Challah bread pudding is an ideal weekend breakfast or brunch dish, with a soft and sweet inside and crispy, golden brown top. Serve it with a salty caramel sauce, rich chocolate sauce, or creamy custard sauce.

Challah Bread Pudding Recipe With 4 Sauce Options

Challah bread pudding is sweet, warm, and fluffy bread pudding using challah bread. [Challah](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/classic-challah-bread-recipe) is an enriched bread, similar to [brioche](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/french-brioche-recipe-from-apollonia-poilane), meaning it has eggs and butter in the dough. However, many challah recipes use oil instead of butter to keep kosher. Challah is soft and chewy with a tender crust, making it a good option for [French toast](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/french-toast-recipe) and bread pudding. Challah is slightly sweet, so it complements the flavors of other bread pudding ingredients, like warm spices and [brown sugar](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-brown-sugar). 

The soft but ideally stale bread soaks up the custard mixture and bakes in a baking dish to cook the [custard](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-custard). The top of the bread pudding is crispy and golden brown, while the inside is moist and fluffy. Serve challah bread pudding with a sauce, fresh whipped cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar. [__Jump to recipe__](challah-bread-pudding#6A3izWqDOsoCiUmJak0Gzy).
Serve challah bread pudding with any of the four sauces below. 

1. __Chocolate sauce__: Use homemade or store-bought chocolate sauce to add a rich flavor to the challah bread pudding. Depending on how sweet the bread pudding is, a dark or [semisweet chocolate](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/bittersweet-vs-semisweet) sauce offsets the sweetness of the pudding. 
2. __Crème Anglaise__: This French custard is commonly known as the custard that eventually turns into ice cream. However, it is a typical British dessert sauce for things like [sticky toffee pudding](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/sticky-toffee-pudding-recipe) in its liquid form. It’s sweet, thick, and complementary to the flavors in bread pudding.
3. __Salted caramel sauce__: Balance the sweetness in a bread pudding with a salty caramel sauce. Make it as salty as desired and drizzle it over the bread pudding while the pudding and caramel sauce are warm.
4. __Vanilla sauce__: Similar to a [crème Anglaise](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/chef-thomas-kellers-creme-anglaise-recipe)’s flavor but lighter in texture, vanilla sauce combines water, sugar, heavy whipping cream, cornstarch, butter, and vanilla extract or vanilla bean. Use less cornstarch for a thinner sauce that soaks into the bread pudding or more for a thicker sauce that drizzles and sits on top of the pudding.
Use the tips below for making soft and sweet challah bread pudding:

1. __Add warm spices to the custard mixture__. To balance the sweetness of the custard and the challah bread, add warm spices like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom to the custard mixture. 
2. __Cover the bread pudding for at least half the baking time__. To prevent the top of the bread pudding from burning during the long baking process, cover the pudding with aluminum foil. Remove the aluminum foil with about fifteen to twenty minutes left in the baking time, so the top of the pudding gets golden brown and crispy.
3. __Use day-old challah bread__. Challah bread is too soft in its fresh form to work in bread pudding because it would disintegrate after soaking up the custard. Stale bread works much better. Slice a loaf of challah into thick slices, then cut the slices into one-inch cubes. Leave the cubes out on a baking sheet for a few hours or overnight to let them dry out.
Challah bread pudding is an ideal weekend breakfast or brunch dish, with a soft and sweet inside and crispy, golden brown top. Serve it with a salty caramel sauce, rich chocolate sauce, or creamy custard sauce.

