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?
Of 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.
Almond 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!
Back 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.
My 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?
This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze. The opinions on this blog, as always, are my own.
Ooooh this sounds wonderful! A perfect brunch dish :)
Yum! Looks delicious – got to try this one soon.
I love bread puddings they are so tasty!!
WOW, your Banana Walnut Bread Pudding recipe looks and sounds really yummy, thanks very much for sharing the recipe!
Looks so good I need to make this for my son he loves bread puddings.Have a great day
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.
This looks and sounds really yummy. I think the kids would love this.
Delicious recipe for a bread pudding. My hubby would love this.
A simply perfect treat to pair with a cup of tea!
omg Banana Walnut Bread Pudding!! I have never had anything like this. Looks so yummy my mouth is actually watering right now
That looks delicious! Looks so tasty too! Yum!
This looks so good! I’ve never tried baking with Almond Breeze. Think I’ll give this one a try!!
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!
I always have cartons of almond milk in the pantry. It’s great for smoothies too!
I’ve never made a bread pudding and this looks and sounds delicious!
That looks so good, hubby loves bread pudding so I will definitely have to make this one for him!
Thanks,this looks totally delicious i can’t wait to try it !
looks so yummy! i love bread pudding!
This recipe looks delicious and a healthy alternative to traditional bread pudding recipes.
This looks like the perfect dish to take to a brunch. Yummy!
This recipe looks very delicious! I must try!
I’ve actually never tried Bread pudding but pretty sure I would really like this!
I’ve never made Banana Walnut Bread Pudding before, but it looks really good! I’ll definitely give it a go.
Thank you for the great recipe!!! It looks so good!
That looks amazing. I love almond milk.
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!
Oh boy this looks yummy, on my to be baked list.
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.
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. :)
This look really yummy. Is it super rich? This would be great for a brunch.
This looks very good thanks for the awesome recipe
Wanted to pop back in and let you know that I made this – omg so good! Definitely a keeper recipe!
I’m so glad you made it and loved it! :)
I am making this for the weekend. My hubby won’t even be able to tell I used almond milk! Yummy.
This looks absolutely delicious! I’m definitely making this. Thanks for the recipe.
Oh this sounds beyond delicious. Thanks for sharing!
I love banana bread pudding so this recipe seems like the perfect one to try!
This looks absolutely delicious. Light and full of flavour. Maybe serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Yummy , liked and sounds scrumptious , thanks for sharing a must try :)
Made it again because hubby asked for it, this time added some coconut to it – works really well!
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
This sounds delicious
I love bread pudding so I’ll have to try this one. The idea of adding walnuts sounds delicious.
Mmmm almond milk! Great idea for substituting in recipes!
Oh boy this Banana Walnut Bread Pudding looks super yummy!
This is something I have never tried, but I would like to make this and try it soon.It looks very delish!
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?’
Bread pudding is one of my favourites!
This looks so yummy. I’m always looking for potluck ideas. Will definitely try this recipe.
This looks so yummy!
I havent made a bread pudding before this looks delicious Thank for the recipe
Looks tasty and not too difficult to make. Perfect!! Thanks!
I can honestly say I never tried a bread pudding. It is about time with this great recipe you have shared. Thank you.
This looks amazing!
Looks delicious and so easy to make!
This looks so delicious!
I love bread pudding.
This looks like an easy delicious recipe.
This makes a great summer treat.
We served this on the weekend it’s a great dish to make when the grandkids visit because they love it!
This plus coffee plus some sliced pineapple equals a great brunch! Thank you!
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!
I haven’t tried Almond Breeze before but your recipe looks yummy