Healthy Banana Bread Pudding
Healthy Banana Bread Pudding
Healthy Bread Pudding
I have made bread pudding more than any other dessert in my life, so I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to codify my Healthy Banana Bread Pudding recipe! Especially since I love banana-flavored anything!
And this healthy bread pudding recipe is so quick and easy, you will love it too! Seriously: It takes less than 15 minutes to prep this fantastic dessert!
When I worked in the corporate world, I entertained and had parties often. There was always a table of my go-to appetizers, and being a cheese enthusiast, I always had a cheese board with lots of crusty bread. At the end of these parties, I always ended up with lots of bread left over.
As a result, bread pudding became my go-to after-party dessert. Like the British of the 11th century who invented bread pudding, I didn’t want my wonderful bread to go to waste.
I also wanted my overripe bananas to go out in style rather than end up in the compost pile. That’s how I became a healthy banana bread pudding chef before I ever actually became a chef!
My husband loved my banana bread pudding from the very first time I made it, healthy or not, so after that, I started making sure we would have leftover bread whenever we entertained. He doesn’t need to know.
Is there really such thing as healthy bread pudding?
As far as bread puddings go, this one is pretty healthy, at about 125 calories per serving.
I make this Banana Bread Pudding recipe healthy with just a couple simple hacks: low-fat milk and less sugar. If you use really ripe bananas, they will give your healthy bread pudding all the sweetness it needs.
However, healthiness goes out the window if you add a sauce, whipped cream, or ice cream.
That being said, I still prefer my Healthy Banana Bread Pudding warmed and à la mode. Caramel, peanut butter, vanilla, and chocolate ice creams are perfect for this Banana Bread Pudding.
One more deliciously decadent way to splurge is to top your bread pudding with these caramelized bananas.
What can I say? If you at least start off with a healthy bread pudding recipe, it’s way easier to justify adding ice cream or other over-the-top toppings afterwards. Or at least it is in my world.
Healthy Banana Bread Pudding with ice cream.
Healthy Banana Bread Pudding Recipe
Servings: 12
Ingredients
5 large eggs
¾ cup brown sugar
2 cups 2% milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ripe bananas
8 slices of bread (approximately 7 cups)
Instructions
1. Cut each piece of bread into 20 pieces—a small dice—and put in a large bowl.
2. Blend eggs, brown sugar, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and bananas in a blender until smooth.
3. Pour egg mixture into bowl with bread and mix well.
4. Let bowl sit at least 1 hour, or cover it and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.
5. Take a spatula and break apart some of the bread chunks.
6. Pour into a well sprayed 8” x 8” glass baking dish, and make sure all bread is flat and submerged in the liquid.
7. Bake at 350° for half an hour. Turn dish and bake another 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry when stuck into the bread pudding. The bread pudding should be moist but not jiggly.
Tips on how to make Healthy Banana Bread Pudding
Even though this is an easy Banana Bread Pudding recipe, I think these few tips are worth mentioning.
1. Step Number 4 is really important to ensure that your Healthy Banana Bread Pudding turns out moist. No cutting corners on this step! Make sure you let the bread soak.
2. Don’t be afraid of overripe bananas. Even a few brown spots will not hurt because you’re blending them!
3. Don’t be afraid of cutting the bread too small. To me, the smaller the better. Large chunks tend to poke out and become crunchy when baked. I also think bread puddings in general look better when smaller pieces of bread are used.
