A super-easy bread pudding using cinnamon-raisin bread, homey and lightly sweet
Once upon a time, I stayed at a bed and breakfast (a real one) for a long weekend. On the first morning, the breakfast options were an egg dish or bread pudding along with the usual pastries, toast, and juice. Being a total sucker for bread pudding, I opted for bread pudding. On days two and three, we were only given the bread pudding option. It wasn’t until day three that I realized that the BnB was cleverly using their leftover pastry to make the bread pudding. It was delicious, but not three days in a row.
I have loved bread pudding since I first tasted it: something about the raisins, the dense sweet texture, the way it magically transforms bread into a dessert with a simple custard.
I had been eyeing the new gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread at Trader Joe’s and finally broke down and bought a loaf, as I rarely eat bread these days. It was a little disappointing compared to my memories of cinnamon-raisin bread.
So I did what any reasonable food blogger would do. I asked, what else I could make with it? French toast was too obvious. But bread pudding? I hadn’t make bread pudding for the blog before. And I love how it completely transformed the bread into a lovely dessert, that yes, you could eat for breakfast.
I had a few dates in the fridge, so I used them to add natural sweetness to the custard. I used pumpkin pie spice for depth of flavor, but plain cinnamon will do just fine. I used coconut milk, so this is dairy-free as long as your bread is.
Suitable for:
vegetarian, gluten-free, celiac, dairy-free diets
Not recommended for:
paleo, vegan, low-sodium, migraine diets
You might also like:
Strata (a savory breakfast bread pudding that’s amazing for brunch)
Bread pudding with salted caramel sauce from Cooking Light
Cinnamon apple gluten-free bread pudding from Simply Gluten-Free

Cinnamon-raisin bread pudding {gluten-free}
Ingredients
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk canned, organic, full-fat
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp flax seeds (ground)
- 12 ounces cinnamon raisin bread (gluten-free) gluten-free, 1 loaf from Trader Joe's
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
- 3 dates soaked for 30 minutes
Instructions
- Soak the dates in hot filtered water for 30 minutes.
- Cut the bread up into small cubes and put in a large bowl.
- Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil or butter.
- Set the oven to 350F/180C/gas mark 4 and set the timer for 30 minutes.
- Drain the dates and add to a blender with all the ingredients except the bread. Blend custard mixture well until smooth and no date flecks remain.
- Pour the custard mixture over the bread cubes and stir well with a spatula, making sure that all cubes are thoroughly covered. Let sit until the timer goes off.
- When the timer goes off, stir the bread mixture again, smooshing everything a little bit. Pack into the prepared pan, making sure you press the mixture down into the corners of the pan, and smoothing the top evenly.
- Bake until puffed and golden brown about 30 minutes.
- Let cool on a wire rack before cutting. Serve with fresh berries if desired.
I love this idea! Disappointing bread usually becomes french toast in my house… this is way more fun though! Love the use of dates too. :)
OK :-) I’m game for this one. I’ve been gluten-free for a quarter of a century and it’s been that long since I’ve had bread pudding!!