Prep 30 mins Cook 30 mins Eat 1 hour
Make this Blueberry Bread Pudding for your next holiday brunch!. I promise it will be a huge hit and look how pretty it is on top of it! Serve it with a salad and some virgin or champagne mimosas as I did and you are good. I served this Savory Blueberry Bread Pudding with a Sweet Blueberry Sauce to about 40 people after our church service and these were the honest comments I got.
“I’m not a huge blueberry fan, but that was outstanding.”
“Loved the fact that it was vegetarian and something new and different.”
“It was a surprise, because of the fact that it wasn’t sweet but tasted delicious.”
“Light, but satisfying.”
“I appreciated that the topping had the sweetness, while the bread pudding was savory and it allowed me to adjust my sweetness level.”
“It was a wonderful way to eat blueberries.”
Blueberries are only 80 calories per cup and packed with Vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants. Click here for more nutritional information from the Blueberry Council. Hey, at Fresh Food in a Flash, I want to promote healthy one-word ingredients, so blueberries you win.
Blueberry Bread Pudding – “Light but Satisfying”
What was my inspiration for this delicious Blueberry Bread Pudding? I volunteered to serve refreshments following our church service a few Sundays ago. I was trying to determine what I should prepare. Since I teach cooking classes at this church once a month, I have a reputation to uphold. Haha. I also wanted to develop a recipe to enter into the Blueberry Council’s recipe contest. Hey, if you give me a challenge, I can’t avoid thinking about it. So since these two events had collided, my brain started working overtime and this winner (I hope Blueberry Council) is the result.
I know what you are thinking – why blueberries in December? I was surprised to find out that I could get frozen Pacific Northwest blueberries at my local Costco. Hey, they must have a zillion pounds of blueberries up there in August that need to go somewhere! A large bag of 5 pounds keeps well in the freezer and keeping them frozen until you use them is in fact one of the secrets to making this Blueberry Bread Pudding. In fact, your guests would not realize that they were once frozen. Hey, look at the pictures above!
The recipe for the Blueberry Bread Pudding is below, but here are the secrets for making this wonderful.
Start with fresh ingredients. You could use a variety of breads, but don’t use Wonder bread, please. I used fairly fresh french bread. If your bread is completely dry, you might need to add more milk.
Separate the eggs and whip the egg whites until soft and frothy. When zesting lemon, grate only the yellow peel of the lemon. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the cream cheese and then the milk. Then fold in the egg whites carefully and add flavoring – lemon zest, cloves, cinnamon. No salt is needed, as it is in the bread.
Cut your bread into cubes and place into a well buttered pan, add the frozen blueberries, burying them between the bread cubes. Keeping the blueberries frozen will prevent the blue from bleeding onto the white bread. Pour the egg-milk mixture over the bread cubes and push the frothy egg white down between the bread cubes. The whipped egg whites is what makes this dish light and airy – like a souffle, so don’t worry about them being completely combined into the bread cubes.
While your Blueberry Bread Pudding is in the oven, make the Sweet Blueberry Sauce by combining frozen blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and a little liqueur like Triple Sec to jazz it up. This can be made in advance if you wish, but it should be served warm when the sensational Blueberry Bread Pudding comes out of the oven.
There was not one bite left from the 40 people I served, many came back for seconds and raved about this dish. Go ahead and make it for your holiday brunch. Just make sure to wear an apron when you prepare it. You don’t want to be cryin the blues – just eating them. Visit www.littlebluedynamos.com for more blueberry recipe ideas.
Print Blueberry Bread Pudding Recipe
Savory Blueberry Bread Pudding
There is no sugar in this light and fluffy savory bread pudding. The sauce will add a small dose of sweetness. Your guests will appreciate having the option to sweeten or not. You can use either frozen or fresh blueberries in this recipe. If using frozen, do not thaw out the blueberries. Mix the frozen blueberries into the bread cubes once you have your egg mixture well underway. This way, any liquid or color from the blueberries will not bleed into the white bread.
- 1 Tbs butter
- 1 pound loaf French bread, unsliced
- 6 eggs, separated
- 3 egg whites
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 3 cups milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3 cups blueberries
Sweet Blueberry Sauce
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbs triple sec
1. Slice bread into 1/2″ cubes. Butter a 9 x 13 pan and spread out bread cubes in the pan.
2. Separate the eggs making sure that no yellow is in the whites. It’s OK for some of the whites to be in the yolks. With a mixer on high speed, whip the egg whites until frothy.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks with the cream cheese. Mix in the milk. Fold in egg whites, being careful not to deflate the whites. Mixture will not combine completely. Mix in lemon zest, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Spread 3 cups blueberries in with the bread cubes. Pour egg mixture over all. Smooth out the top with a rubber scraper. Place in a 375° oven for 30 minutes or until the top is browned all over.
5. While Bread Pudding is in the oven, make the sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups blueberries with the sugar, triple sec and lemon zest. Cook for about 15 minutes or until a shiny sauce develops and blueberries just begin to shrivel.
6. When ready to serve, cut pudding into squares and top with the blueberry sauce.
Servings: 15 419 calories per serving
Oven Temperature: 375°F
Savory Blueberry Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs butter
- 1 pound loaf French bread unsliced
- 6 eggs separated
- 3 egg whites
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 3 cups milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3 cups blueberries
Sweet Blueberry Sauce
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbs triple sec
Instructions
- Slice bread into 1/2" cubes. Butter a 9 x 13 pan and spread out bread cubes in the pan.
- Separate the eggs making sure that no yellow is in the whites. It's OK for some of the whites to be in the yolks. With a mixer on high speed, whip the egg whites until frothy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks with the cream cheese. Mix in the milk. Fold in egg whites, being careful not to deflate the whites. Mixture will not combine completely. Mix in lemon zest, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Spread 3 cups blueberries in with the bread cubes. Pour egg mixture over all. Smooth out the top with a rubber scraper. Place in a 375° oven for 30 minutes or until the top is browned all over.
- While Bread Pudding is in the oven, make the sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups blueberries with the sugar, triple sec and lemon zest. Cook for about 15 minutes or until a shiny sauce develops and blueberries just begin to shrivel.
- When ready to serve, cut pudding into squares and top with the blueberry sauce.
- Oven Temperature: 375°F
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FreshFoodinaFlash.com
Wow. This looks amazing! I’m going to save this recipe to try sometime. Thanks!
This looks right out of a fancy food magazine! SOOO cool and delish! I recently made a soup shot and would love to know what you think. Please drop by space when you have the time! See ya!