Recipe Vegan Bread Pudding with Cardamom and Pears
May 03, 2022
Bread pudding is such a classic comfort…so I’m giving it a bit of a glow up with fragrant cardamom, delicate pears and crunchy walnuts. This vegan bread pudding is totally dairy free and super satisfying because it’s made with sprouted grain bread which makes it high in filling fibre and plant-based protein. The perfect dessert for a chilly day—or maybe even brunch!
When it comes to comfort food, I find that using filling ingredients really ups the comfort factor. This vegan bread pudding recipe features protein + fibre-rich Silver Hills Bakery The Big 16 sprouted grain bread to create a filling and nutrient-dense treat. Sprouted grain breads are made without flour, and sprouting helps improve digestibility of the plant-based minerals found in whole grain wheat. The Big 16 is high in energizing B vitamins as well as selenium, manganese and copper. Two slices even contain 11% of your daily intake of zinc, which is an important mineral for gut health and immunity.
Desiree Nielsen is a plant-based registered dietitian, host of The Allsorts Podcast and author of 2 bestselling plant-based cookbooks, Eat More Plants and Good for Your Gut. She lives in East Vancouver with her husband, two kids and an often-neglected vegetable garden.
Ingredients
- 6 slices Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery The Big 16™ bread (or your favourite Silver Hills Bakery sprouted bread)
- 3 cups unsweetened oat milk or soy milk (vanilla is nice here if you have it)
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cardamom
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 apple or firm pear peeled, cored and diced
- 1 cup pecan or walnut pieces
Featured Product The Big 16®
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F (180°C) and place a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven rack to catch any drips as the bread pudding cooks.
- Grease a 8-inch round baking dish and cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom.
- Cut each slice of bread into 1-inch (2.5cm) cubes. Layer half the bread, half the pear, half the walnuts into the baking dish, repeating with remaining ingredients. Set aside.
- Whisk together oat milk, cornstarch, vanilla, cardamom salt and maple syrup in a small pan until smooth. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Let boil gently for ten minutes, whisking frequently, to thicken and infuse milk.
- If you need to, lower the heat so it doesn’t bubble over or scald. The custard will coat the back of a spoon nicely when you’re done.
- Evenly pour the custard over the bread and gently press bread into the custard so every piece gets soaked.
- Sprinkle a bit more cardamom on top, then carefully place in oven (it will be hot!). Bake for 45 – 50 minutes until bread tops are golden and the custard is thick and bubbling at the edges.
- Let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy warm or room temperature with a little scoop of cashew ice cream if you like!
Variations:
- Ginger: add 1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger, swap 1 tsp cinnamon for the cardamom, and chopped macadamia nuts for pecans
- Cinnamon Bun: swap cinnamon for cardamom, add ¼ cup raisins
- Dark Chocolate: Whisk ½ cup of dark chocolate chips into custard in last two minutes of cooking.
