This Banana Bread Pudding with its sweet taste of bananas is my tribute to New Orleans and Mardi Gras. It starts with a really easy two step banana bread soaked in a spiced custard and baked. The Bourbon Pecan Sauce that accompanies the bread pudding is a marvel in itself. What could be more NOLA than bananas and bourbon?
This is homey comfort food at its best and is great for brunch, dessert, or anytime really. Serve warm (pop it in the microwave) with the rich sauce studded with toasted pecans for a delicious treat.
Other wonderful bread puddings include: Easy Lemon Cheesecake Bread Pudding, Orange Bread Pudding, Orange Date Bread Pudding,
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What Makes This Bread Pudding Special
- The homemade banana bread is super easy. It doesn't even require a mixer - just a bowl, a whisk, a few measuring utensils and it's ready to go in a matter of minutes.
- Because the bread is wonderfully moist when freshly made, it need to by dried out either by cubing it and leaving it out all night or putting it in the oven for a few minutes.
- Here again, no mixer. The custard gets whisked together, poured over the cubed bread and after a brief soak into the oven it goes.
- The sauce is equally as easy with everything but the pecans combined in a saucepan and after a quick 1 minute boil it's done.
- That's it! Warm, luscious, homey bread pudding with a wonderful difference.
Recipe Ingredients
Banana Bread
FRONT ROW: Baking soda, salt, vanilla, baking powder
MIDDLE ROW: The nuts are omitted for this recipe. Granulated sugar, eggs, bananas
BACK ROW: Buttermilk, cake flour, vegetable oil
Banana Bread Bread Pudding
FRONT ROW: Cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg
MIDDLE ROW: Eggs, brown sugar
BACK ROW: Cubed banana bread, half and half
Bourbon Pecan Sauce
FRONT ROW: Half and Half, corn syrup
MIDDLE ROW: Unsalted Butter
BACK ROW: Dark Brown sugar, bourbon, toasted pecans
Key Ingredients
- Cake flour makes the best banana flavor yielding a firm but tender loaf. All purpose flour can be used if necessary but will change the texture somewhat. For more information on the different flours, see my post Flour as used in Baking.
- Dark brown sugar is preferred for it's stronger flavor. Light may be substituted if necessary.
- Half and half or half heavy cream and half milk can be used in both the bread pudding and the Bourbon Pecan Sauce.
- Make sure to toast the pecans for the sauce. It makes a difference.
- A small bottle of bourbon is all that is needed for this recipe. It holds 4 tablespoons which is the most that will be needed.
- If you are adverse to corn syrup the brown sugar can be increased. The corn syrup is an inverse sugar that will keep the sauce from granulating. Using it ensures a smooth sauce that stays that way.
- The bananas for the bread should be heavily spotted and really ripe for the most flavor in the bread.
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients & instructions.
Step by Step Instructions
Banana Bread
Step 1. Puree the bananas in a food processor. Step 2. Add the buttermmilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Step 3. Process to mix everything. Step 4. Whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Step 5. Pour the liquid ingredients into a large bowl and whisk in the dry ingredients. Step 6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Step 7. Bake as directed and cool. Step 8. Slice the bread and then cube it in about 1" pieces.
Banana Bread Bread Pudding
Step 9. Place the cubed bread on a tray and either allow it to dry overnight, turning it once or twice or place it in a 200°F oven for 20 minutes or so turning it once. Cool if using the oven. The bread should be dry on the outside but still somewhat soft inside. Step 10. Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Step 11. Add the brown sugar, vanilla and spices. Step 12. Whisk everything to mix completely.
Step 13 Add the half and half, stirring well. Step 14. Pour over the bread cubes in a large bowl. Let it sit until the bread absorbs most of the custard mixrure. The time will depend upon how dry the bread was. Step 15. Pour into the prepared pan. Step 16. Bake as directed.
Bourbon Pecan Sauce
Step 17. Place the brown sugar, butter, cream and bourbon in a medium saucepan. Step 18. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute. Step 19. Pour the hot sauce into a boil to cool. Step 20. Add the toasted pecans. Cool and store at room temperature for a couple of days or refrigerate for longer storage.
