Cranberry bread pudding with donuts takes a traditional bread pudding and turns it into a decadent meal for for any holiday breakfast or brunch. Swapping donuts for bread, adding tart cranberries, and rich eggnog makes this dish an extra special treat.

There’s an unwritten rule in my house.

Dinner is my domain.

I plan it and cook it.

But breakfast?

Most of the time that’s my husband’s.

And almost every Saturday he brings home a big old box of Krispy Kreme donuts.

The kids and I never complain!

And they certainly don’t complain when I decide to take over the breakfast reins from my husband for holiday meals and whip up a cranberry bread pudding with donuts instead of bread and eggnog as the base of the custard.

It’s so rich and decadent and absolutely perfect for Christmas brunch.

Plus it’s easy to prepare so you can feel fancy without a lot of work!

What is bread pudding?

Bread pudding is turns old bread cubes into a dessert dish or a savory main by baking it with a rich custard with cream, eggs, and butter.

It’s basically a richer version of French toast casserole.

And when you make it with donuts- oh my!

It’s over the top decadent.

And make sure you try our other bread pudding recipes:

Ingredients

To make this you’ll need:

Eggs– for the custard
Eggnog– For maximum holiday flavor, definitely use eggnog. You could substitute eggnog coffee creamer or half and half.
Butter– Melted
Flavoring– Vanilla extract and ground nutmeg
Sugar– Granulated
Donuts– Old glazed donuts like the kind you’d get from Krispy Kreme. Make sure they are at least a day or two old.
Cranberries– Fresh
Powdered sugar– For garnish

How to Make

If you’ve ever made a french toast casserole, you’ll find making this cranberry bread pudding with donuts pretty easy since it’s so similar!

To do it, beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl.

Then whisk in the eggnog, butter, vanilla, and nutmeg until everything is well combined.

Finish the custard mixture by whisking in the sugar until it completely dissolves.

Set the custard aside.

In a separate bowl, toss together the chopped donuts and cranberries until combined.

Transfer the donut and cranberry mixture to a 9″ buttered pie dish so they are evenly spread out.

Pour the custard mixture evenly out over the donuts, and use the back of a spatula to gently press down on the donuts to help them absorb the liquid.

Place a buttered piece of foil on top of the dish and press around the edges to secure it.

Refrigerate the dish for at least an hour, but up to overnight while the donuts soaks up the custard mixture.

When you are ready to bake the cranberry pudding, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Let the dish sit out at room temperature while the oven heats.

Place a cake pan, full of water, on a lower shelf in the oven.

Bake the bread pudding on a shelf above it for 55-70 minutes, removing the foil after the first 40.

The bread pudding is done when it is golden brown all over, puffy on top, and the mixture’s set in the middle but still bit jiggly.

At this point remove the dish from the oven, and let it rest for a full 30 minutes before scooping and serving.

Garnish with a dusting of powdered sugar if desired.

Enjoy!

Storing Leftovers

Store any leftovers tightly covered in the baking dish or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheat them in a hot oven until warmed through.

Why is my bread pudding mushy?

It shouldn’t be!

If it is, one of two things happened:

the pudding didn’t bake long enough
the donuts were too fresh

Tips and Tricks

It will be a tight fit when you’re putting the donut pieces and cranberries in the pie tin. That’s ok! Firmly press them into the pan with the back of a spatula.
Don’t skip the resting time. The donuts need a chance to absorb the custard.
You could add cinnamon to the spices if you want.

Other Christmas Morning Breakfast Ideas

This cranberry bread pudding with donuts and eggnog is loaded with festive holiday flavors perfect for Christmas morning!

Make it and enjoy!

Looking for other Christmas morning breakfast ideas?

Try these:

If you’ve tried this CRANBERRY BREAD PUDDING, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!