Vegan Bread Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

This decadent vegan bread pudding is topped with a homemade butterscotch sauce that melts in your mouth! It has a slight crispness on the top but is so soft and gooey on the inside. It’s easy to make with just a few ingredients, very comforting, and perfect for sharing with others!

Don’t throw your old bread away, use it to make scrumptious, pillowy bread pudding! And if you have lots of leftover stale bread, you can also make this Vegan French Toast!

This is one of those no waste, feel-good desserts that only needs a few simple ingredients and is so easy to make.

Bread Pudding has been around for a very long time. I think it’s so magical how it’s a way of turning bread that is old, hard, and dry into a creamy, delicious dessert. 

Speaking of no-waste, you can dip the rest of the bread loaf in soup such as this Vegan Gnocchi Soup or this Sopa de Fideo.

You Will Love This Bread Pudding Because…

I can’t wait for you to try this ridiculously delicious, eggless, dairy-free recipe!

Fair warning… You might want to share this because it’s too easy to get carried away by serving yourself seconds or thirds!

This bread pudding is soft and gooey on the inside with a little bit of crispness on the top. It’s so good that it can be eaten warm, at room temperature, or even cold! I also like to enjoy it during breakfast or brunch.

The homemade butterscotch sauce goes so well with the bread pudding, which isn’t as sweet. The sauce is perfect for drizzling because of its thin consistency. You’ll find that all of its glorious deliciousness melts in your mouth with every bite. Here's a thicker Butterscotch Sauce recipe that you'll love for other desserts like over vegan ice cream or dipping fruit into!

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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Bread Pudding Ingredients

• Bread - You want day-old bread that’s dry and hard. I prefer to use a solid loaf instead of the pre-sliced bread so that I can cut thick slices. Any type of bread works as long as it’s vegan. Italian, French, Challah, cinnamon raisin, and brioche are all good choices. Dry bread soaks up the liquid better than fresh bread. I have steps down below for how to dry it out if yours isn't already.
• Sugar - Use a vegan/organic cane sugar. Other sugars such as brown, turbinado, or coconut would work, but I find cane sugar to produce the best flavor here. 
• Flaxseeds - Ground flaxseeds, also known as flaxseed meal serve as an egg replacer. It not only thickens the pudding mixture, but flaxseeds also provide nutritional benefits such as omega-3 fatty acids and fiber.
• Plant Milk - Any plant-based milk will work such as oat, almond, soy, etc. It’s okay if your plant-based milk is already sweetened or flavored with vanilla. You can decide if you want to use less sugar and vanilla if they are.
• Vegan Butter - Any plant-based butter brand will work here, but make sure it’s salted. The salt enhances the flavors in a wonderful way. If your butter happens to be unsalted, simply add ⅛ teaspoon of salt to the pudding mixture.
• Nuts - Chopped pecans or any nut of your choice are absolutely optional, although they add a lovely crunch to the top of the bread pudding. Walnuts or almonds would be a great as well. 

Butterscotch Sauce Ingredients

• Vegan Butter - Just like the butter in the bread pudding, we also want the sauce’s butter to be salted. If not, add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the saucepan.
• Brown Sugar - I use light brown sugar to sweeten the sauce. Dark brown works too, but will have a deeper, rustic flavor to it. The sauce is considered butterscotch because of the brown sugar, but you can use cane sugar to create caramel sauce instead. Either one is just as delicious!
• Plant Milk - Any plant milk works.
• Vanilla Extract - Pure vanilla extract adds a touch of amazing flavor to the sauce. I like to add mine at the beginning of the cooking process to produce a subtle hint of vanilla flavoring. Although, you can wait until you remove the pan from the heat to add it for a stronger aroma. 

How to Make Vegan Bread Pudding

Here are some quick visual steps. Find the full recipe with exact measurements on the recipe card below.

Bread Pudding Step-by-Step Instructions

• If your bread is not hard, slice it and dry it out in the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 250°F on a baking sheet. Or you can slice it and leave it on the counter for a few hours. Dry bread soaks up the liquid better than fresh bread.
• Mix the cane sugar, flaxseed meal, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
• Then, warm the plant milk and vegan butter in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Stir this until the butter has melted.
• Pour this warm creamy mixture into the bowl along with the vanilla. Whisk them together and set the bowl aside for 5 minutes. This will give the flaxseed meal time to absorb the liquid and thicken.

• Grease a large casserole or oven-safe dish. Cut half of the loaf into 6 thick slices and then cube them. This should be about 6 cups.
• Make sure to include the crust because it'll create such a tasty bite. Add the bread to the casserole dish. Spread it out in an even layer.

• Give the pudding mixture a good stir and then pour it over the bread. Press all of the bread pieces down into the liquid.
• Place a piece of foil on the bottom rack of your oven in case the bread pudding bubbles over. Preheat the oven and then let the bread soak up the liquid for 10 minutes while the oven heats.
• Sprinkle the chopped nuts on top and bake the bread pudding for about 45-55 minutes.
• It is done when it has a golden brown color on top and the center doesn’t have a pool of liquid anymore. The sides will also be pulling away from the edge a bit.

Make The Vegan Butterscotch

• Make the butterscotch sauce while the bread pudding is in the oven. Start by melting the vegan butter in a small pan over medium heat.
• Then, add the brown sugar, plant milk, and vanilla. Stir this occasionally as it cooks down.
• The sauce will start to foam and bubble. Turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to stir occasionally as it simmers. Once thick, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
• Drizzle the sauce over the bread pudding when it comes out of the oven. You can either eat this dessert warm or let it cool down before you do. It will set as it cools.

Variation Ideas

• Use different types of bread such as French, Challah, cinnamon raisin, etc. 
• Add chocolate chips, raisins, or dried cranberries to the bread pudding.
• Mix-in fresh fruit like blueberries or peeled apples.
• Top it with fruit, powdered sugar, vegan ice cream, or whipped topping.

Make Ahead

• Option 1: Cover and place the casserole dish with the soaking bread in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, let it come to room temperature for about 20 minutes and then bake it in the oven as noted in the recipe card.
• Option 2: Fully bake the bread pudding and drizzle the butterscotch sauce over the top. Let it cool down completely before storing it in the refrigerator (covered). Reheat it by warming it in the oven at 325° for 20 minutes.

Storage

Store leftover bread pudding in a covered dish in the refrigerator for 4 days or the freezer for 3 months. If frozen, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat the bread pudding in the oven or microwave until it's heated through.

Related Vegan Recipes

• Butterscotch Sauce
• Blackberry Lemon Scones
• Homemade Cherry Pie
• Apple Galette
• Pear Crumble
• Tiramisu

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