With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, we can’t stop thinking about what dessert we’re going to serve with our corned beef and cabbage. This traditional Irish Bread Pudding soaked in a rich whiskey caramel sauce is sweet, gooey, and so comforting– the perfect ending to a day filled with celebration.
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Ingredients for Irish Bread Pudding
This traditional Irish bread pudding recipe is much easier to make than it seems. And the rich whiskey caramel sauce is what really sets this dessert apart. It’s the best St. Patrick’s Day dessert!
- Bread: French bread is a great option for bread pudding because it has a tough and chewy texture that holds up well when soaked in the egg mixture. Brioche, challah, or another sturdy loaf also works well.
- Eggs: Eggs create the thick custardy texture of the bread pudding mixture.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds the right amount of sweetness.
- Milk + Cream: Heavy cream and evaporated milk add richness to the custard, and regular milk helps thin the sauce.
- Whiskey Caramel Sauce: This indulgent sauce is made from whiskey, milk, sugar, water, butter, and cream cheese.
- Raisins: Raisins add a nice texture and sweetness to the dessert.
- Cinnamon: This adds the perfect level of warmth.
Variations on Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce
We love this delicious bread pudding with traditional raisins, but it’s also delicious with golden raisins, dried cranberries, or even dried apricots. If you’re not a fan, try using chocolate chips instead. The flavor is different but still delicious!
How to Store and Reheat
Let the Irish bread pudding cool to room temperature before storing, but be sure to move it to the fridge within 2 hours of baking. Wrap the casserole dish or ramekins tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store the extra whiskey caramel sauce separately.
For best results, reheat in the oven at 350°F until fully warmed through. You can reheat the sauce on the stove.
How to Freeze
Freeze bread pudding in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating. We don’t recommend freezing the whiskey sauce.
Serving Suggestions
This Irish bread pudding is honestly the best way to cap off a St. Patrick’s Day feast. Make our favorite crockpot corned beef and cabbage and colcannon for dinner, and cap off the night with some homemade Irish cream or green mint vanilla milk. Delish!
Notes from the Test Kitchen
Stale or day-old bread works best, so this recipe is a great way to use up leftover bread. If your bread is too fresh, just let it sit out overnight before making this delicious dessert.
5-Star Review
“I just looked this recipe up in order to make it for St. Patrick’s Day again this year. I don’t think I have ever left a review for this recipe. It is absolutely delicious. The Whisky Caramel Sauce is freakin’ amazing. I can’t decide whether I want to eat it with a spoon or just take a bath in it. This is the dessert of choice for St. Pat’s in this Irish household.” -Sandi Latham
Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Ingredients
For the Whiskey Caramel Sauce
- 1½ cups granulated sugar 300 grams
- ⅔ cup water 151 grams
- ¼ cup salted butter 57 grams, cubed (½ stick)
- 2 ounces cream cheese 57 grams, cubed (¼ brick)
- ¼ cup Irish Whiskey 57 grams
- ¼ cup milk 57 grams
For the Bread Pudding
- ¾ cup heavy cream 170 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- ¾ tablespoon pure vanilla extract 9 grams
- 12 ounces evaporated milk 341 grams (1 can)
- 2 large eggs 100 grams, lightly beaten
- ¾ cup Whiskey Caramel Sauce divided (see above)
- 10 cups cubed French bread 454 grams, from a 1-pound loaf
- ½ cup raisins 85 grams
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 9 grams, for topping
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 25 grams, for topping
Instructions
- Make the whiskey-caramel sauce: Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves.1½ cups granulated sugar, ⅔ cup water
- Stop stirring and allow to simmer until mixture is golden, about 17 minutes. Do not stir!
- Remove from heat.
- Carefully add the butter and cream cheese, whisking constantly until all clumps are dissolved. CAUTION! Mixture will be very hot and can bubble up during this time.¼ cup salted butter, 2 ounces cream cheese
- Stir in the whiskey and milk. Mixture will bubble a bit at this step as well. Set aside.¼ cup Irish Whiskey, ¼ cup milk
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- If using a casserole dish, spray with nonstick spray, or spray each ramekin with nonstick spray (approximately 6 ramekins)
- Combine heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract, evaporated milk, eggs, and ⅔ cup whiskey-caramel sauce in a large bowl. Stir well with a whisk.¾ cup heavy cream, 1 cup granulated sugar, ¾ tablespoon pure vanilla extract, 12 ounces evaporated milk, 2 large eggs, ¾ cup Whiskey Caramel Sauce
- Add bread cubes, using a spatula to push down and make sure each piece of bread is coated.10 cups cubed French bread
- Cover and allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to soak up all the goodness.
