Easy Banana Bread Pudding

We don’t always have dessert every Sunday. When we do I tend to go with easy and simple desserts that are light on fat and added sugar while trying to use seasonal fruit whenever possible.

Most weeks I plan what I’m making so I have the whole business well in hand. Once in a while, it just happens that it is Saturday evening or Sunday morning and my mind is a blank. Last Sunday morning was one such  day. I needed a dessert that would use up a large loaf of sandwich bread and 4 very ripe bananas.

The most obvious thing to make was bread pudding which I’m not very fond of unless it is this one. My daughter will do her best to avoid banana pudding. We do like bananas though so this I put together this tropical style Easy Banana Bread Pudding.

This bread pudding recipe requires very little butter except a couple of tsps to pan fry the raisins and cashewnuts. Using sweet bananas also means one can cut down the sugar a bit a bit. It’s a recipe that’s so easy to put together, and you can make it early in the day and just warm it up before serving.

I used sandwich bread because that’s what I had, but if you have any leftover challah or brioche you should use that instead for a much better tasting bread pudding. Pan toasting the bread pieces in a little butter adds flavour and texture to the pudding. I used the sweet green variety of bananas that we get here called “Robusta”, which I believe is a cultivar of the Cavendish. These really are the best varieties to use for this pudding.

You could also try flavouring your bread pudding with cardamom or cinnamon instead of vanilla for really nice bread pudding. Adding some chocolate chips would be another interesting thing to do. Serve this pudding warm with some unsweetened cream, vanilla custard or ice-cream.

This Banana Bread Pudding is being YeastSpotted!

Easy Banana Bread Pudding

A very easily made moist tropical style banana bread pudding with cashewnuts and raisins. Low on added fat and sugar, this is a light bread pudding.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 6 serving

Ingredients

  

• 2 tsp butter (+ a little more for the baking dish)
• 1/4 cup cashewnuts chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 10 slices sandwich bread medium sized day old (cut into 1 1/2" pieces)
• 3 ripe bananas (sliced into 1" thick rounds)

Instructions

 

• Heat the butter in a small pan and add the raisins. Over low to medium heat, pan fry the raisins till they plump up. Remove them to a plate and add the cashewnuts. Pan fry them till they turn a light golden and add them to the raisins with any butter that is in the pan. Keep aside.
• In the remaining butter, lightly toast the bread pieces till they're light golden and crisp up a bit. This adds flavour to the pudding and also prevents the pudding from becoming very mushy.
• Whisk together the egg, vanilla, salt, the sugar and the milk, in a big bowl, until combined. Add the bread cubes, bananas, raisins and cashewnuts and toss them gently so they're well coated with the liquid. Do not let the bread break up or you will have a mushy pudding.
  
• Transfer the mixture to a 11" by 7" buttered baking dish and set aside for about 10 minutes so the bread absorbs the liquid. Gently stir the mixture once after about 5 minutes.
• Bake at for 170C (325F) for 30 to 45 minutes until the bread pudding is golden brown on top and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Take the bread pudding out and let it cool for about minutes before serving. Serve it warm as it is or with cream, vanilla custard or ice cream