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Entertaining this Spring? Make it a Breeze.

April 25, 2017 By Lena 63 Comments

I’m always on the lookout for simple, crowd-pleasing desserts that I can add to my repertoire – but often, it’s easier said than done. Admittedly, I’m a creature of habit and tend to revert to my old, faithful standbys; desserts I can make with the ingredients I have on hand. Because really, what’s worse than discovering you have 18% – or worse, 98% – of the ingredients you need to make a sweet concoction?
Bread PuddingOf my many staple showstoppers, one does stand out: Banana Walnut Bread Pudding. As long as I have ripe bananas on hand – and truthfully, with two young boys, bananas are a fixture in our fruit bowl – I can always make this much-loved brunch food. My secret ingredient? Almond Breeze Vanilla.
_DSC2144Almond Breeze is made with high-quality California almonds. The almonds that go into every drop of this delicious non-dairy beverage come straight from growers within Blue Diamond’s cooperative that have been in the almond business for 100 years. In fact, many of the almond growers have worked with Almond Breeze for generations, so there’s a lot of family pride and love poured into each carton.

Me? I just love that it’s a convenient source of calcium, and has no saturated fat or cholesterol. And of course, it tastes great. As much as I love adding Almond Breeze to baked goods, I enjoy it straight from the carton, too!
_DSC2130Back to my Banana Walnut Bread Pudding. It can be served as brunch for those with a sweet tooth (and a carefree attitude towards carb consumption), or dessert for those who are of the “muffins are mini cakes” mindset. Regardless of when you enjoy it, this bread pudding is dense, sticky and downright delicious. The best news? You may already have all the ingredients on hand.

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf French or Italian bread
1 1/2 cups Almond Breeze Vanilla
2 large or 3 small mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

TOPPING

1/2 cup pure maple syrup*
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

*You can also use your favourite pancake syrup. Seriously, I won’t judge. It comes out great both ways – the maple syrup adds a robust depth of flavour that enriches the overall dish, but in a pinch, I’ve used the cheap stuff too. Just make sure you don’t use butter-flavoured syrup.

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut or tear the bread into bite-sized pieces. Day old or slightly stale bread works best, but you can also lightly toast fresh bread. Place it in a large bowl.

In a blender, add Almond Breeze Vanilla along with the mashed banana, brown sugar, cornstarch, baking powder and cinnamon; blend until smooth. Pour the mixture over the bread and stir well to completely coat. Let soak for a few minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Gently grease an 8×8-inch baking dish with butter. Pour the bread pudding mixture into the dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is set. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

When the bread pudding has cooled slightly, drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Cut into squares and serve warm.
_DSC2119aMy bread pudding is on the darker side because I’m a cinnamon freak – I probably need to undergo a 12-step program to stop liberally dousing all my desserts with the brown stuff. I used closer to two teaspoons and don’t regret a thing (other than the darker aesthetic for blog photography). Regardless, if you’re not concerned with a brownish bread pudding and want to increase the cinnamon, I say solidarity, sister.

Do you have a go-to recipe that incorporates your pantry staples? Do tell! I’d love to add a few tried-and-true goodies to my stash.

If you do try my Banana Walnut Bread Pudding, just remember to refrigerate the leftovers promptly; it will stay delicious in the fridge for up to three days. Then again… what leftovers?
_DSC2142This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze. The opinions on this blog, as always, are my own.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: Almond Breeze, Banana Walnut Bread Pudding, dessert recipes, easy recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Soozle

    April 25, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    Ooooh this sounds wonderful! A perfect brunch dish :)

    Reply
  2. Marissa

    April 26, 2017 at 7:09 am

    Yum! Looks delicious – got to try this one soon.

    Reply
  3. Lynda Cook

    April 28, 2017 at 8:46 am

    I love bread puddings they are so tasty!!

    Reply
  4. Rosanne Robinson

    April 28, 2017 at 9:32 am

    WOW, your Banana Walnut Bread Pudding recipe looks and sounds really yummy, thanks very much for sharing the recipe!

    Reply
  5. susan frampton

    April 28, 2017 at 9:53 am

    Looks so good I need to make this for my son he loves bread puddings.Have a great day

    Reply
  6. Leeanne c

    April 28, 2017 at 10:27 am

    I love dessert recipes. This looks amazing. I don’t like it when I want to make a dessert and have half of the ingredients.

