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Apples, caramel sauce put twist on old-fashioned bread pudding

Recipe: Caramel apple bread pudding with easy sauce

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 18, 2026

Apple slices garnish a serving of bread pudding with caramel sauce. The baked pudding is a time-honored recipe for repurposing stale bread. Debbie Arrington

Our great-grandmothers never threw away old bread; it could be repurposed into stuffing, crumbs, croutons or bread pudding.

Pudding ingredients — Eggs and bread, along with apples and raisins,
are the main ingredients of the bread pudding.

This twist on old-fashioned bread pudding is packed with fresh apple and crowned with caramel sauce – a perfect combination on a wintry evening. (Without the sauce, it could be breakfast, too.)

French bread, brioche or other white or eggy breads make the best bread pudding. Tart apples (such as Granny Smith or other pie favorites) work best in this baked dish and will produce the best results, with little chunks of apple among the bread cubes.

Caramel apple bread pudding

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

Butter for the baking dish

4 cups day-old or stale bread, cut into 1-inch cubes or torn into small pieces

3 tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups apples, peeled and diced

¼ cup brown sugar

2 cups milk

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

½ cup raisins

Cinnamon (optional)

For caramel sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

½ cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions:

Butter a 9-inch square baking dish. Spread bread cubes or pieces evenly in the dish. Set aside.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Sauté diced apples until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in brown sugar.

Pour apple mixture over bread in the baking dish. With a large spoon or spatula, gently combine, so the apples are evenly spread among the bread pieces.

In a saucepan, mix milk and ½ cup sugar. Over low heat, gently warm milk, stirring often, until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour warm milk mixture over bread and apples. Let sit for 10 minutes as bread soaks up milk.

Lightly beat eggs and pour over bread-apple-milk mixture. With a spoon or spatula, gently swirl the eggs through the mixture.

Baked bread pudding in a baking dish — The freshly baked pudding can be served
without the caramel sauce for a warming breakfast.

Rinse raisins with hot water, then add to the mixture, again gently swirling to distribute the raisins throughout. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place baking dish in center of 350-degree oven and bake until golden and puffy, about 45 to 50 minutes. A thin knife inserted near the center should come out clean.

Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes.

Serve warm with caramel sauce.

Refrigerate any leftovers, covered.

To make caramel sauce: In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Stir in ½ cup brown sugar. Over medium heat, keep stirring until the sugar is melted and a creamy caramel sauce starts to form, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in cream and keep stirring until sauce reaches desired consistency, about 1 or 2 minutes. Serve immediately. (This sauce can be kept refrigerated and re-warmed as needed.)

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes baking apples dessert breakfast seasonal cooking farmers markets backyard produce produce management winter January Sacramento gardening

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Garden checklist for week of May 17

With an eye on warmer weather to come, continue to work on the summer vegetable garden:

* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. The wind can quickly dry out young plants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, calibrachoa, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

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