Recipe FAQS
When the skin is darkly spotted as in the photo above, they will be the sweetest, softest and the most banana flavored. When they are firm and all yellow or tinged with green they are not fully ripened yet.
Keep the bananas attached together in a bunch to ripen them quickly. Bananas produce ethylene gas and the more bananas the more gas which is what ripens them. Close the top of the bag securely and place it on a sunny window sill or somewhere warm.
Fresh bread of any kind is usually rather soft. Stale bread can still be soft. If the bread is too soft it will turn to mush when soaked in the custard. So the bread needs to be dried to some extent, not like croutons but dried on the outside and still a bit soft on the inside of the cubes. It will then absorb the custard and not fall apart.
Storage and Serving
The bread pudding can sit at room temperature for several hours but should be refrigerated after that. The bourbon pecan sauce can sit at room temperature for several days.
Serve the bread pudding warm and warm the sauce also if it is too stiff. The easiest way is to warm the sauce first and then put each piece in the microwave briefly, add a bit of sauce and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Make sure to cube the banana bread and dry it so it can soak up most of the custard.
- However, don't let it turn to mush in the custard.
- Use really ripe (not black) bananas for the most intense taste
- When making the bourbon sauce, if not using the corn syrup, replace it with ¼ cup or 50 grams of brown sugar.
- Either half heavy cream and half milk or all half and half work for the custard. Half and half can also be substituted for the cream in the bourbon pecan sauce.
- If the alcohol in the bourbon is a problem, it will burn off when the sauce is boiled. The taste remains but not the alcohol.
- Do not let the sauce boil more than a minute - two at the most or it will become very hard and reduce too much
Looking For a Few More Ideas?
Love this Banana Bread Bread Pudding It would be hugely helpful and so appreciated it if you would take a moment to leave a rating. Thank you.
Banana Bread Bread Pudding
Equipment
- 8"x8" square pan
Ingredients
Banana Bread
- 1 cup banana puree
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups cake flour (250 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Banana Bread Bread Pudding
- 6 cups cubed banana bread
- 4 large eggs
- ⅓ cup brown sugar (65 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 cups half and half
Bourbon Pecan Sauce
- ½ cup pecan pieces (60 grams)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- ½ cup butter (114 grams or 1 stick)
- ¼ cup corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons cream or half and half
- 3 to 4 tablespoons bourbon
Instructions
Banana Bread
- Line the bottom of a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Spray the bottom and sides well with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Puree the bananas in a food processor or blender. Measure 1 cup puree. If you are short add water to make 1 cup (this should be no more than a couple of tablespoons at most).
- Return to the processor or blender and add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and oil. Process to blend the liquids. In a medium size bowl, place the remaining ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes and turn the bread out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- At this point the bread can be cubed into 1" pieces and dried overnight on a baking pan or it can be frozen for use later. If you want to hurry the process, heat the oven to 200°F and dry the bread for 20 to 30 minutes turning it from time to time until it is very dry on the outside but still a bit soft on the inside. Cool the bread before continuing.
Banana Bread Bread Pudding
- Spray an 8x8" baking dish with a non-stick baking release and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Whisk the eggs until they are completely combined. Whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the half and half.
- Pour the liquid over the cooled banana bread cubes and let soak for 20 to 30 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. The time will depend upon how dry the bread was.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the pudding is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool to warm if serving immediately. If not cool, cover with foil and refrigerate.
Bourbon Pecan Sauce
- Toast the pecans in a 350°F oven until slightly browner and fragarant, about 7 minutes. Cool. Set aside.
- Combine all of the ingredients except the pecans in a 1 quart saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute - 2 at the most. Do not boil any longer or the sauce will become too thick.
- Stir in the pecans and If using immediately, cool until warm. If using within the next 3 or 4 days, store the sauce in a covered container. Add some sauce the last 20 or so seconds when heating to liquify it.
- The sauce yields about 1 ½ cups.
To Serve
- Cut the bread pudding, place it in a bowl and warm it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, 45 to 55 seconds if the pudding is cold from the fridge. Times may vary according to how high the microwave goes. Store any leftover pudding in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Love this Banana Bread Bread Pudding It would be hugely helpful and so appreciated it if you would take a moment to leave a rating. Thank you.
Teri says
Flavor and texture.