Mexican Bread Pudding

We’re finishing up the week with a perfect dessert for your Cinco de Mayo celebration – Mexican Bread Pudding! This simple-to-make recipe has incredible flavor and it’s so good, we’ll be making it year round at our house!

This Mexican Bread Pudding is different from most in that it is not a custard based bread pudding. All you do is heat a mixture of water, brown sugar and cinnamon and pour it over cubed bread that has been placed in a buttered casserole dish. Add walnuts, raisins (we used a mixture of raisins, currants and golden raisins) and a mix of cheeses to the dish and toss to combine.

Once the liquid has absorbed into the bread, bake in the oven until golden brown – and you’re done! Serve warm out of the oven with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon, or with tomorrow’s cinnamon ice cream!  (Be sure to check back for that recipe!)

We found this Mexican Bread Pudding recipe in my mom’s old recipe box – and when we initially read the recipe, we were tempted to adapt it a bit – it seemed almost too simple! But in the end, we made it exactly as written on my mom’s recipe card – and we’re so glad we did! This Mexican Bread Pudding is perfection as is!

Mexican Bread Pudding

• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 servings

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Ingredients

• 1 loaf country white bread or French bread ,crusts removed and cut into two inch cubes (about 8 cups)
• 2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 cups water
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups raisins or currants
• 2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 cup extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup queso fresco cheese crumbled (or Farmer’s cheese)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup heavy cream for garnish, optional
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar for whipped cream
• Additional cinnamon to sprinkle over whipped cream

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Instructions

1. Place cubed bread in a large bowl.
2. In a medium sauce pan, place brown sugar, water and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and heat five minutes uncovered. Pour over bread and toss to combine.
3. Add raisins, walnuts and both cheeses. Toss to combine.
4. Heavily butter a 2 quart casserole dish with the two tablespoons of butter and pour mixture in. Let sit 20 minutes at room temperature.
5. While the bread is absorbing the liquid, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. After 20 minutes, place in oven uncovered and bake for 30 minutes.
7. While pudding is baking, whip cream, if using, with powdered sugar and set aside.
8. Remove pudding from the oven and serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream sprinkled with a little more cinnamon.

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Mexican Brownies

Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce