This gooey and delicious bread and butter pudding without cream recipe is packed with punchy flavors like tropical coconut, tart cranberry, and bright orange.
Have you ever heard of bread AND butter pudding? No, not bread pudding - bread AND butter pudding. If you have, then I guess skip this part, but if you haven’t let me tell you about it!
Bread and butter pudding is a typical English dessert that I have affectionately decided is really a breakfast bake rather than an easy dessert. It's very similar to a bread pudding but it's made with a layer of bread, usually soft bread like a Brioche, and soaked in an egg and cream sauce. It's similar to French toast but baked.
When I started making this for breakfast I never seemed to have half and half, heavy cream, or any other type of cream in the fridge. Rather than making a trip to the store, I tried my hand at mimicking the rich texture and flavor of the cream with coconut milk. And the results are insane if I do say so myself!
So, let’s get cooking so that we can get to eating!
Need some recipes to pair with this tasty bread and butter pudding without cream? Try these!
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Ingredients and Substitutions
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted.
Hawaiian Bread: I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Hawaiian sweet bread. And those soft pillowy rolls are for sure the best bread for making a bread and butter pudding!
Substitutions: Any sweet and soft type of bread can be used to make this. This can be plain Brioche bread, Challah, milk bread, or other. You can also try croissants for fancy croissant bread pudding!
Eggs: I know, I know these are hard to come by these days but you do need eggs in order for the “pudding” part on the bake to set. Some recipes will use just egg yolks, but I prefer to use whole eggs.
Substitutions: Sorry, not substitutions for these.
Oat Milk: I like using oat milk for this because it's on the creamier side of plant-based milks and has a very mild flavor. Just be sure to use unsweetened, full-fat oat milk.
Substitutions: Any unsweetened plant milk can be used, like almond milk, soy milk, or flax milk. Cow’s milk will also work.
Canned Coconut Milk: This is the super important ingredient that helps mimic the decadence of cream. Make sure to get the full-fat coconut milk in the can. And not all brands are good. Some will appear slightly curdled which means there were temperature issues when packing. Thai Kitchen and Goya are brands I have had the most consistency with and recommend.
Substitutions: Coconut cream or heavy cream can be used in place of canned coconut milk.
Butter: Obviously we needed butter for bread and butter pudding! I use salted vegetable-based butter to keep the cream out.
Substitutions: You can use whatever butter you have on hand - salt, unsalted, regular, vegetable-based, etc. Coconut oil will also work!
Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is my sweetener of choice to pair with cinnamon because they are both just warm, cozy, and comforting! Just make sure it's pure maple syrup.
Substitutions: You can use agave, honey, or brown sugar in a pinch. If using agave, reduce the quantity to ¼ of a cup.
Orange: We will need the zest and juice of one orange. This is one of our key flavors so we want to get all the flavor possible out of one orange! You should get about ¼th of a cup of juice from the orange.
Substitutions: While I find it easier to just buy a single orange, you can use 3 to 4 mandarin oranges or Cuties in place of 1 large orange. You can also use ½ of a cup of store bought orange juice (100%), omit the zest, and reduce the oat milk by ¼th of a cup to compensate for the extra liquid.
Dried Cranberry: These little pockets of flavor are the BEST when you get them in a bite! These unsweetened ones are my favorite!
Substitutions: I prefer to use unsweetened to really hammer home that tart flavor, but you can use whatever you have on hand or can find at the store. You can also defrost frozen cranberries, strain them, and mix those in.
You can also use some other dried fruits like dried ginger, golden raisins, or currants. The other option is to sub the cranberries for a handful of chocolate chips for a really delicious dessert (rather than a breakfast).
Spices: I use a little cinnamon and salt for this bake. Cinnamon because it goes great with orange cranberry and makes the house smell amazing.
And salt because every dish deserves to be lifted up by salt! Seriously, salt is what makes all the other flavors shine so don’t forget it!
Substitutions: Sorry, no substitutions for salt. You can replace ground cinnamon with ground nutmeg (half the called for quantity), pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, or leave it out in a pinch.