    Reply
  7. Susan Hanley

    April 28, 2017 at 10:28 am

    This looks and sounds really yummy. I think the kids would love this.

    Reply
  8. Florence Cochrane

    April 28, 2017 at 10:41 am

    Delicious recipe for a bread pudding. My hubby would love this.

    Reply
  9. Alayne Langford

    April 28, 2017 at 11:39 am

    A simply perfect treat to pair with a cup of tea!

    Reply
  10. kristen visser

    April 28, 2017 at 3:49 pm

    omg Banana Walnut Bread Pudding!! I have never had anything like this. Looks so yummy my mouth is actually watering right now

    Reply
  11. Carole D.

    April 28, 2017 at 5:27 pm

    That looks delicious! Looks so tasty too! Yum!

    Reply
  12. Piroska

    April 28, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    This looks so good! I’ve never tried baking with Almond Breeze. Think I’ll give this one a try!!

    Reply
  13. Jenn Erin

    April 28, 2017 at 6:14 pm

    I LOVE cinnamon too so I can relate! I love putting walnuts in my banana bread so I know I will love this bread pudding!

    Reply
  14. Susan T.

    April 28, 2017 at 8:15 pm

    I always have cartons of almond milk in the pantry. It’s great for smoothies too!

    Reply
  15. CL Chin

    April 29, 2017 at 8:44 am

    I’ve never made a bread pudding and this looks and sounds delicious!

    Reply
  16. Judy Cowan

    April 29, 2017 at 9:55 am

    That looks so good, hubby loves bread pudding so I will definitely have to make this one for him!

    Reply
  17. kathy downey

    April 29, 2017 at 10:33 am

    Thanks,this looks totally delicious i can’t wait to try it !

    Reply
  18. mongupp

    April 29, 2017 at 4:15 pm

    looks so yummy! i love bread pudding!

    Reply
  19. Caryn salageanu

    April 29, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    This recipe looks delicious and a healthy alternative to traditional bread pudding recipes.

    Reply
  20. Carolyn Wilman

    April 30, 2017 at 12:11 pm

    This looks like the perfect dish to take to a brunch. Yummy!

    Reply
  21. Stephanie

    April 30, 2017 at 12:43 pm

    This recipe looks very delicious! I must try!

    Reply
  22. Julie Hartwig

    May 1, 2017 at 10:51 am

    I’ve actually never tried Bread pudding but pretty sure I would really like this!

    Reply
  23. nicky

    May 1, 2017 at 3:05 pm

    I’ve never made Banana Walnut Bread Pudding before, but it looks really good! I’ll definitely give it a go.

    Reply
  24. Andrea

    May 2, 2017 at 12:02 pm

    Thank you for the great recipe!!! It looks so good!

    Reply
  25. Kristi Friesen

    May 3, 2017 at 11:58 pm

    That looks amazing. I love almond milk.

    Reply
  26. kathy downey

    May 6, 2017 at 4:10 pm

    Hi Lena,we served this dish in the am for a family get-together and it was a huge hit.Thanks so much it’s a keeper for sure!

    Reply
  27. Lushka Smith

    May 7, 2017 at 9:37 am

    Oh boy this looks yummy, on my to be baked list.

    Reply
  28. Krista M

    May 7, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    I never grew up with bread pudding. I actually just tried it for the first time at a hotel buffet dinner this past Christmas. And I fell in love with it! This one’s a bit different with the bananas & walnuts but I bet it tastes wonderful.

    Reply
  29. Holly Daniels

    May 10, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    This sounds & looks amazing. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. Would be a great brunch for Mother’s Day for my MIL. :)

    Reply
  30. Susan Hanley

    May 10, 2017 at 6:45 pm

    This look really yummy. Is it super rich? This would be great for a brunch.

    Reply
  31. s powell

    May 11, 2017 at 8:29 am

    This looks very good thanks for the awesome recipe

    Reply
  32. Judy Cowan

    May 11, 2017 at 9:15 am

    Wanted to pop back in and let you know that I made this – omg so good! Definitely a keeper recipe!

    Reply
    • Lena

      July 3, 2017 at 2:59 pm

      I’m so glad you made it and loved it! :)

      Reply
  33. Tania B

    May 11, 2017 at 2:17 pm

    I am making this for the weekend. My hubby won’t even be able to tell I used almond milk! Yummy.

