Savory Bread Pudding

This Savory Bread Pudding with mushrooms, asparagus, and your favorite cheese is a delicious make ahead breakfast perfect for entertaining!

It wasn't that long ago that I indulged in a berry bread pudding. It got me thinking... why don't I make more savory bread puddings?  I mean, who doesn't love french toast?  There's something wonderful about soaking bread in egg and milk and then topping it with anything sweet and fruity. But breakfast casseroles are pure heaven, and that's pretty much what a savory bread pudding would be, right?

I decided to use a rosemary round loaf for this particular bread pudding. You can use any old bread really, and it doesn't even have to be fresh, but I love me some herb infused carbs. One of the tricks to a good bread pudding, or french toast even, is to let that bread really soak up as much of the wet mixture as physically possible.

I decided to use asparagus and mushrooms because a) I thought they would work well and b) they were already in the frig and needed to be used up. Win-win.

You can get all fancy and bake it in some individual ramekins. I wasn't getting fancy though. The tart dish I chose just wasn't big enough. Had you fooled though, right?

This bread pudding is perfect for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, Christmas - you name it. It can feed a crowd. It can be prepared ahead of time and baked the morning of. It can be baked ahead of time and reheated. Its pretty much your all around perfect breakfast.  Wanna know a secret? I love eating this with ketchup and tobasco.  The shame!  I feel so dirty admitting that. Its such a pretty breakfast, right? And then I go and whore it all out with cheap sauces. I can't help it. The taste buds want what the taste buds want.

Savory Bread Pudding

This Savory Bread Pudding with mushrooms, asparagus, and your favorite cheese is a delicious make ahead breakfast perfect for entertaining!

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Hover to scale: 6 servings

Author: Krissy Allori

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bread (sliced into 1 inch cubes (I prefer a rosemary bread))
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 pound asparagus (cut into 1 inch chunks)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 3 ounces cheese (shredded (I used cheddar gruyere blend))
• butter for greasing

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heavily grease 6-8 ramekins, a 9 inch souffle dish, or a 2 quart baking dish.
• In large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Add cubed bread and toss in egg mixture to fully absorb. Allow to soak while you prepare the vegetables.
• In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Saute the mushrooms until golden brown and most of the liquid has cooked off. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Blanch the asparagus by cooking in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and then transferring to an ice bath. Saute in same pan you cooked mushrooms, occasionally stirring, until they just start to turn golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Set aside and allow to cool.
• Combine cooled sauteed veggies and grated cheese with bread and egg mixture. Toss to combine. Pour into greased baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot or cold. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Notes

Cooking Tips:

Bread - If using plain bread instead of rosemary bread, you should add 1-2 tablespoons of chopped herbs. 

Seasonings - I don't add salt because I love to eat this with ketchup and tobasco, but if you plan to eat it plain I would add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon paprika to the mixture.

Ramekins - if using small ramekins instead of a single dish like I did, I find the 8oz size works best. You may need to reduce your cooking time slightly. Just keep an eye on them starting around the 30min mark.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 364mg | Potassium: 503mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1004IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 283mg | Iron: 4mg

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