A classic dessert warm and buttery with lots of notes of brown sugar and a luscious caramel sauce on top. Don’t forget to serve it with vanilla ice cream melting down all the crags and valleys. Gluten-free, and dairy-free too if needed. This dessert is also free of: soy, peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish and sesame.
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WHY THIS BREAD PUDDING ROCKS
Every time I make bread pudding I instantly think–why don’t I make this more often? It’s often overlooked and it’s too bad because it is rich and decadent. It’s my dad’s favorite dessert so I usually make it on his birthday and Christmas and he seriously has like 3 helpings. We all about make ourselves sick having “just a little more”.
There’s something wonderful about a warm dessert topped with cold ice cream that just hits the palette just right! Put as much or as little of the creamy caramel sauce on top and whoa! Dessert status unlocked.
Honestly, the ingredients are pretty simple: bread, butter and sugar, but something magical happens and it becomes this soft bellied dessert with crunchy caverns on top for great texture and taste.
It’s easy–mostly stirring and the best part–you don’t have to wait for your bread to become stale, you can use a loaf fresh out of the package. You’re going to love this whether it’s at Christmas (the most usual time to serve it) or any time in the year when you want to pull out an old staple. There’s a reason it’s been around for so long! And now that it’s gluten-free, it can be enjoyed by even more people.
This is also an easy dessert to make if you have to make a gluten-free dessert and you’re not used to baking gluten-free. There’s no buying specialty flours, or xanthan gums or anything you’ll have to keep on hand afterwards. Just one gluten-free loaf and that’s it.
WHAT KIND OF GLUTEN-FREE BREAD SHOULD I USE?
There are multiple brands of gluten-free bread, but my favorite for this application (and French toast too) is Canyon Bakehouse Bread. It’s a very eggy, soft bread, so it’s great for soaking up the custard mixture. I use their Country White variety. It’s not sponsored, just who I prefer.
HOW DO I MAKE BREAD PUDDING DAIRY FREE?
There are two ingredients that have dairy in them that are replaced from a typical recipe. The first is butter. It’s used in all three layers: the custard, the brown sugar topping and the caramel sauce. My favorite to use is Country Crock Plant Butter with Olive Oil. I think the taste is spot on.
For the milk replacement in the custard, I use rice milk. While it is thin, it’s the most unassuming flavored plant milk. I find nut milks and soy milk have too much of an aftertaste and compete with the simple flavors in the bread pudding.
WHAT IF I CAN HAVE DAIRY?
If you can have dairy, use regular milk in place of the rice milk, and regular butter. Easy!
IS THIS BREAD PUDDING ALLERGY FRIENDLY?
This bread pudding is free of 8 of the 9 top allergens, as written. Note that the butter I recommend does say it contains soy lecithin. Most people with a soy allergy can tolerate soy lecithin. If you cannot, Earth Balance makes a soy-free plant butter.
But, always read EVERY single ingredient as things could have changed from the time of publishing and to read what brands you actually have on hand.
CAN I MAKE THIS EGG FREE?
I’m sorry, but the egg is crucial to the filling. I waited over ten years for my son to outgrow his egg allergy so we could enjoy this. Many people outgrow their egg allergy, and I hope that you can enjoy this someday too.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED:
- CUSTARD:
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large beaten eggs
- 2 cups rice milk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 loaf of Canyon Bakehouse bread (except the ends)
- TOPPING:
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup softened Country Crock Olive Oil Plant Butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans (if no nut allergies)
- CARAMEL SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup melted Country Crock Olive Oil Plant Butter
- 1 cup brown granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 beaten, for the sauce egg
TOOLS NEEDED
- Large and medium mixing bowl
- Cutting board and bread knife
- Non-stick spray
- Whisk
- Medium sauce pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Glass 13×9 pan
DO I HAVE OTHER CARAMEL DESSERTS?
