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Hungry Healthy Happy » Recipes » Dessert

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Updated: Dec 5, 2022 · Published: Mar 14, 2019 · Written by Dannii Martin · This post may contain affiliate links which earn us commissions if purchases are made · 34 Comments

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Diet: Low Fat / Vegetarian
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Chocolate bread pudding with a text title overlay.

We took a classic bread pudding and put a lighter spin on it by sweetening it with just a little honey, using brown seeded bread and then we added some dark chocolate chunks. Because, why not! This Chocolate Bread Pudding is total comfort food but a little lighter.

Bread pudding on a white plate next to a serving spoon and a towel.

Bread pudding is one of those classic school desserts that always brings back happy memories of eating it in the canteen full of hundreds of rowdy and sugar high kids.

Nowadays, it is one of our favourite ways to reduce food waste as the bulk of the dish is bread. Got some bread that has gone a bit stale? It's screaming to be turned into a chocolate bread pudding.

If you are looking for some more comforting desserts, then why not try our Slow Cooker Rice Pudding, Mixed Berry Crisp, or Apple and Plum Crumble.

Jump to:
  • Why You Will Love It
  • What Is Bread Pudding?
  • Ingredients and Substitutions
  • Variations
  • How To Make Chocolate Bread Pudding -Step by Step
  • What Bread To Use
  • Serving Suggestions
  • Extra Tips
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • More Dessert Recipes
  • Recipe
  • Feedback

Why You Will Love It

  • Great way to use up bread - This chocolate bread pudding recipe ensures that no bread goes to waste. Bring stale bread back to life with this recipe.
  • Low in calories for an indulgent tasting dessert - This tastes far more indulgent than it actually is, as we have made a couple healthy swaps.
  • Kids will love it - Any dessert with chocolate gets a big thumbs up from kids, right?
  • Easy to adapt with different flavours - You can adapt it with different add-ins like dried fruit and nuts.

What Is Bread Pudding?

Bread pudding is basically the combination of torn up leftover bread, milk, eggs and a sweetener. All soaked up together and then baked in the oven until gooey and crispy. Kind of like a sweet casserole. But there is so much more you can do with it and lots of ways to customise it.

What does it taste like? It's kind of got the gooeyness of brownies, but the flavour of French toast and it's pretty dense. Then it takes on the flavour of whatever else you have added into it.

It's a classic British dessert and in the 13th century is was known as a poor man's pudding, because of the basic ingredients that it uses. Basic doesn't have to be boring and if you want comforting dessert that the whole family will love, then this is it.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All the ingredients needed for this recipe with text overlay labels.

A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

  • Bread - You can use whatever bread you like, making this a great recipe to reduce food waste.
  • Milk - You can use any milk you like, and you could even use almond or cashew milk.
  • Egg - This is what makes up the majority of the mixture and gives it that lovely cakey texture.
  • Vanilla - This adds lots of flavour. Make sure you use extract and not essence.
  • Honey - This is what we have used to sweeten the chocolate bread pudding. You could use maple syrup instead, or another liquid sweetener.
  • Chocolate - It wouldn't be a chocolate bread pudding without it. We used a 70% dark chocolate, so it is really rich. You could use milk chocolate, or even use a flavoured chocolate like chocolate orange. You can us chocolate chips or chunks of chocolate.
  • Cinnamon - Chocolate and cinnamon is a delicious combination and a little pinch really brings out the flavours.

Variations

We have made this chocolate bread pudding so many times over the year and I don't think we have made it the same way twice. Use this as a base recipe and then go crazy with the add-ons. You can mix in some chopped nuts (we like pecans) and dried fruit (cranberries or cherries go well with the chocolate).

If you want a flavoured bread pudding, then orange or mint go well with chocolate. You can use orange or mint extract or swap a little of the milk for some orange juice and then grate some fresh orange zest on top when you sprinkle the chocolate.

How To Make Chocolate Bread Pudding -Step by Step

Prep: Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C(fan)/400°F/Gas 6.

