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
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.
Mary Tognazzini
PLAN TO HAVE WITH PRIM RIB. ONLY HAVE GREEN BEANS BUT IT WILL ADD SOME COLOR.
Cybil
So good! I used homemade bread & shredded Parmesan cheese. This is a keeper. Thank you!
Elizabeth
I’d like to prepare this in individual ramekins. What size ramekins should I use? And does baking it this way alter the baking time?
Krissy
Hi Elizabeth, If you have 8 oz ramekins, I would plan on needing about 8. The larger the ramekin, the fewer you will need. If using a ramekin instead of a single dish, the baking time will be slightly lower. I would start checking on them after about 30 minutes and remove from oven when golden brown. Enjoy! Krissy
Holly
This looks amazing! Has anyone tried making it the night before? Does it reheat well, or could you make the crust the night before? Thanks!
Krissy
Hi Holly, I think you could totally assemble and bake the next morning. Krissy
Holly
Thank you! I am looking forward to serving it at a bridge luncheon!
Holly
Could this possibly be made the night before and reheated? Thanks!
Nika
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Krissy
I'm so sorry, Nika. I have to make use of the ads so that I can get compensated for my time, otherwise I wouldn't be able to put all this delicious food out there for everyone to enjoy. I do try my best to optimize the speed at which my site loads. I hope you'll still come back from time to time. Thanks, Krissy