Leftover bread or buns are no longer an issue thanks to this simple Bread Pudding with Hamburger Buns. It's spiced, moist, and fluffy. You're never going to complain about the stale hamburger buns in the pantry again.
Save This Recipe to Your Inbox
Enter your email and we’ll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you’ll join our email list and can unsubscribe anytime.
I can't be the only one who has kids who eat the hot dogs but not the buns, right? Or has a family that won't touch the ends of a loaf of bread because it's "too much crust"? Thankfully, this recipe for bread pudding with leftover bread has saved me from wasting bread for YEARS.
Once the bread is all cut up and soggy in an egg mixture, you can't really tell what belonged to buns or bread loaves. But you can tell that it's going to taste great. This is one of my "mom hacks" that I swear by.
You can even take these unwanted pieces of bread to make Oreo Bread Pudding, Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread Pudding, or turn leftover bagels into Blueberry Bagel Bread Pudding. There's so much possibility!
Jump to:
💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- You can use any bread. This hot dog bun bread pudding uses any stale bread. I often do a mixture of hot dog buns, hamburger buns, or sandwich bread, depending on what I already have on hand.
- It's easy. Just whisk up some egg mixture and dice up some bread, toss it together in a pan, and bake.
- Simple ingredients. By repurposing leftovers like unwanted bread and adding in other simple ingredients like eggs, vanilla, sugar, and butter, we can have a frugal dish to serve for your morning meal.
🛒 Ingredients
Stale bread: Day-old or older bread works best because it absorbs the custard without turning mushy. Fresh bread works in a pinch but may soften too much. Homemade options like Vegan Slider Buns, Vegan Burger Buns, and 2 Hour No Knead White Bread work just as well as store-bought.
Milk: Use milk to get the egg mixture to the correct consistency so that it can nicely coat all of the bread.
Sugars: A mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar adds sweetness plus deeper caramel flavor as it bakes.
Glaze: A simple mix of butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla finishes the bread pudding with just the right touch of sweetness.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Save leftover bread: Keep odds and ends in a freezer bag until you have enough for Bread Pudding with Hamburger Buns.
Use what you have: This recipe is perfect for using up bread before it goes to waste.
Skip extras if needed: The bread pudding is still delicious without glaze if you want to save a little more.
🥄 Instructions for Bread Pudding with Hamburger Buns
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease the inside of an 8x8 baking dish or a 2 quart-sized casserole dish.
Step 2: Place your cubed stale bread inside the pan.
Step 3: Drizzle melted butter over the top of the bread. (Image 1).
Step 4: In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until blended. (Image 2). Combine all of the other ingredients until smooth and well blended. (Image 3).
Step 5: Pour the mixture over the top of the bread. Try to get it to coat as much surface space as possible.
Step 6: Lightly press down on the bread so that it's submerged into the egg mixture and becomes wet. (Image 4).
Step 7: Bake the pudding in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until a knife can be inserted and it comes out clean.
Step 8: For the glaze, melt the butter and add the other ingredients. (Image 5). Mix with the remaining ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk until smooth. (Image 6).
Step 9: Let the bread pudding cool slightly. (Image 7).
Step 10: Drizzle the icing over the bread pudding (Image 8) and serve.
Enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Use stale bread: Bread that's already dry holds its shape better. To speed things up, toast cubed bread in a low oven for about 10 minutes.
- Mix the custard well: Fully blend the eggs and milk to avoid streaks of cooked egg in the finished pudding.
- Sweeten to taste: Start with the listed sugar amounts, then adjust if you prefer a more or less sweet dessert.
❄️ Storage, Reheating & Make Ahead
Storage: Store baked Bread Pudding with Hamburger Buns covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheating: Warm individual servings in the microwave or reheat the pan in a 300°F oven until heated through.
Make Ahead: Assemble the bread pudding, cover, and refrigerate up to 2 days before baking. If using a glass dish, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats to avoid temperature shock.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
Serve Bread Pudding with Hamburger Buns warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or fresh berries. It also pairs nicely with coffee, hot tea, or a simple breakfast spread for brunch.
- Spiced Pear MuffinsRecipe $5.01 / Serving $0.42
- Sourdough Apple MuffinsRecipe $5.09 / Serving $0.42
- Peach Sourdough BreadRecipe $4.05 / Serving $0.25
- Sourdough Bread PuddingRecipe $1.98 / Serving $0.33
❓ Recipe FAQs
You can be stored baked bread pudding in the freezer for up to 4 months if it has not had any sauce poured over the top and it is kept well covered/wrapped. This would mean a few layers of aluminum foil, at the least.
The top of the bread should look golden brown, and the center should still have a little jiggle to it, as it's supposed to have a custard-like center. The internal temperature should reach at least 160 degrees F (because of the eggs) to be safe to eat.
It can be served as a dessert or breakfast food. I often found it in the dessert section of Truck Stop Restaurant's Salad Bars, but ingredient-wise, it's basically a baked french toast casserole and, therefore, could be classified as breakfast or brunch.
🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- Oreo Bread PuddingRecipe $4.95 / Serving $0.62
- Strawberry Cheesecake Crescent RollsRecipe $3.23 / Serving $0.40
- Peanut Butter Banana Overnight OatsRecipe $0.73
- Easy Crepes With Pancake MixRecipe $2.84 / Serving $0.28
🐝 If you tried this Bread Pudding with Hamburger Buns, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Bread Pudding with Hamburger Buns
Ingredients
Bread Pudding
- 6 cups bread, cubed - ($0.99)
- 2-4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted - ($0.37)
- 2 cups milk - ($0.37)
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten - ($0.96)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar - ($0.11)
- ¼ cup brown sugar - ($0.31)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - ($0.03)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - ($0.08)
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg - ($0.04)
- ¼ teaspoon salt - ($0.02)
Glaze
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted - ($0.25)
- ⅔ cups powdered sugar - ($0.27)
- 2 teaspoon milk or water - ($0.01)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - ($0.03)
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish or a 2-quart casserole dish.
- Assemble bread. Add the cubed bread to the prepared dish and drizzle with the melted butter.
- Make custard. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until smooth.
- Soak. Pour the custard evenly over the bread. Gently press the bread down so it absorbs the mixture.
- Bake. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the custard is set.
- Make glaze. Whisk together the melted butter, powdered sugar, milk or water, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Finish. Drizzle the glaze over the warm bread pudding and serve.
Notes
- Bread options. Use about 6 to 7 hamburger or hot dog buns, sandwich bread, or similar. Dry fresh bread on a baking sheet at the lowest oven setting for about 10 minutes.
- Doneness check. The center should reach 160°F and have a custard-like texture.
- Mixing tip. Whisk custard thoroughly to avoid streaks of egg white.
- Make ahead. Assemble the night before, refrigerate, and bake in the morning after letting the dish sit out during oven preheating.
- Freezing. Freeze baked bread pudding without glaze for up to 4 months, tightly wrapped.
Nutritional Information
Save This Recipe to Your Inbox
Enter your email and we'll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you'll join our email list and can unsubscribe anytime.
Sara says
So easy to make and so delicious!
Victoria says
Delicious. Just the right amount of sweetness. The only thing only thing is that I didn't see instructions for the glaze so I just mixed the ingredients and poured over each piece individually as we didn't eat it all in one sitting.
Nicole says
Glad you liked it! 🙂
Tracy says
What temperature do you bake this at?
Nicole says
Bake at 350 degrees F