This Bread Pudding with the BEST Jack Daniels Caramel Sauce is a classic southern bread pudding with an incredible Jack Daniels infused caramel sauce. It's pretty much the only bread pudding I’ll eat – in my opinion, it’s the best bread pudding recipe.
Around 12 years ago, my husband was working for Lockheed-Martin and his boss decided to take the entire lab out to eat dinner. We ended up at this little out-of-the-way restaurant in rural Mississippi.
It was one of those dinners out where the menu was pre-decided, so you ate what was handed to you, you didn’t get to order.
That night, bread pudding was passed out for dessert. Having never liked bread pudding my whole life, I was skeptical about trying it.
But I’m not one to refuse a dessert or be rude when food is given to me, so I decided I’d “pick at it” and pretend to eat a few bites. Little did I know that that bread pudding would change my life.
Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but it did completely change my opinion on bread pudding. This dessert was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and had the best sauce I’d ever had in my life!! I knew my whole opinion on bread pudding was changed that night!
In a twist of fate, an assistant at my chiropractor’s office also waited tables at this restaurant on the weekends. So the next time I went to the doctor, I asked her if she knew the recipe.
She said it was closely guarded but she could give me a general idea of what went into it. I took notes and began searching for something similar.
Jack Daniels Bread Pudding Recipe
That’s when I came across a recipe online that was so, so close to what she described. I printed it and decided to give it a try.
As it turns out, the end result was darn close to the bread pudding I’d had at that restaurant. And when I took a big pan of it to church, it was a HUGE hit!
I came home, wrote down the tiny changes I'd made and I’ve been making this bread pudding ever since for special occasions. I’ve even made and sold huge pans of it for weddings and rehearsal dinners – always with rave reviews!
You really cannot have too much of the sauce. I pour it over the hot bread pudding to let it soak in, then I pour more over the bread pudding when serving...
I could seriously drink caramel sauce. But it's made with Jack Daniels... so I don't. Most days. 😁 But seriously, the sauce is EVERYTHING.
If you're a bread pudding fan, or even if you're not, I cannot imagine that you'll be disappointed with this amazing recipe for Bread Pudding with Jack Daniels Sauce.
This recipe can be made in one 9x13 dish or doubled and made in a larger 11x17 roaster size dish. This Emile Henry dish is my favorite. I double the recipe and the bread pudding is a little thicker when made in this dish. It's also great for a large crowd or potluck dessert.
But if you're making it for a church potluck or something like that, I highly recommend using disposable foil pans. Easy cleanup for the win every time!!
Some ingredients for Jack Daniels Bread Pudding:
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Here's the printable recipe:
PrintRecipe
Jack Daniels Bread Pudding
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 15-20 servings 1x
Description
This Jack Daniels Bread Pudding is a classic southern bread pudding with an incredible Jack Daniels infused caramel sauce. It's pretty much the only bread pudding I’ll eat – in my opinion, it’s the best bread pudding recipe EVER!
Ingredients
- 1 (1 pound) loaf of French bread, cubed and toasted
- ½ cup golden raisins (optional)
- ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
-
2 ½ cups milk
-
4 large eggs
-
6 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
-
1 cups sugar
-
1 teaspoon nutmeg
-
1 teaspoons cinnamon
-
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
JACK DANIELS SAUCE
- 1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- pinch of salt
- ⅓ cup Jack Daniels Whiskey
Instructions
- Spray your pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- If you haven't already, cube the French bread (approximately 1-inch pieces) and toast them until lightly browned.
- Spread the cubed, toasted bread, raisins, and pecans in the prepared pan. You can absolutely skip the raisins and/or the pecans if those don't appeal to you. I've made it with and without those and it's still amazing!
- In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium heat.
- In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
- Pour 1 cup of the heated milk mixture to the egg mixture to temper it, then add the egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture.
- Pour the eggs/milk over the cubed bread in the pan. Cover with foil. You can bake immediately or let it soak in the fridge overnight before baking.
- Place a large baking sheet (or other larger baking pan that's at least an inch deep) in your oven and place your dish filled with bread pudding onto the larger pan. Pour water at least half an inch deep into the outer pan.
- Bake at 350°F for one hour.
- Remove foil and place back in oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until nicely browned. During this last 15 minutes, make the sauce.
Jack Daniels Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Immediately reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until it begins to thicken.
- Reduce until it's a syrup consistency.
- Pour the sauce over the hot bread pudding. I often have leftovers that I save and add more to the pudding while eating or to pour over ice cream on top of the bread pudding. Enjoy!!
Notes
- This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 11x17 dish for a thicker pudding or two 9x13's (obviously).
- The cooked bread pudding and sauce can be frozen. I thaw in the fridge overnight, then slowly reheat in the oven covered with foil and rewarm the sauce in the microwave.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 1:15
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
More warm desserts to love:
Lisa Flores
Thanks for sharing this, I can't wait to try it Sunday. We have a huge bottle of Jack Daniels that we haven't used much so this will be it. And great idea about selling pans of these for the upcoming holidays. If you don't mind me asking what size pan do you sell more the 9×13"? For how much usually? Thanks!
Kathy
All your goodies look amazing and probably are delicious. Do you ever create Keto friendly stuff?
Rose
Eeeeh, not really! Sorry!
Richard
2 questiins:
1)How much salt is used in the bread part of recipe? (Not the sauce) you state in directions for salt, but don't give any amount in ingredients.
2) if making putting recipe in smaller dish, or making double and using 9x13, are the cook time a same/since it will be thicker?
Rose
So sorry about that oversight. It's 1/2 tsp. in the bread. I don't adjust the cooking time much. I make sure it's browned and set and roll with it.
Cindy Shoaf
How much salt is used in the egg mixture?
georganne
Making this for the weekend. About how many cups would equal 1 lb of bread?
Yvonne Young
Could you use a bourbon instead of Jack Daniels? It is what I have on hand.
Rose
Yes!
Sarah Kirbach
Hi Rose
I tried this recipe tonight - it is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing I love the sauce I had some other brand of whiskey on hand - we keep a very small amount in case we need a cough tonic, and I used that instead of the Jack Daniels. It was out of this world.
La Verne Gene Jackson
PHi Rose, I have about 12 Honey Buns I'm gonna make a Bread Pudding with, and I want to know what you think of the Jack Daniel's Caramel Sauce with this?! Please let me know how you feel!!! I'm very anxious to know what you think of my little experiment!!!
Rose Atwater
I would never have thought to try this but it honestly sounds amazing! Please let me know how it goes!
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
Oh man this sounds fabulous!! I love caramel sauce. And with JD? Even better. Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party. Have a great weekend.
Ron
How hot does milk mixture need to be before tempering egg mixture?
Rose Atwater
I don't measure the temperature; I just bring it to a point of steaming and then mix it in.
Kelly haidlen
Could this be done in a crockpot? Going camping for Father’s Day and looking for crockpot bread pudding.
Rose Atwater
I don't know for sure, but I'd think so. Cook on low for about 3 hours - then check with a knife in the center.