Keto Bread Pudding

Introduction

Bread pudding seems like something you shouldn’t be able to have on a low-carb or keto diet. It’s mostly bread, after all. This one works because it’s made with low-carb bread, and that’s the whole trick: without it, the idea falls apart. With it, you still get bread pudding the way it should bake up, soft and custardy underneath, with the cubes on top toasted golden brown and walnuts tucked in between.

It’s also mostly hands-off. You cube the bread, whisk together a cinnamon and vanilla custard, let the two soak in the fridge for an hour, and bake. The waiting takes longer than the work.

Choosing the Bread

Since the bread is what makes this work, it’s the ingredient worth thinking about. The recipe calls for a sliced, store-bought keto sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch cubes with the crusts left on. You can spot the crusts on the cubes in the step photos.

Keto breads aren’t all alike, though, and the carbs can swing a lot from one brand to the next. With ten slices going into the dish, that difference adds up, so check the label before you buy. The nutrition facts on the recipe card are worked out for one particular bread (the exact numbers are in the notes under the recipe), so if your loaf has more carbs, so will your bread pudding.

Mixing the Custard

Everything wet gets whisked together in one bowl: unsweetened almond milk, heavy cream, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and Swerve Confectioners, the powdered version of Swerve.

The one ingredient that doesn’t go in that bowl is the butter. It gets melted and poured into the bottom of the empty baking dish, and the soaked bread goes in on top of it. It sits on the ingredient list right alongside everything else, so it’s an easy one to whisk in by accident.

Plan Around the Soak

Once the custard is poured over the bread, the bowl goes into the fridge for an hour. Give it a toss every so often while it sits, so the cubes on top get their share of the custard instead of the ones at the bottom soaking up all of it.

From cutting the bread to pulling the dish out of the oven is a little under two hours, and it still needs to cool after that. So if you want it for dessert tonight, start it well before dinner.

How to Tell It’s Done

It bakes at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes, and you’re looking for two things: a set custard and a browned top. The top is the easy one, because the exposed cubes turn golden brown. For the custard, check the middle of the dish. If you want a number, the USDA’s safe minimum internal temperature for egg dishes is 160°F, measured in the center.

Serving It

This one isn’t a straight-from-the-oven dessert. Let it cool to room temperature first, and it cuts into squares that hold together on a spatula, like the one in the last step photo.

In our photos, each square gets a swirl of whipped cream on top. Whip your own from heavy cream and you get to pick the sweetener, or leave it out.

Like the idea of bread soaked in custard but want it for breakfast? Our keto French toast casserole works the same way, with the bread toasted under the broiler first and a longer soak.

Storing Leftovers

Because it cools on the counter, keep an eye on the clock: cooked food shouldn’t sit out for more than two hours. Leftovers go in an airtight container in the fridge, where they’re safe for three to four days. To serve them warm, reheat them to 165°F. We haven’t tested how the texture holds up over those days, or whether it freezes well.

Have you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog? Please rate it below and let us know what you think in the comments! We love hearing from you!

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Enjoy!