Sitting here the other day I was thinking back to the times I use to bake with my grandmothers. I use to make bread pudding all the time with one of my grandmas. The first time was while we were camping and I told her I wasn’t going to eat it. She told me if I was going to break the bread and help her I had to try one bite and if I didn’t like it than I didn’t need to eat anymore. I tried my bite, liked it, and then asked for a bowl! I remember eating it will milk poured over the top, sometimes with cream and fruit, so many ways.
As we sit here and it is snowing and the first day of spring is only 2 days away I decided we needed to make some bread pudding to have on the last day of winter.
The girls don’t care for the classic custard kind made with eggs. I don’t care for the amount of sugar put into it so we sweetened our classic with bananas. We also swapped out dense white bread for whole grain cinnamon raisin sprouted bread, and used unsweetened almond milk (only 30 calories per cup!) in place of higher fat dairy milk. I am sure grandma would still approve!
Banana Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding
2 ½ c almond milk (used Silk Almond Milk)
2 large ripe bananas, puree (1 cup puree)
10 Slices Food For Life Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin Whole Grain Sprouted Bread
1 tsp pure vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
Dash of sea salt
Optional Topping
1TBSP Organic Turbinado Raw Cane Sugar mixed with ½ tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast the bread, ours was frozen took about 5 mins per side maybe. Alternatively you could toast it in the toaster. Reduce oven to 350 when bread is done.
Spray a 8×8 or 9×9 pan with non stick cooking spray, I like coconut oil spray. Tear the bread into pieces. Alternatively you could just cut it into chunks but this is the part I helped my grandma with as a kid and the girls like to do. Place the pieces in the pan.
Puree bananas if you have not already done so. In a bowl mix banana puree, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Pour over the bread pieces and let sit for 5 minutes. GENTLY move the bread around after 5 minutes making sure all pieces are coated but be careful not to stir and make mush.
Bake in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes. Add optional topping and bake another 10 minutes. If not adding the topping you can just bake it for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and eat warm or cooled. Enjoy it warm with a little milk poured over the top. Maybe cool and top with fresh fruit and cream, milk, or however you use to have it as a kid or how you like it!
