Sourdough Bread Pudding with Mango and Pumpkin Seeds

Sourdough bread makes the absolute best bread pudding. This simple recipe is similar to a french toast casserole, with fresh mango and toasted pumpkin seeds baked right into it. For an easy bread pudding sauce, use melted vanilla ice cream!

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If you’ve judged by bread pudding by its awkward, unfortunate name – well, so have I.
Bread is for toast and sandwiches, and the word pudding belongs after the word chocolate, right?

I thought so too. Until I worked on this recipe.

What if I told you that bread pudding is actually a delicious, custard baked French Toast, that becomes dessert when you add mangos, toasted pepitas (unshelled pumpkin seeds), and vanilla cream?

Have I peaked your interest? Because I’m so down with THAT description.

Homemade sourdough bread makes the best bread pudding.

Why? Because of its structure. It will soften and absorb the custard without turning soggy. Leaving the crust on the cubes also ensures a contrasting texture to the cushion of the bread. It’s the perfect way to use up a loaf that you just didn’t finish while it was at peak freshness.

Bread Pudding with Mangos

For this recipe, I used a Tommy Atkins mango, which has a citrusy, tropical aroma. It’s tart and sweet, with a firm flesh. A dark red blush often covers much of the fruit with green and orange-yellow accents. But you can use any variety of mango and it would be just as delicious, because thanks to staggered growing seasons, mangos are available fresh year-round!

To ensure your mango is ripe, you can test it by giving it a little squeeze, at which point it should give lightly. It should also give off a slightly sweet smell near the stem. Each mango variety has a slightly different color with spots of green or red, so do not use color as a guide to determine ripeness.

To make sourdough bread pudding:

• Start by cutting some sourdough bread into (1/2 to 1-inch) slices. You’ll need 11 ounces (300 grams) of bread. Halve two of the slices, and cube the others into roughly 1/2 to 1 inch cubes.
• Make the custard – In a saucepan, whisk together milk, sugar, cream, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Heat this until it is steaming, but not simmering.
• Whisk into your eggs, slowly.
• Pour over the bread cubes in the baking pan, and gently press down to submerge all pieces. Let sit for 30 minutes.
• Add cubed mango and pepitas to the top of pudding, and bake!

Bread pudding tip: If you want to make this and only have fresh bread, toast the bread first. Warm your oven to 200 degrees F and bake the cubed bread on a sheet pan, until the cubes are dry to the touch but still pale-colored. Proceed with the recipe as usual.

And there are NO raisins in this bread pudding. ☺️ Just juicy, fresh mango and toasted pepitas that are an amazing combination. In each bite, you’ll taste creamy vanilla custard, sweet/tart mango, and nutty seeds. What’s not to love?