Thanksgiving dessert that’s going to be the centerpiece of the spread this year.
Bread cubes are all dressed up with autumnal ingredients like pumpkin puree, crunchy pecans, warm pumpkin pie spice and more. Plus, it’s all topped off with a creamy and sweet rum sauce that’ll have you downright drooling!
Serve this fall dessert at Thanksgiving or just on a regular Tuesday night – you’re in for a real treat either way!
How to Make Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Step 1 – decide who gets to lick the rum sauce spoon beforehand to avoid an all out brawl in the kitchen.
For the bread pudding:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a casserole dish.
- Add the bread to the casserole dish.
- Whisk together all of the bread pudding ingredients. Pour the mixture over the bread.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Uncover and bake for 35-40 minutes.
For the rum sauce:
- Stir all of the ingredients except for the rum in a medium pan over low heat.
- Stir in the rum for another minute or so, then remove from the heat.
- Drizzle the bread pudding with the warm rum sauce.
Tips and Variations
- Feel free to reduce or omit the rum in the rum sauce. Use a little rum extract in place of the rum if desired. Bourbon is another option if rum is unavailable.
- Want to elevate this dish even more with fall flavor?! Use candied pecans instead of regular ones.
- Use a large bakery style loaf of white bread for this recipe. It tends to be much sturdier than sliced sandwich bread, so it’ll hold its shape in the liquid pumpkin mixture.
- We like a little booziness in the rum sauce, so we don’t cook it very long once the rum gets added. Cook it longer than the time written in the instructions to reduce the amount of alcohol even more.
- Don’t worry if the butter in filling hardens back up while it’s being stirred into the other ingredients. All that butter gets distributed throughout the bread and melts beautifully as the bread bakes.
Storage and Reheating:
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge, this bread pudding with pumpkin will stay fresh for up to 4 days.
Reheating: Microwave your leftovers in 10 second intervals until warmed through.
Can I freeze Pumpkin Bread Pudding?
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. It doesn’t hold up well or maintain its original qualities once thawed from frozen.
Can I use pumpkin pie filling?
Nope! For this recipe, you’ll need pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling is sweetened like crazy. In this bread pudding recipe, the pumpkin flavor is enhanced by the other ingredients perfectly.
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Ingredients
Bread Pudding:
- 16 ounces loaf of bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (large bakery style loaf)
- 7 large eggs
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup pecans, chopped (optional)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted then cooled
- 2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon(s) salt
Rum Sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup dark rum
Instructions
For the Bread Pudding:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish.
- Add the bread to the casserole dish and set aside.16 ounces loaf of bread
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, sugar, pecans, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Pour it evenly over the bread ensuring that all of it gets soaked. Stir if necessary to combine the ingredients.7 large eggs3 cups whole milk1 cup pumpkin puree¾ cup granulated sugar½ cup pecans¼ cup light brown sugar3 tablespoons unsalted butter2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice½ teaspoon(s) salt
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, uncover, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until it springs back when pushed in the center. A knife inserted in the center should come out mostly clean.
For the Rum Sauce:
- Place the sugar, heavy cream, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, while stirring constantly to prevent burning.1 cup granulated sugar⅓ cup heavy cream½ cup unsalted butter
- After the sugar melts completely, carefully pour in the rum. Stir to combine, and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.¼ cup dark rum
- Serve the bread pudding on individual plates, and drizzle with rum sauce.
- See post for tips and storage options.