Dairy-Free Apple Bread Pudding Recipe

Dairy free apple bread pudding

​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 6 servings

Warming and comforting, this dairy-free apple bread pudding is perfect for the fall and winter months and will fill your home with scents of the season. While these puddings are easy enough for a weeknight dessert, they also have a beautiful home-cooked essence that's perfect for holidays and special family dinners.

Typical bread pudding recipes use milk, half-and-half, or evaporated milk—this recipe swaps in almond milk. If you prefer other types of milk substitutes, most work equally well for baking. You can use soy milk, rice milk, or coconut milk. Be sure to choose unflavored and unsweetened varieties. Naturally, if you are eliminating dairy you won't be serving this bread pudding with ice cream and you'd need a bourbon sauce that isn't made with the usual butter.

You will have to ensure you are using dairy-free bread for this recipe. Loaves of sandwich bread often contain casein, whey, or nonfat milk powder. Look for the sandwich breads that are located in the refrigerated or frozen section of your local health food grocer, such as Ezekiel bread.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups whole-grain bread, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

  • 1 cup finely chopped apple

  • 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 2 cups almond milk

  • 1/2 cup agave nectar, or maple syrup, divided

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

    Ingredients for apple bread pudding
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
  2. Lightly oil 2 (2-cup) heatproof dishes or, alternately, 6 (6-ounce) ramekins. Set aside.

    Lightly butter
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
  3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the bread cubes, apple pieces, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well mixed. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the almond milk and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of agave nectar and allow the mixture to stand for 10 minutes.

    Combine bread cubes
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
  4. Portion the mixture into the prepared dishes and bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. (If baking ramekin-sized puddings, bake for 15 to 20 minutes.)

    Portion into pans
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
  5. Remove the bread pudding from the oven. Drizzle with the rest of the agave nectar (or maple syrup).

    Remove from oven
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Tip

  • You can serve the bread pudding warm with a dollop of vegan cinnamon custard or another dairy-free creamy topping if desired. Make bourbon sauce using coconut oil to substitute for butter and coconut milk for the milk or buttermilk.

Recipe Variation

  • If you're also avoiding sugar, this recipe uses agave nectar, which is high in fructose and has a lower glycemic index than sugar. This means it raises your blood sugar less, which is desirable for many people. But concerns have been raised about consuming too much processed fructose. Agave nectar is highly processed, so some people avoid it as they avoid high-fructose corn syrup. Maple syrup is an alternative that is often suggested. The maple flavor goes very well with the apples in this bread pudding. That alone is a good reason to consider the substitution.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
187 Calories
5g Fat
32g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 187
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 7%
Saturated Fat 1g 3%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 214mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 32g 12%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 18g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 4mg 20%
Calcium 60mg 5%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 125mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)