Challah bread pudding is sweet, warm, and fluffy bread pudding using challah bread. <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/classic-challah-bread-recipe' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/classic-challah-bread-recipe","linkCopy":"Challah","category":null}'>Challah</a> is an enriched bread, similar to <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/french-brioche-recipe-from-apollonia-poilane' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/french-brioche-recipe-from-apollonia-poilane","linkCopy":"brioche","category":null}'>brioche</a>, meaning it has eggs and butter in the dough. However, many challah recipes use oil instead of butter to keep kosher. Challah is soft and chewy with a tender crust, making it a good option for <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/french-toast-recipe' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/french-toast-recipe","linkCopy":"French toast","category":null}'>French toast</a> and bread pudding. Challah is slightly sweet, so it complements the flavors of other bread pudding ingredients, like warm spices and <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-brown-sugar' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-brown-sugar","linkCopy":"brown sugar","category":null}'>brown sugar</a>. The soft but ideally stale bread soaks up the custard mixture and bakes in a baking dish to cook the <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-custard' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-custard","linkCopy":"custard","category":null}'>custard</a>. The top of the bread pudding is crispy and golden brown, while the inside is moist and fluffy. Serve challah bread pudding with a sauce, fresh whipped cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar. <a href='challah-bread-pudding#6A3izWqDOsoCiUmJak0Gzy' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"challah-bread-pudding#6A3izWqDOsoCiUmJak0Gzy","linkCopy":"\u003cstrong class=\"mc-text--bold\"\u003eJump to recipe\u003c/strong\u003e","category":null}'>Jump to recipe</a>.

What Is Challah Bread Pudding?

Serve challah bread pudding with any of the four sauces below. <ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Chocolate sauce: Use homemade or store-bought chocolate sauce to add a rich flavor to the challah bread pudding. Depending on how sweet the bread pudding is, a dark or <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/bittersweet-vs-semisweet' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/bittersweet-vs-semisweet","linkCopy":"semisweet chocolate","category":null}'>semisweet chocolate</a> sauce offsets the sweetness of the pudding. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Crème Anglaise: This French custard is commonly known as the custard that eventually turns into ice cream. However, it is a typical British dessert sauce for things like <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/sticky-toffee-pudding-recipe' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/sticky-toffee-pudding-recipe","linkCopy":"sticky toffee pudding","category":null}'>sticky toffee pudding</a> in its liquid form. It’s sweet, thick, and complementary to the flavors in bread pudding. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. Salted caramel sauce: Balance the sweetness in a bread pudding with a salty caramel sauce. Make it as salty as desired and drizzle it over the bread pudding while the pudding and caramel sauce are warm. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 4. Vanilla sauce: Similar to a <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/chef-thomas-kellers-creme-anglaise-recipe' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/chef-thomas-kellers-creme-anglaise-recipe","linkCopy":"crème Anglaise","category":null}'>crème Anglaise</a>’s flavor but lighter in texture, vanilla sauce combines water, sugar, heavy whipping cream, cornstarch, butter, and vanilla extract or vanilla bean. Use less cornstarch for a thinner sauce that soaks into the bread pudding or more for a thicker sauce that drizzles and sits on top of the pudding. </li></ol>

4 Bread Pudding Sauces

Use the tips below for making soft and sweet challah bread pudding:<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Add warm spices to the custard mixture. To balance the sweetness of the custard and the challah bread, add warm spices like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom to the custard mixture. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Cover the bread pudding for at least half the baking time. To prevent the top of the bread pudding from burning during the long baking process, cover the pudding with aluminum foil. Remove the aluminum foil with about fifteen to twenty minutes left in the baking time, so the top of the pudding gets golden brown and crispy. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. Use day-old challah bread. Challah bread is too soft in its fresh form to work in bread pudding because it would disintegrate after soaking up the custard. Stale bread works much better. Slice a loaf of challah into thick slices, then cut the slices into one-inch cubes. Leave the cubes out on a baking sheet for a few hours or overnight to let them dry out. </li></ol>

3 Tips for Making Challah Bread Pudding

Easy Challah Bread Pudding Recipe

Challah bread pudding is an ideal weekend breakfast or brunch dish, with a soft and sweet inside and crispy, golden brown top. Serve it with a salty caramel sauce, rich chocolate sauce, or creamy custard sauce.

Challah bread pudding is an ideal weekend breakfast or brunch dish, with a soft and sweet inside and crispy, golden brown top. Serve it with a salty caramel sauce, rich chocolate sauce, or creamy custard sauce.
