Apple Rum Raisin Bread Pudding
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Settle in for a comforting treat with my apple rum raisin bread pudding, featuring tart apples, rum-soaked raisins, and a vanilla-cinnamon custard baked into soft challah—just right for a chilly autumn night.
This twist on classic bread pudding is the ultimate cozy dessert for a chilly autumn night. Made with challah bread, a vanilla and cinnamon-scented custard, tart apples, and plump rum-soaked raisins, it’s the perfect balance of sweet, boozy, and tart. Serve it warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for a comforting and satisfying treat.
If you’re a fan of the apple and raisin combo, you may also enjoy either this Amish-style baked oatmeal or morning glory baked oatmeal — both are a comforting and filling way to start your day, or my apple strudel which is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.
Table of Contents
“The best bread pudding we have ever had! Dish cleaned out. Not a crumb left.”
What You’ll Need To Make Apple Rum Raisin Bread Pudding
- Raisins: Infuse the pudding with bursts of sweetness and chewy texture.
- Rum: Imparts a warm and complex layer of flavor to the pudding. Either dark or spiced rum works nicely.
- Eggs: Bind the pudding together, providing structure and richness.
- Whole Milk: Creates a creamy base for the pudding, ensuring a moist and tender texture.
- Sugar: Sweetens the pudding, balancing the flavors and enhancing its overall richness.
- Butter: Adds richness and moisture to the pudding, contributing to its indulgent texture.
- Cinnamon: Provides a warm and aromatic element that complements the sweetness of the pudding.
- Vanilla: Enhances the overall flavor profile of the pudding with its sweet notes.
- Challah or Brioche Cubes: Serve as the base of the pudding, soaking up the custard mixture and providing a soft and fluffy texture.
- Apple: Adds a fruity and slightly tangy flavor to the pudding. I recommend a large tart baking apple (such as Granny Smith).
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place the raisins and rum in a shallow bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Let the raisins soak in the rum while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk, sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.
Whisk until evenly combined.
Add the challah cubes, sliced apples and raisins/rum mixture.
Stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, making sure the apples and raisins are evenly distributed. Let stand for at least 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.
Bake until the top is golden and puffy and the center is set, 55 to 60 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! The bread pudding can be assembled and refrigerated overnight. It can go straight from the fridge to the oven when you’re ready to serve it. (Because it will be cold, it may take an extra minute or two in the oven.)
Yep, it’s perfectly fine to freeze bread pudding for up to 3 months. After baking it and completely cooling, double-wrap the bread pudding securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Before serving, reheat in a 300°F-oven until warmed through.
Enriched breads like challah and brioche are the best breads to use for bread pudding, but if you have a loaf of French or Italian bread, they’ll work too. Just avoid using sourdough because its tangy flavor doesn’t go well with the sweet custard. The bread can be fresh or slightly stale; actually day-old bread is perfect for this dessert, as it will more readily soak up the custard mixture.
You May Also Like
Apple Rum Raisin Bread Pudding
Settle in for a comforting treat with my apple rum raisin bread pudding, featuring tart apples, rum-soaked raisins, and a vanilla-cinnamon custard baked into soft challah—just right for a chilly autumn night.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup raisins
- 2 tablespoons dark or spiced rum
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups packed challah or brioche cubes, from one loaf with crust removed (you won't use entire loaf)
- 1 large tart baking apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, cut into ⅛-inch slices and then cut in half
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the raisins and rum in a shallow bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Let the raisins soak in the rum while you prepare the other ingredients.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk, sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla and whisk until evenly combined. Add the challah cubes, sliced apples and raisins/rum mixture and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, making sure the apples and raisins are evenly distributed. Let stand for at least 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.
- Bake until the top is golden and puffy and the center is set, 55 to 60 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
- Note: The nutritional information does not include the ice cream
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread pudding can be assembled and refrigerated for a few hours and up to overnight. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap or in a freezer-safe container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Before serving, reheat in the oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 354
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 56 g
- Sugar: 39 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Sodium: 253 mg
- Cholesterol: 126 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
The best bread pudding we have ever had! Dish cleaned out. Not a crumb left.
Could I this with stale croissants?
Sure!
Hi Jennifer:
A quick question for you…do you have to make it in a glass dish? Ceramic okay?
Thanks
Mary
Hi Mary, Ceramic would be perfectly fine to use. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi Jennifer! Should I omit the rum if a toddler will be eating the bread pudding? Thanks.
Nope — not necessary as it will cook off while the dish bakes. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn – Another great recipe! My husband’s grandfather especially loves this and asks that I make it for him all the time haha! I do have one question though, when I take mine out of the oven, it always looks like the picture of yours in the blue dish but then deflates. I follow the recipe exactly so I’m not sure where I am going wrong. It still tastes great but it just looks a little less impressive. Any ideas?
Hi Elizabeth, so glad this has been well received! It’s actually normal for bread putting to deflate when you take it out of the oven so it doesn’t sound like you’re doing anything wrong. If you’d like to try a technique to maintain that puffiness, I read about this method online. Please keep in mind that I haven’t tried it myself. Hope you find it helpful!
I have made this twice and hubby and I absolutely loved it. I want to make it again but after making the marbled chocolate cake a second time after you added the metric measure and seeing the difference in texture, I wonder if this will be even better if I used accurate measures? Help please
Hi Nenny, I just added the metric conversion for this – enjoy! 🙂
Made this for the first time this Thanksgiving with the leftover bread from my stuffing. This is the best and easiest recipe for Bread pudding I’ve tried, and I’ve been trying a new recipe every year for a while. I did use 2% milk, it was fine. Next time I think I will try brown sugar instead (I have a sweet tooth), and I will increase the rum.
Hello Jenn, I’ve made this twice and it came out delicious the first time. The second time, I left it in the oven after it finished cooking with the oven turned off. When I finally took it out, the bread had become quite dry. I’ve refrigerated it now. Do you have any suggestions on how I can salvage it?
That’s a tough one SP – Prior to reheating it, you could try sprinkling it with a little water or milk to moisten it up. Also, a little ice cream will moisten things up nicely too. 🙂
Hello Jenn, I want to make this with my home made bread. Could you please estimate how much bread to use (by weight?)
Hi Deniza, I’m guesstimating that you’d need 1/2 – 3/4 of a pound of bread. Hope you enjoy!
It sounds wonderful. I cannot find challah bread. What can I use as a substitute?
Thank you.
Hi Sharon, Brioche would be a good substitute. Enjoy!