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This Gluten Free Bread and Butter Pudding is a nostalgic British dessert which ticks all the boxes. Slices of gluten free bread are slathered in butter and baked in a sweet custard to create a squidgy pudding with a crisp, sugar topping. Great for using up stale bread and turning food that would go to waste into something delicious!
Notes On This Bread and Butter Pudding Recipe
- So Simple: This easy Gluten Free Bread and Butter Pudding recipe uses just 10 simple ingredients (most of which you probably already have!) and bakes in 35 minutes for a dessert which is delicious both hot or cold!
- Nostalgic Fun: After the popularity of my Gluten Free Bread Pudding recipe, it seemed only right to develop this recipe next! Making (and eating!) this gluten free bread and butter pudding recipe brought back so many memories of my Mum making this when I was a child in my pre-coeliac days.
- Top Tip: I originally tested this gluten free bread and butter pudding by cutting the gluten free bread slices in half, but I found cutting them into quarters created the perfect balance of squidgy goodness with crispy, sugar-coated edges.
- Bread of choice: I was always of the belief that bread and butter pudding should use white bread but I found this worked really well with gluten free brown bread. It will work with any bread you like, and it’s great for using stale or holey slices.
Table of Contents
- Notes On This Bread and Butter Pudding Recipe
- What Is Bread and Butter Pudding?
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- Variations
- How to Make Gluten Free Bread and Butter Pudding
- Sarah’s Top Tip
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Gluten Free Bread and Butter Pudding Recipe Recipe
- Storing and Freezing Instructions
- More Nostalgic Dessert Recipes
- You Might Also Like…
What Is Bread and Butter Pudding?
If you have coeliac disease then you may not have come across this nostalgic dessert before, but this recipe is an old fashioned, British pudding made from layers of buttered bread, soaked in a simple custard and baked.
Gluten free bread and butter pudding is not to be confused with gluten free bread pudding which uses similar flavours but is made by mushing everything together.
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a printable recipe card below, but here are the main ingredients and ideas for any swaps, including how to make this a dairy free bread and butter pudding too!
- Butter: I use unsalted butter, but you could use a dairy free butter to make this recipe dairy free. Make sure it’s at room temperature to easily spread it on the bread.
- Gluten Free Bread: I’ve tested this recipe with both white and brown gluten free bread and both work well. I wouldn’t recommend a seed-topped bread as they may catch in the oven and burn. But generally this works with any bread – the staler the better!
- Milk: For a dairy free recipe use a dairy free milk like almond, soya or gluten free oat milk. I just used standard full-fat milk.
- Vanilla Extract
- Double Cream: Or heavy cream in the US. For dairy free use a plant-based cream, just ensure it’s gluten free as some are made with oats. For a lighter dish you could replace the cream for the same quantity of milk or dairy free milk.
- Eggs: I’ve not tested with an egg replacer at this time.
- Caster Sugar: Or baker’s sugar in the US. You could use a light brown sugar for a more treacly taste if you prefer.
- Nutmeg: I tested this recipe with and without the nutmeg and it adds a lovely warmth. You only need a pinch, so it’s not 100% necessary if you don’t already have some lurking in the cupboards.
- Currants: Or any dried fruit. You can use a mixture of currants, raisins and sultanas, and even add some mixed peel in if you like.
- Demerera Sugar: You can use granulated sugar if you prefer. Using a coarser sugar just adds a better crunch than using something like caster sugar.
Variations
Want to try something different with your gluten free bread and butter pudding? Try any of these twists to add your own twist to this simple base recipe:
- Marmalade: A lot of modern bread and butter pudding recipes also spread marmalade onto the bread, but I wanted to keep my recipe true to its original form. This does add a lovely sticky, citrus twist though and is worth trying!
- Chocolate Chips: Not so keen on currants and dried fruit? Swap them for chocolate chips and create a melty, chocolate chip bread and butter pudding.
- Bread Swaps: I usually use a ‘cheaper’ gluten free bread for this recipe to save cash, but you could make this with gluten free hot cross buns, gluten free panettone, gluten free brioche or a fruity gluten free sliced bread if you prefer.
How to Make Gluten Free Bread and Butter Pudding
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this gluten free bread and butter pudding recipe is to make.
Sarah’s Top Tip
This recipe works best with stale gluten free bread, but if you’re using fresh bread I have an easy fix! Lay the bread slices on a baking tray and pop them in the oven for 5 minutes when you first turn it on to heat. It’ll dry them out enough to absorb that delicious custard just like stale bread would!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy bread and butter pudding recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Yes, you can make this up to 24 hours in advance, and then simply enjoy it cold or reheat it to serve.
For a lighter version of this recipe, swap the cream for the same quantity of milk. Though I much prefer it with the creamier, thicker custard!
Gluten Free Bread and Butter Pudding Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 80 g butter, (softened – or at room temperature)
- 400 g gluten free white bread, (the standard weight of a UK loaf, approx 8-10 slices)
- 200 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 ml double cream
- 3 eggs
- 80 g caster sugar
- 1 pinch nutmeg, (optional)
- 60 g currants, (or swap for chocolate chips)
- 2 tbsp demerera sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / Fan 160C / Gas Mark 4. Use a little of the butter (around 1 tsp) to grease a 20cm x 30cm rectangular baking dish.
- Thickly butter the slices of gluten free bread with the remaining butter. Cut them into quarters (in triangles) and then arrange them in the dish, slightly overlapping each other.
- Lightly beat the eggs, milk, cream, caster sugar, vanilla extract and nutmeg together to form your custard.
- Sprinkle the currants over the bread pieces, then pour the custard over the top, being sure to try to coat the bread as evenly as possible. You can also press the slices down gently into the mixture to soak it up.
- Sprinkle the bread and butter pudding with the demerera sugar then bake for 35 minutes until golden on top. Allow to sit for 10 minutes out of the oven before serving warm with cream or custard.
Video
Notes
- Top Tip: If your bread is fresh, lay it on a baking tray and pop it in the oven while it heats up for 5 minutes. This will dry it out a little and help it absorb the custard!
- Serving Suggestions: I recommend serving this bread and butter pudding warm with custard or cream. You can also eat it on its own or enjoy it cold too!
- Weighing Scales vs Cups: You can toggle this recipe card to convert the ingredients into cups. However, I always recommend using weighing scales – these are cheap to buy and much more accurate. And in gluten free baking, a tiny variation can make a huge difference!
Nutrition
Storing and Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Any leftovers of this gluten free bread and butter pudding can be popped in the fridge and either enjoyed cold or warmed up in the oven to serve.
TO FREEZE: Can you freeze gluten free bread and butter pudding? Yes you can! I like to portion it into tubs and freeze so I can defrost and reheat when I need a dessert fix!
More Nostalgic Dessert Recipes
If you like this gluten free bread and butter pudding then make sure you check out these other gluten free dessert recipes too…
- Gluten Free Bread Pudding
- Jam and Coconut Sponge
- Gluten Free Apple Crumble
- Gluten Free Jam Roly Poly
- Gluten Free Apple Pie
- Gluten Free Rock Cakes
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