Caramel is one of my favorite flavors, so I have figured out how to make caramel gluten free and dairy free in multiple recipes like my Chewy Dairy-free Caramels, my 2 Ingredient Dairy-free Caramel Sauce, my Soft Dairy-free Caramel Popcorn (also great for the holidays), Salted Caramel Dairy-free Rice Krispies, and my Vegan Christmas Crack.
DO YOU HAVE A VIDEO SHOWING HOW TO MAKE IT?
I do! Hopefully this video will show you the four simple steps: cut the bread, make the custard and pour it on the bread, sprinkle the topping and stir the caramel. Easy! The video should auto populate, if it doesn’t, it is embedded into the bottom of the recipe card. If all else fails, you can view it on my YouTube channel–be sure to subscribe!
Gluten Free Dairy Free Bread with Caramel Sauce + VIDEO
A classic dessert warm and buttery with lots of notes of brown sugar and a luscious caramel sauce on top. Don't forget to serve it with vanilla ice cream melting down all the crags and valleys. Gluten-free, and dairy-free too if needed this dessert is also free of: soy, peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish and sesame.
Ingredients
CUSTARD:
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large beaten eggs
- 2 cups rice milk (regular or vanilla will work)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 loaf of Canyon Bakehouse bread (except the ends)
TOPPING:
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup softened Country Crock Olive Oil Plant Butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans (if no nut allergies)
CARAMEL SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup melted Country Crock Olive Oil Plant Butter
- 1 cup light brown granulated sugar
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 13x9 glass dish with nonstick spray, set aside.
Open a bag of Canyon Bakehouse Mountain White 15 oz bread, discard the ends of the bread. Cube the rest and place inside the greased baking dish. Set aside.
In a large mixing bow, mix the 1.5 cups granulated sugar, 5 eggs, rice milk and vanilla extract.
Pour on top of the cubed bread in the 13x9 dish.
Let sit for 10 minutes.
While it sits, in a medium bowl, place your 1/4 cup softened plant butter and brown sugar. Mix until combined.
Sprinkle the brown sugar and butter mixture over the top of the bread pudding. (And the nuts if using.)
Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.
While it bakes, make the caramel sauce.
In a medium sauce pan over medium/low heat, add the 1/2 cup softened plant butter, 1 cup brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir frequently with a whisk until everything is melted. Crack your egg in a separate bowl and whisk. Add in your whisked egg and stir immediately. Continue stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a boil. Whisk vigorously for one minute while it boils.
Take off the heat and allow it to thicken as it cools while the bread pudding finishes baking.
When ready to serve, drizzle some of the caramel sauce over the top. You can serve the bread pudding warm, or cool, with the caramel sauce room temperature, cool or re-heated. It's wonderful all of the various ways.
To store leftovers, allow the bread pudding to completely cool. Move to an airtight container in the fridge. Keep the caramel sauce separately. Will keep for three days.
Notes
For substitutions and FAQs read above the recipe.
*Our allergies, while severe and that get re-tested frequently, are such that we can go strictly by what's on the label. I do not call companies to see what things are derived from, or call manufacturers to see about potential cross contact. If your allergies require you to do so, please do your own homework. I cannot assure you of any ingredient's safety, only you can do that. I simply share what works for our family.
**If you are going to feed this to someone with food allergies, and you yourself do not have food allergies, I HIGHLY recommend having them check every single brand and ingredient you are using, to ensure they're OK with each part of the recipe. And, to make sure you've talked to them about how to avoid cross contamination in your kitchen.
Inspired by Paula Deen's Bread Pudding
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 635Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 390mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 2gSugar: 39gProtein: 8g
DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT. WHILE YOU’RE THERE, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER GLUTEN-FREE PINS.
Hi! I’m Megan, a mom to four kids, two with multiple food allergies & one with EOE. I’m a published cookbook author that constantly tweaks recipes to make them allergy friendly–it’s an addiction. I share every recipe & tip with the hope that they help you as you manage your food allergies & dietary restrictions. You can still be awesome, even with food allergies!
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