Festive Cranberry Orange Bread Pudding Recipe

This festive cranberry orange bread pudding is soft, custardy, and full of bright citrus flavor. Loaded with cranberries and topped with a sweet sauce, it’s a perfect dessert for Christmas, brunch, or using leftover bread.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 5

Servings: 8 people

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 350

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

6 cups day-old cranberry orange bread cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Optional Sauces:

Vanilla Sauce: 1 cup milk ½ cup sugar, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp vanilla
Orange Sauce: ½ cup orange juice ½ cup sugar, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp cornstarch
Whiskey Cream Sauce: ½ cup heavy cream 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp whiskey

Method

Preheat Oven: Set oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a baking dish.
Prep Bread: Cut cranberry orange bread into 1-inch cubes. Slightly stale bread works best.
Mix Custard: In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt until smooth.
Combine Bread & Custard: Place bread cubes in the baking dish, sprinkle cranberries on top, then pour custard over everything. Press gently so all bread absorbs liquid. Let sit 15 minutes.
Bake: Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 20–25 minutes more until golden and set.
Prepare Sauce (Optional): While baking, make your choice of sauce (vanilla, orange, or whiskey cream).
Serve: Let bread pudding cool slightly, slice, and drizzle with sauce.

Notes

Day-old bread works best for soaking up custard.
You can swap milk for eggnog to make a holiday version.
Pudding can be made ahead and baked the next day.
Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.