    Reply
  34. Donna Wilson

    May 11, 2017 at 6:00 pm

    This looks absolutely delicious! I’m definitely making this. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
  35. Stephanie LaPlante

    May 15, 2017 at 12:34 pm

    Oh this sounds beyond delicious. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  36. Dennison Trinh

    May 15, 2017 at 12:58 pm

    I love banana bread pudding so this recipe seems like the perfect one to try!

    Reply
  37. Cynthia Dingwell

    May 19, 2017 at 4:53 pm

    This looks absolutely delicious. Light and full of flavour. Maybe serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

    Reply
  38. Treen Goodwin

    May 20, 2017 at 7:35 am

    Yummy , liked and sounds scrumptious , thanks for sharing a must try :)

    Reply
  39. Judy Cowan

    May 23, 2017 at 9:18 am

    Made it again because hubby asked for it, this time added some coconut to it – works really well!

    Reply
  40. LisaM

    May 23, 2017 at 1:38 pm

    Oh definitely yum. And I never thought of just keeping some on hand for baking. Our son drinks cow’s milk and neither of us are big milk drinkers so this would be great to just stock in the pantry

    Reply
  41. Cheryl H

    May 25, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    This sounds delicious

    Reply
  42. Ron Friesen

    May 28, 2017 at 5:43 pm

    I love bread pudding so I’ll have to try this one. The idea of adding walnuts sounds delicious.

    Reply
  43. Joyce S

    May 29, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    Mmmm almond milk! Great idea for substituting in recipes!

    Reply
  44. Rosanne Robinson

    May 30, 2017 at 10:50 pm

    Oh boy this Banana Walnut Bread Pudding looks super yummy!

    Reply
  45. Wanda Tracey

    May 31, 2017 at 12:36 am

    This is something I have never tried, but I would like to make this and try it soon.It looks very delish!

    Reply
  46. Elizabeth Matthiesen

    June 2, 2017 at 1:33 pm

    This looks so yummy, would you believe that I’ve never eaten bread pudding, I think the name has always put me off. Loved this part: ‘Then again… what leftovers?’

    Reply
  47. Lushka Smith

    June 13, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    Bread pudding is one of my favourites!

    Reply
  48. Alison Braidwood

    June 14, 2017 at 1:21 pm

    This looks so yummy. I’m always looking for potluck ideas. Will definitely try this recipe.

    Reply
  49. Josie Tusa

    June 16, 2017 at 5:47 pm

    This looks so yummy!

    Reply
  50. Shirleyp

    June 20, 2017 at 10:45 am

    I havent made a bread pudding before this looks delicious Thank for the recipe

    Reply
  51. Corry L.

    June 25, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    Looks tasty and not too difficult to make. Perfect!! Thanks!

    Reply
  52. lori galbraith

    September 14, 2017 at 7:50 am

    I can honestly say I never tried a bread pudding. It is about time with this great recipe you have shared. Thank you.

    Reply
  53. Julie

    September 19, 2017 at 7:45 pm

    This looks amazing!

    Reply
  54. Josie Tusa

    September 20, 2017 at 11:27 pm

    Looks delicious and so easy to make!

    Reply
  55. Donna L.

    September 28, 2017 at 2:24 am

    This looks so delicious!

    Reply
  56. Donna L.

    November 19, 2017 at 2:38 am

    I love bread pudding.

    Reply
  57. Janet Meisner

    February 19, 2018 at 2:09 pm

    This looks like an easy delicious recipe.

    Reply
  58. Calvin

    April 20, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    This makes a great summer treat.

    Reply
  59. kathy downey

    April 23, 2018 at 2:09 pm

    We served this on the weekend it’s a great dish to make when the grandkids visit because they love it!

    Reply
  60. Tammi L.

    April 26, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    This plus coffee plus some sliced pineapple equals a great brunch! Thank you!

    Reply
  61. kathy

    July 17, 2018 at 2:14 pm

    I just picked a few Almond Breeze and walnuts,going to makes a few pans for a seniors outing on Thursday,this is sure to be a hit!

    Reply
  62. Debbie White-Beattie

    November 24, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    I haven’t tried Almond Breeze before but your recipe looks yummy

    Reply

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Lena Almeida

Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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