A round baking dish containing torn pieces of bread.
  1. Step 1: Tear the bread and put it into a baking dish.
A round bowl containing an egg and milk mixture with cinnamon.
  1. Step 2: In a bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, honey, vanilla and cinnamon.
Egg and milk soaked bread in a round baking dish.
  1. Step 3: Pour the milk mixture over the bread and make sure everything is covered. Put in the fridge for at least an hour.
Milk soaked bread in a baking dish with chocolate chips sprinkled over it.
  1. Step 4: Take out of the fridge and sprinkle the chocolate chunks on top.
Baked Chocolate Bread Pudding in a round baking dish.
  1. Step 5: Bake for 40 minutes.

What Bread To Use

The great thing about this is you can use pretty much any bread - which is why it's so good for using up stale bread. We had some wholemeal seeded bread that needed using, so we tore that up to mix in. You can use regular white bread or you can even use croissants if you want to make it a little more indulgent.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve it as it is, but if you want to make it more of an indulgent dessert, then serve it with some ice cream or frozen yogurt. A little drizzle of caramel sauce is a good addition too. Or, why not add our Chocolate Sauce for an extra chocolate flavour?

Extra Tips

  • Stale bread is best to use, so this is a great recipe to reduce food waste.
  • You can add so many different things to this dessert. Nuts and dried fruit work well.
  • Want a flavoured bread pudding? Swap the vanilla extract for an orange or mint extract.
  • Add some extra creaminess by adding dots of cream cheese at the same time as the chocolate. It will all melt together to make these more indulgent.
  • Leftovers will keep in the fridge for about 3 days.
Chocolate Bread Pudding on a plate in front of a dish of more bread pudding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can chocolate bread pudding be made in advance?

Yes, and there is some preparation that goes into this dish that would suit it being made in advance. Once you have added the liquid to the bread, it then needs to go in the fridge for at least an hour so that the bread can soak everything up. But, you could leave it in the fridge for 4-5 hours and then put it in the oven 40 minutes before you are ready to eat it.

Can you reheat bread pudding?

This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and then you can either eat it cold, at room temperature or heat it up in the oven. I do find that the texture changes when it reheats, so it's best eaten straight after cooking - you can always change the portion sizes if needed.

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If you’ve tried this chocolate bread pudding recipe, then let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

Recipe

Chocolate bread pudding on a plate with raspberries and a ball of ice cream.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

By: Dannii Martin
This is no traditional bread pudding recipe, but that's not a bad thing. This Chocolate Bread Pudding is a healthy alternative to the traditional dessert.
the words low fat in a white circle.
Low Fat
An illustration of a v-shaped plant.
Vegetarian
4.88 from 25 votes
Pin Print Save recipe Saved!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 40 minutes mins
Total: 45 minutes mins
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 215kcal
Allergens:
An illustration of a carton of milk.
Dairy
An illustration of a cracked egg.
Eggs
An illustration of two ears of wheat.
Gluten

Ingredients

  • 8 slice Brown bread
  • 300 ml (1.25 cups) Skimmed milk
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoon Honey
  • 50 g (1.75 oz) Chocolate - dark
  • 0.5 teaspoon Ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • Tear 8 slice Brown bread and put it into a baking dish.
  • In a bowl, whisk together 300 ml Skimmed milk, 1 Egg, 4 tablespoon Honey, 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract and 0.5 teaspoon Ground cinnamon.
  • Pour the milk mixture over the bread and make sure everything is covered. Put in the fridge for at least an hour.
  • Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C(fan)/400°F/Gas 6.
  • Take out of the fridge and sprinkle 50 g Chocolate on top. 
  • Bake for 40 minutes.

Recipe Tips

  • Stale bread is best to use, so this is a great recipe to reduce food waste.
  • You can add so many different things to this dessert. Nuts and dried fruit work well.
  • Want a flavoured bread pudding? Swap the vanilla extract for an orange or mint extract.
  • Add some extra creaminess by adding dots of cream cheese at the same time as the chocolate. It will all melt together to make these more indulgent.
  • Leftovers will keep in the fridge for about 3 days.

Nutritional Information

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 215kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 225mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 147IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.

As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.

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Comments

  1. marie johson says

    December 18, 2019 at 3:15 pm

    5 stars
    OMG This sinfully rich dark chocolate bread pudding tastes like a pan of warm fudgy brownies. Absolutely delicious <3

    Reply
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