savory bread pudding
Recipe: savory bread pudding
I had attempted a savory bread pudding earlier in the year, only to discover that marjoram tastes like soap and ruined the whole dish for me. I swore to myself that my next version would include bacon and omit marjoram. And indeed, I did just that and then some. I am a huge fan of sweet bread puddings. I prefer to work with chocolate when making desserts, but I love to eat non-chocolate desserts, if that makes any sense? So I thought that a savory bread pudding with some of my favorite ingredients would work out.
the cheeses and green onions
I replaced 2 cups of swiss with 2 cups of gruyère because I love the intensity of a good cooked gruyère. And I used broccoli instead of asparagus (because broccoli was on sale), and added mushrooms and of course – the beloved bacon. All hail the piggy! Such a magical animal…
an undeniably delicious combination
You are supposed to use stale french bread, but I had a fresh loaf of challah and that’s what I used. The beauty of bread pudding is that it’s totally free form.
layer bread, then veggies and bacon, then cheese…
pour the egg and milk mixture
On the first bite, I was expecting the repulsive taste of soap. That’s how traumatized I was after that previous version (something I nabbed from Epicurious). Thankfully, it was terrific and no sign of nasty marjoram either!
it’s like a bread pudding version of my favorite quiche
Savory Bread Pudding
[print recipe]
6 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tsps salt
1 tsp ground pepper
4 cups gruyère, shredded
1 cup parmesan, grated
1/3 cup green onions, minced
1 lb. bacon
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 heads broccoli, chopped and blanched
1 lb. whole loaf of stale/old bread
Oven: 375Β°F. Whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Mix the cheeses and green onions in another bowl. Set aside. Cook the bacon and drain on paper towels. Chop or break the bacon into little pieces. Sauté the mushrooms in some oil (or a little bit of the bacon grease). Mix the bacon, mushrooms, and broccoli together in a bowl. Set aside. Rip or cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. In a large baking dish (9×13 ish) layer half of the bread. Then sprinkle half of the bacon mixture. Then spread half of the cheese mixture. Pour half of the egg mixture evenly over top. Repeat. Sprinkle any leftover cheese on top and press the pudding down. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Adding to bacon to anything just makes it better. :)
October 4th, 2007 at 9:49 am
This sounds amazing!! And I’m not sure I even know what marjoram tastes like, but I’m going to think twice before adding it to a recipe now!
October 4th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
PB – I hear ya sistah.
Deborah – I didn’t suspect the marjoram at first. I complained about a funny taste and my friend said that she can’t stand marjoram, that it has that soapy taste. That’s when I realized what bothered me about the original dish. Strange, no?
February 25th, 2008 at 11:54 am
You should patent the pudding. I have never heard of a savory bread pudding. Great recipe!
February 25th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Joanne – ha ha, I adapted it from another recipe off of… epicurious? something like that :)
September 4th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Great! I work at a synagogue and often take home (with permission, of course) half loaves of challah left over from Shabbat services. After making several types of sweet bread puddings, I decided to try a savory one–and this one is fabulous. My kids are off at college, so I reduce this recipe by half to feed just my husband and myself.
December 8th, 2013 at 11:19 pm
[…] Loosely adapted from: Β Savory Bread Pudding […]
December 20th, 2014 at 2:46 pm
Just made this for dinner last night and it ruled! (It was breakfast today, too.) Thanks for sharing this fab recipe!
December 21st, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Question, if I were using asparagus instead, how much would I use?
December 22nd, 2014 at 2:46 pm
Meg W – if you mean in place of the broccoli, I’d say probably a pound should suffice (chopped up).
December 29th, 2014 at 6:03 am
[…] of the highlights in our home has been UseRealButter’s Savory Bread Pudding. We made this for dinner one night (along with a simple green salad) and were blown away by how […]