Irish bread pudding is a simple but tasty homemade bread pudding. This easy bread pudding makes a perfect dessert on St. Patrick’s Day!

Irish bread pudding is a simple but delicious dessert! This bread pudding with Irish whiskey is made with just a few pantry-staple ingredients, and it comes together with a few minutes of prep.
This dessert makes a perfect end to any St. Patrick’s Day dinner, but it also makes a cozy dessert for a cold winter’s night. Top the bread pudding with a drizzle of caramel sauce or a dollop of whipped cream for a bit of extra sweetness and flavor!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Raisins: I use dark raisins, but golden raisins would also work.
- Irish whiskey: American whiskey could be used in place of the Irish whiskey. If you’d prefer to make a non-alcoholic bread pudding, you can use orange juice or boiling water. If you use boiling water, drain the water before stirring the raisins in.
- Brioche bread: Or a similar bread like challah. I don’t take the crust off of the bread.
- Sugar: Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to suit your tastes.
- Milk: Any milk from skim milk to whole milk will work. Whole milk will give you richer bread pudding. Heavy cream could also be used for ultra-rich bread pudding.
How to make Irish bread pudding
Here you’ll find the step-by-step photo directions. The full recipe is given below.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13×9-inch baking dish. Set aside.

Step 2: Add the raisins and whiskey to a small bowl. Set aside.

Step 3: Place the bread cubes in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. I use a jelly roll pan.

Step 4: Lightly toast the bread cubes for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Step 5: Add the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a large bowl.

Step 6: Whisk until well combined.

Step 7: Add the toasted bread cubes to the prepared baking dish.
Step 8: Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes.
Step 9: Add the raisins and whiskey to the bread cube mixture.

Step 10: Lightly toss to coat and combine.
Step 11: Let it stand 15 minutes, pushing the bread cubes into the egg mixture if needed.

Step 12: Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until set and baked through. The bread pudding will be puffed and lightly browned.

Recipe Tips!
- Dairy-free: To make this recipe dairy-free, use a nondairy milk, like almond milk.
- Lightly toasting the bread cubes help them to hold up better. The bread will break down more if you skip this step.
- If the bread pudding starts to brown too quickly, tent with aluminum foil.

Serving suggestions
I like to dust the bread pudding with a little bit of powdered sugar and top it with a drizzle of caramel sauce. It’s also great topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Storage
Store any leftover bread pudding in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The bread pudding will keep for up to 3 days when properly stored in the fridge.
More St. Patrick’s Day recipes!
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Irish Bread Pudding
Equipment
- 9×13-inch pan
Ingredients
Bread pudding
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 ounces Jameson Irish whiskey
- 16 ounces brioche bread in 1- inch cubes, about 10 cups
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Sauce
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 2-3 tablespoons Jameson Irish whiskey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13×9-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- Add the raisins and whiskey to a small bowl. Set aside.
- Place the bread cubes in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. I use a jelly roll pan.
- Lightly toast the bread cubes for 10 minutes.
- Set aside.
- Add the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a large bowl.
- Whisk until well combined.
- Add the toasted bread cubes to the prepared baking dish.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes.
- Add the raisins and whiskey to the bread cube mixture.
- Lightly toss to coat and combine.
- Let it stand 15 minutes, pushing the bread cubes into the egg mixture if needed.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until set and baked through. The bread pudding will be puffed and lightly browned.
- To make the sauce, heat the sugar in water over low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved and mixture is well-combined.
- Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, until caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- In a separate small saucepan, warm the heavy cream over low. This will help to prevent the sugar from recrystallizing.
- Add butter and warmed heavy cream to sugar mixture, and cook until well-combined, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the whiskey, and add additional cream if necessary.
- Serve over the warm bread pudding.
Notes
- Raisins: I use dark raisins, but golden raisins would also work.
- Irish whiskey: American whiskey could be used in place of the Irish whiskey. If you’d prefer to make a non-alcoholic bread pudding, you can use orange juice or boiling water. If you use boiling water, drain the water before stirring the raisins in.
- Brioche bread: Or a similar bread like challah. I don’t take the crust off of the bread.
- Sugar: Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to suit your tastes.
- Milk: Any milk from skim milk to whole milk will work. Whole milk will give you richer bread pudding. Heavy cream could also be used for ultra-rich bread pudding.
- Nutrition values are estimates.Â
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Daffydil says
Is damn good, but will only let me give 4 stars. I had to look up a cream sauce for it, however, so please maybe post one within the recipe. This is a repeat. Thanks so much for posting it!
Kate says
Thank you! And thank you for the suggestion! I’ve added the recipe for the cream sauce along with the bread pudding.
Cheryl says
I took this recipe for a test spin yesterday in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day. We loved it, we love all good bread puddings. This is a keeper.