- Pour the bread mixture into the prepared 13 x 9-inch baking dish or ramekins.
- Sprinkle top with raisins, cinnamon, and sugar.½ cup raisins, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until set.
- Serve warm with more caramel-whiskey sauce.
Becky’s Tips
- If you don’t have salted butter, add a pinch of salt to unsalted butter.
- If you don’t like raisins, feel free to use chocolate chips instead.
- Feel free to use your favorite brand of whiskey.
- You can also divide the mixture between two 8×8-inch casserole dishes.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
It’s best served warm, soon after coming out of the oven. But once it’s been fully cooked, you can also eat it cold if you prefer.
If it’s still soggy, let it continue cooking in the oven until it sets. But this might also be caused by too much liquid and not enough/sturdy enough bread to soak it all up. That’s why it’s important to use the right bread and stick to the right measurements.
It should be set in the center, but more importantly, it should reach an internal temperature of 160°F to make sure the eggs are fully cooked.
Let the bread soak in the egg mixture, in the fridge, for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
More Caramel Dessert Recipes To Try
- Caramel Pie
- Caramel Stuffed Cookies
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge
- Salted Caramel No Bake Cheesecake
Does the alcohol cook out of the caramel sauce?
Not completely!
Have you used flavored whiskey? I’m considering orange Jameson
We haven’t tried that, but we think it’d be delicious!!
My husband is not a huge fan of bread pudding but now I think I found a winning recipe. I made this recipe with the exception of adding 12 mini boxes of milk duds. About 1/2 cup and I used caramel vanilla Irish cream liquor instead of whiskey.
Wow, that sounds delish! Thanks so much for sharing what worked for you, Cheri!
I had to make the caramel twice. The first time I made it in a saucepan and it never turned golden and the cream cheese/butter split and it looked awful. The second time I followed the directions but used my skillet. More surface area, more evaporation of the water so more golden in color. The rest is history; best caramel sauce ever,
!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Kathleen! We’re so glad everything turned out in the end!
My son and his girlfriend had us over for an Irish dinner last night and I made this for dessert. Omg…the bread pudding was great, dense, chewy, but the whiskey sauce??!! Oh dear…. I could drink it with a straw…it was sooooo good really topped off the bread pudding…perfect!
Hi ill be making your Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce 12 people. What size ramekins and how many should i use?
We used six 4-ounce ramekins!
okay thank you
Can I use French baguette or does it have to be French bread?
You can use a baguette!
Hi! I’m a little confused. Do you add 2/3 cup whiskey caramel sauce or 3/4 cup whiskey caramel sauce with the cream and evaporated milk? I’m seeing both and I’m not sure which is correct.
Thanks.
Add ⅔ cup of the whiskey caramel sauce with the cream and evaporated milk and serve with the remaining whiskey caramel sauce drizzled on top!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! My only issue is that when I cook the caramel sauce, it never turns “golden “. I cooked it 17 minutes lol the recipe says, and even tried cooking it longer and it never turned color. I tried once to just cook it until it did turn golden but it almost had a scorched taste. Is there a trick to this?
It sounds like the heat wasn’t high enough! The sugar should be bubbling/boiling for those 17 minutes. If the heat is too low, it won’t turn brown!
I actually had the heat up. It was a rolling boil the entire time.
Caramel can be tricky. It can take a long time to caramelize, even at the right heat. But once it starts turning color, that happens very quickly, so be sure to take it off the heat to prevent it from burning! It can go from caramel to burnt in the blink of an eye.
I just looked this recipe up in order to make it for St. Patrick’s Day again this year. I don’t think I have ever left a review for this recipe. It is absolutely delicious. The Whisky Caramel Sauce is freakin’ amazing. I can’t decide whether I want to eat it with a spoon or just take a bath in it. This is the dessert of choice for St. Pat’s in this Irish household.
Why thank you for stopping by and sharing, Sandi!
I made this and it is delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing!