Slow Cooker Bread Pudding with Strawberries – 🍓🍞😋 Soft and tender brioche bread pudding with juicy berries in every bite is so EASY to make when you let your Crock-Pot do all the work for you! Everyone will enjoy this bread pudding that’s PERFECT for brunch, summer holiday celebrations, or casual entertaining when you want to serve something sweet yet totally trouble-free!
Table of Contents
- Easy Slow Cooker Bread Pudding Recipe
- Ingredients in Bread Pudding with Strawberries
- How to Make Bread Pudding in a Crockpot
- Slow Cooker Cooking Tips
- what to serve with crockpot bread pudding
- Storage
- Bread Pudding FAQs
- Slow Cooker Bread Pudding with Strawberries Recipe
- More Easy Fruit Dessert Recipes:
- More Fresh Strawberry Desserts:
Easy Slow Cooker Bread Pudding Recipe
I have always been a big fan of bread pudding and for this extremely easy bread pudding recipe, I decided to make it in my slow cooker.
That’s right, bread pudding in a Crock-Pot which is as simple as adding diced bread cubes, pouring an egg and milk mixture over the top, and then let your slow cooker get to work.
Fun fact: There’s no melted butter in this recipe. Since I used brioche which is a buttery bread, and there’s 4 eggs + milk, you don’t need to add any butter which is a nice way to save a few calories without sacrificing flavor.
I used fresh strawberries in this easy Crockpot bread pudding recipe for bursts of bright fruity flavor in every bite. However, you don’t have to add them if you really don’t want to. Or you can use other types of fruit instead. Read the FAQs below if you’re interested in that.
Topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar, or better yet with whipped cream or ice cream, this is a great dessert for brunch, Mother’s Day, graduation parties, or summer holidays.
It’s nice that you don’t have to turn on your oven and heat up your house during warmer months!
Ingredients in Bread Pudding with Strawberries
To make bread pudding in the slow cooker, you’ll just need these basic and inexpensive ingredients including:
- Brioche bread – Want other bread options? Check the FAQs below
- Fresh strawberries – Read the FAQs for info about using other fruits and whether fresh or frozen fruit is better
- Large eggs
- Milk – whole milk or 2% are my recommendations although you can use a plant-based milk such as almond or cashew. No need for heavy cream
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Salt, optional
- Lemon zest, optional – Or if you like nutmeg or cinnamon, adding a teaspoon cinnamon to the wet ingredients is another option. Feeling like chocolate bread pudding? Sprinkle in a half-cup of chocolate chips!
- Confectioners’ sugar, whipped cream, whipped topping, vanilla ice cream – all optional for serving
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Bread Pudding in a Crockpot
- Spray a 6 to 7-quart slow cooker with cooking spray and then add half the bread cubes, sprinkle half the berries, and repeat by layering in the remaining bread then berries.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugars, maple syrup, vanilla, optional zest, and evenly pour the egg mixture over the bread and berries in the Crock-Pot.
- Use a wooden spoon to gently stir and toss the ingredients to ensure everything is coated evenly with the liquids from this lovely vanilla sauce.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker, and cook on LOW for about 3-4 hours before garnishing and serving!
what to serve with crockpot bread pudding
Eating this bread pudding warm and soft straight from the Crock-Pot is great but I like to top it with a bit of whipped topping, whipped cream, ice cream, or even pair it with another strawberry dessert if I have extra berries on hand to use.
Storage
In the Refrigerator: You could probably store this at room temp, but I keep it in the fridge. This recipe will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
In the Freezer: While this recipe will keep likely keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months, it’s not one I necessarily recommend that you freeze due to the texture changing.
To Reheat: I like to use my microwave and zap my leftovers for 10-15 seconds before enjoying, but it’s optional and up to you.
Bread Pudding FAQs
I used brioche which is a soft, slightly sweet bread. Challah is a great sub since it’s also soft, rich, and slightly sweet. You could probably use croissants, too. Sourdough, or diced French bread from a baguette or loaf are also acceptable, although not as sweet, not as rich, and drier.
However, don’t just use regular sliced bread (no white sandwich bread!) that you’d make sandwiches with because it’s not the right texture or flavor for this dessert-like recipe.
You can easily swap the 2 cups of diced strawberries with blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries. While I haven’t tested it, if you have summer stone fruits such as peaches, nectarines, apricots, or even mangos, they should also work well.
