Breakfast Banana Bread Pudding

Given I started my job this week and have been commuting from NH until I move into my apartment next weekend, I've had ZERO time to cook! Leaving at 6:30am and not getting back until 8 or 9pm, I've been relying on my wonderful mother to have dinner waiting for me! So after sleeping in this morning, I was excited to get a lot of cooking fit into the long weekend.

First on the list - a nice Saturday morning family breakfast! We go through a lot of bread in this house, but there's always some left that hardens and dries out. It's perfect for me though because I love making bread pudding - I have a lot of different versions I make - for both breakfast and dessert. This morning instead of making french toast I decided on a breakfast bread pudding. I've made a great overnight apple version, but decided to try out a sort of tropical banana one today. This would be perfect for a brunch or a nice family weekend meal. Add a bit more sugar and top with whip cream, and it could be dessert too.

Breakfast Banana Bread Pudding

Mixture of white and whole grain old loaves of bread

8 cups dried, 1-2 day old bread, cut into small cubes
1 banana, mashed
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1/8 tsp. coconut extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
butter, for greasing the baking dish
Nutmeg and Cinnamon, for dusting
confectioners' sugar, for dusting
maple syrup


1. Butter your baking dish so that the bread pudding doesn't stick when you bake it. I used a 3 quart (13x9") glass baking dish, which worked well for this size recipe. This could easily feed 6 people if you're having other things like a nice fresh fruit salad on the side. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut your bread into small cubes and put into a good size mixing bowl. Don't worry about being exactly 8 cups here - if you have a little more or a little less you should be fine.

3. In another large mixing bowl, beat your eggs and add the milk, beating again. I have this great antique egg beater that I love using instead of a whisk (see left). At this point you can also add the mashed banana, coconut and vanilla extracts, sugar and salt. Beat again to make sure everything is mixed together well.




4. Pour this egg mixture over the bread cubes, stir and then let sit for about 5 minutes, letting the bread soak up the egg mix.

Before being baked!

5. Pour the bread and egg mixture into your pre-greased baking dish. Press down with the back of a spoon to make sure the bread and egg mixture is soaked up well and spread out evenly in the pan. Sprinkle the top of the bread pudding with a dash of nutmeg and as much cinnamon as you'd like really. If you love cinnamon, feel free to add more, if not - just a dusting is fine too! It's all about making a dish with the flavors you like!
6. Put into your preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes (or until the toothpick comes out clean so you know the egg mixture is cooked).

I think this dish is better when served warm, so let it cool just a bit once you take it out of the oven. I dusted mine with a bit of confectioners' sugar which added a nice sweetness and because it's the breakfast bread pudding - served with maple syrup. I thought afterwards it would've been a nice touch to have a couple pieces of sliced banana right on top, but it was still delicious and had a tropical hint to it because of the mashed banana and coconut extract! Next time I'll make my apple version, which is a great fall breakfast/brunch dish!