Topping Ideas: Whipped cream, ice cream, and caramel sauce (or other sweet sauce like toffee) are all great topping options.
How to Make this - Step by Step
Step one: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step two: Whisk together eggs, oat milk, coconut milk, butter, maple syrup, orange zest, juice from orange, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. You can also do this in a blender if your coconut milk is separated.
Step three: Add the dried cranberries and torn bread to the bowl and gently mix. The bread will begin to absorb the liquid very quickly so no need to let it sit.
Step four: Transfer the mixture into a 9"x11" pan and gently spread out the layers of bread. Then bake for 35 minutes or until the cream mixture is set.
You'll be able to tell it's set by gently shaking the pan. It should have a slight jiggle to it, similar to set Jello. This is that creamy custard doing its job of holding in all those tasty flavors!
Step five: Broil for 5 minutes at the end to brown the top. Remove from the oven and give it 5-10 minutes to settle. Then enjoy!
Watch How to Make This - Step by Step
Joy Tip!
With canned coconut milk, it can be helpful to shake the can before you open it. This will combine the cream and coconut water making it easier to mix later on. And if your coconut milk is cold or was stored in the fridge and is hard, transfer it to a small bowl and heat it in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds to soften.
Facts and Common Questions:
For the best texture, bread and butter pudding without cream will last 3 days in the fridge. But it can be kept and enjoyed for up to 5 days refrigerated.
This is usually a result of the ratio of liquid to bread being off. As long as you use only 1 can of coconut milk and a full 12 pack of Hawaiian rolls, you should not have watery bread and butter pudding.
It could also be because the bake hasn’t cooked long enough for the eggs to set. If you believe this to be the case, just continue to bake until the pudding only gives a slight jiggle when shaken gently.
Partially. You can prepare the egg mixture and the bread separately and store them in the fridge for up to 2 days but cannot pre-make the whole thing. When ready to serve, simply pour everything into a pan and pop it in the oven! This is a great way to cut down on your prep time on the day you want to eat it.
Want to Save it for Later? Here’s how!
This bread and butter pudding is definitely best enjoyed right away but there are some ways to save any leftovers. It is not freezer friendly, however.
Fridge: Once cool, simply cover the ovenproof dish to keep it airtight. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat: When ready to eat, simply cut a slice and heat it in the microwave. Or, if you want to reheat the whole pan, place it in the oven, covered with aluminum foil, and heat at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.
Fun Fact
Bread and butter pudding is definitely a British staple. Traditionally made with raisins, cream, soft bread, and lots of butter. So it only makes sense that Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay have their own infamous versions.
But which is better? Well, Jamie Olive uses hot cross buns as his bread of choice while Gordon Ramsay uses pains au chocolat with apricot jam. So, I guess it depends on if you want something more traditional or want to mix it up. But if you want it without cream - then Joy to the Food is the obvious choice!
Joyful Pairings!
These are some of my favorite breakfasts to enjoy alongside this bread-and-butter pudding without cream!
Did you try this and love it? Leave us a review, we would love to hear from you!
Recipe
Orange Cranberry Bread and Butter Pudding without Cream
Ingredients
- 12 rolls Hawaiian torn into 4ths, each
- 4 each eggs
- ½ cup oat milk full fat, unsweetened
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk full fat, canned, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoon butter salted
- ½ cup maple syrup 100% pure
- 1 each orange zest and juice from 1 orange
- 1 cup dried cranberries unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk together eggs, oat milk, coconut milk, butter, maple syrup, orange zest, juice from orange, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. You can also do this in a blender if your coconut milk is separated.
- Add the dried cranberries and torn bread to the bowl and gently mix. The bread will begin to absorb the liquid very quickly so no need to let it sit.
- Transfer mixture into a 9"x11" pan and gently spread out the layers of bread. Then bake for 35 minutes or until the cream mixture is set. You'll be able tell by gently shaking the pan. It should have a slightly jiggle to it, similar to set Jello. This is that creamy custard doing it's job of holding in all those tasty flavors.
- Broil for 5 minutes at the end to brown the top. Remove from the oven and give it 5-10 minutes to settle. Then enjoy!
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