I used fresh strawberries because they’re in season, and I didn’t have to worry about excess moisture seeping out if using frozen berries in this recipe. Plus, the texture of frozen fruit is already mushier, and since this is a very soft dessert recipe, sticking with fresh fruit is my recommendation.
I haven’t tried using dried fruits like cranberries or raisins in this recipe, but they would work just fine I’m sure. This is a very flexible recipe with many variations likely to turn out well.
I recommend a 6-quart to 7-quart oval slow cooker. The pieces of bread will have ample room to be spread out, not squished, and not piled up too high on the sides.
Don’t use one of the 4 or 5-quart smaller round ones because the bread will be much packed in and piled up higher in it which could cause uneven cooking.
I haven’t specifically tested this recipe as an oven baked recipe rather than slow cooker, but I do have this great Baked Banana Bread Pudding that I recommend checking out. You could experiment with swapping some of the bananas for strawberries if you’d like.
Many bread pudding recipes (or stuffing recipes) call for day old bread, or bread that’s been dried out a bit so that that when the wet egg and milk mixture is poured over it, that it doesn’t just turn to mush. However, with this recipe you’re fine to proceed without taking any extra drying out time or other steps. Nice bonus here!
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Slow Cooker Bread Pudding with Strawberries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 ounces brioche bread, cubed into 1” pieces (about 8 cups)
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled, and halved or quartered (read blog post FAQs for using other fruits)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups milk, whole or 2% milk recommended, plant-based such as almond or cashew milk also fine
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, optional (if desired you could instead use cinnamon, nutmeg, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, etc.)
- Confectioners’ sugar, whipped cream, whipped topping, ice cream, etc., optional for garnishing and serving
Instructions
- Spray the ceramic basin portion of your slow cooker very well with cooking spray. Tip – I recommend using either a 6 or 7-quart slow cooker (linked above) rather than a 4 to 5-quart one so that the recipe cooks more evenly, ingredients will be more flat than piled up or mounded, and will cook in less time overall.
- Add half the bread cubes, sprinkle half the strawberries, and repeat by sprinkling the other half of the bread, and then the the remaining strawberries. Set aside momentarily. Bread Tips – If you buy a 1 pound loaf of brioche (16 ounces), you'll just have a bit left over since the recipe calls for 14 ounces. You can also use challah as a good sub for brioche.
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, milk, sugars, maple syrup, vanilla, optional salt, optional lemon zest (or other spices), and whisk to combine.
- Evenly pour the wet mixture over the bread cubes and strawberries.
- Using a wooden spoon or rubber tipped spatula, gently stir and toss very well to combine and coat evenly, making sure all the bread cubes have been coated with some liquid.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker, and cook on LOW heat for about 3 to 4 hours, or until the bread pudding is done. Slow Cooking Tips – Bread pudding is done when it's set in the center, lightly golden on top, and it's obvious there is no juicy (raw egg) mixture present. Since all slow cookers differ in their heat output and cooking intensity, I suggest starting to check slightly before 3 hours has passed, although resist the urge to keep peeking on it every half hour so that the heat doesn't escape unnecessarily every time you lift the lid 'to check'. I prefer LOW rather than high heat for this recipe.
- Optionally garnish with confectioners' sugar, whipped topping, whipped cream, ice cream, more fresh berries, etc. or as desired and serve immediately when warm and freshly made.
- Storage – I prefer to store this in the fridge rather than at room temp where it will keep airtight for up to 4-5 days. I like to reheat an individual portion of leftovers in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds, but it's optional. I don't recommend freezing this dessert due to undesirable texture changes that will likely occur during the thawing process.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Fruit Dessert Recipes:
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Hi Averie! If I use a French baguette or loaf, would you recommend adding an extra egg, or some melted butter and more milk, to compensate for these not being as rich and moist? Tanks so much! It’s 52°F this afternoon. 2 days ago it was 69, and a city 3 hours North of mine got SNOW! 2 weeks before that,, they were evacuated due to wildfires. Welcome to spring, in Alberta, Canada 🇨🇦 😕
The weather in southern California in May and June is also very cold for “spring or summer”. In the 50s and 60s with lots of clouds, wind, and overcast skies. If you used a French baguette, yes you could try adding an extra egg or melted butter/milk to compensate for the baguette being drier/firmer to begin with.