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 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 in to a chocolate bread pudding.
If you are looking for some more comforting desserts, then why not try our Creamy Rice Pudding, Mixed Berry Crisp, or Apple and Plum Crumble.
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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 in to 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
- 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.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make chocolate bread pudding -Step by step
One: Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Tear the bread and put it into a baking dish.
Two: In a bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, honey, vanilla and cinnamon.
Three: Pour the milk mixture over the bread and make sure everything is covered. Put in the fridge for at least an hour.
Four: Take out of the fridge and sprinkle the chocolate chunks on top.
Five: 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.
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.
Serving suggestion
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?
FAQs
Yes, and there is some preparation that goes in to 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.
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.
More dessert recipes
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
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.
Notes
- 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.
marie johson
OMG This sinfully rich dark chocolate bread pudding tastes like a pan of warm fudgy brownies. Absolutely delicious <3
Runar Snoeks
I absolutely love this recipe! I think it's a great way to reduce leftovers and use them for the next meal. I've never tried bread pudding, but this recipe really opened me up for trying more. The twist of adding chocolate was what made this recipe so delicious and unique. It's also great that lactose free milk can be used because i have a friend who's lactose intolerant. I know every type of bread works but I used white bread and I think that's the best option. It's also great that it can be prepared in advance so i can make it when i have time, but when I'm busy I can heat the dish up and eat it quickly.
Overall I think it's a great recipe, thanks!!
Shinta
This is a lovely idea! A lighter version of bread pudding would be perfect for me. I’m trying to go easy on refined sugar so substitutes like honey are perfect! Thanks for sharing.
Shinta
This is a lovely idea! A lighter version of bread pudding would be perfect for me. I'm trying to go easy on refined sugar so substitutes like honey are perfect! Thanks for sharing.
Morgan Eisenberg
Brown bread and honey sounds so rich and delicious, you wouldn't even notice it's the "healthy" version!
Alyssa
I want this now! :) The melty chocolate looks heavenly. Bread pudding is my weakness, especially the chocolatey kind.
Paul
Why use vegan chocolate if you're still using milk, eggs and honey? Do you have any suggestions how to sub those to make it a fully plant-based recipe?
Dannii
We use dark chocolate because we find it's best for an intense chocolate flavour in this. The dark chocolate we use, just happens to be vegan. You could swap the milk for almond/soy and use maple syrup instead of honey. You could try a flax egg, however I haven't tried this myself.
Can I ask why you have given the recipe 3 stars? Have you tried the recipe and had an issue with it? Thanks.
Jemma
I love a super simple faff free recipe. Chocolate bread pudding sounds right up nh street!
Noelle
I made this with some raspberries just like you did in this picture and it was a beyond perfect pair! Will be making again soon
Meghna
We love chocolate bread pudding! My husband will be so much excited to eat one more this weekend. Am gonna make this one ☝️ tomorrow
Diana
This reminds me that I haven't had bread pudding in a very long time, I need to make it preferably with chocolate like your version. Looks amazing!
Suzy
Made this last night and there wasn't any leftover for today!
Rosa
Mmm this sounds so delicious, will definitely be giving this a try!
Jenna
Bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts to get out! I'm going to make this one for Easter. Working on my menu.
Annie @ Annie's Noms
Oh my goodness, this looks heavenly!! I adore bread pudding and chocolate so the two married together? What's not to love! Definitely making this soon!
kim
I will be making this recipe again and again! It was absolutely delicious and so easy!