Tags: Little Foodies Party Planning Quick Recipes Sweet Tooth Weekday Meals
I am not a breakfast person. By the time I get the boys fed, Sam taken out, and finish my morning coffee, it’s practically time for lunch, so why bother with breakfast. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good breakfast meal–fried potatoes, bacon, eggs, and homemade biscuits–but I prefer to have it for dinner.
Breakfast out at a restaurant is a different story though. I like going out to enjoy a leisurely, early morning breakfast (that I don’t have to cook or clean up), but at home I’m perfectly content to skip breakfast altogether.
The issue is that I have other humans in the house who must eat breakfast every morning. But I don’t feel entirely ok about serving a bowl of cereal every morning, so I’ve devised a way to make delicious and super easy breakfast meals–Breakfast Bread Pudding.
Breakfast bread pudding has many positive qualities:
1. It has a simple base that can be customized to fit just about any taste.
2. You can also sweet or savory which is nice when you’re trying to deliver some amount of variety to your family.
3. This recipe has serious wow-factor which makes it a wonderful addition to any holiday brunch table or special breakfast event.
4. It needs to sit in the refrigerator overnight before baked. Wake up, put it in the oven, and serve…breakfast doesn’t get easier than that.
5. My favorite part: Everything goes into one pan and it’s made with store-bought bakery croissants.
Try it out…let me know what yummy combinations you come up with.
Enjoy!
Breakfast Bread Pudding Base
- 5 cups store-bought croissants, cubed (about 3 large croissants)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup half & half
Lightly grease an 8-inch baking dish.
Arrange the croissants in the baking dish in an even layer.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Pour mixture over croissants. With a wide spatula, or clean hands, press down on croissants to soak in egg mixture.
Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Next Morning:
Preheat oven to 350°
Place foil covered baking dish into oven and bake 30-35 minutes–until custard is set.
Uncover and bake another 20-25 minutes–until top is golden brown.
Sweet Breakfast Bread Pudding
- 5 cups store-bought croissants, cubed (about 3 large croissants)
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup, half & half
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting *optional
Lightly grease an 8-inch baking dish.
Arrange the croissants in the baking dish in an even layer. Scatter blueberries on top.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, sugar, and extracts. Pour mixture over croissants. With a wide spatula, or clean hands, press down on croissants to soak in egg mixture.
Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Next morning:
Preheat oven to 350°
Place foil covered baking dish into oven and bake 30-35 minutes–until custard is set.
Uncover, sprinkle almonds on top, and bake, uncovered, another 20-25 minutes–until top is golden brown.
Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Savory Breakfast Bread Pudding
- 5 cups store-bought croissants, cubed (about 3 large croissants)
- 1 cup breakfast meat–sausage, bacon, ham, etc., diced into bitesize pieces
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup, half & half
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup cheese, shredded (a good cheddar or Gruyere)
- Chives, for serving *optional
Lightly grease an 8-inch baking dish.
Arrange the croissants in the baking dish in an even layer. Scatter meat on top.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over croissants. With a wide spatula, or clean hands, press down on croissants to soak in egg mixture.
Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Next morning:
Preheat oven to 350°
Place foil covered baking dish into oven and bake 30-35 minutes–until custard is set.
Uncover, sprinkle cheese on top, and bake, uncovered, another 20-25 minutes–until top is golden brown.
Top with chives before serving.
