Savory Tomato Bread Pudding
By Amanda LuchtelPublished on June 22, 2025
Time
2¼ hours, plus 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Plum tomatoes work best for this recipe. Other tomato varieties will work, but they may be slightly softer after roasting. For a spicier dish, use the full ½ teaspoon of pepper flakes. We prefer the flavor and texture of a French-style baguette here, but you can use another hearty, rustic bread, such as ciabatta or Italian bread.
Instructions
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil spray. Toss 2 pounds plum tomatoes (cored and cut into eighths), ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 minced garlic cloves, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1½ teaspoons sugar, and ¼–½ teaspoon red pepper flakes together in prepared dish; arrange in even layer. Toss 11 ounces torn baguette, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil together on rimmed baking sheet; arrange in even layer.
- Place tomatoes on upper rack and bread on lower rack. Bake bread until crisp and lightly browned, about 12 minutes; remove and let cool on sheet for 10 minutes. Rotate tomatoes and continue to roast until tomatoes are softened and lightly browned and have released their juices, about 40 minutes longer.
- While tomatoes roast, whisk 3 cups heavy cream, 1½ cups whole milk, 8 large egg yolks, 2 ounces (1 cup) grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme and/or rosemary, remaining ¾ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Stir in toasted bread and let sit, stirring occasionally, until bread is softened and most of custard has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.
- Stir roasted tomatoes and their juices into bread mixture until evenly combined. Transfer mixture to now-empty baking dish and gently press into even layer.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake pudding on lower rack until top is deep golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking. Let cool for 30 minutes. Serve, drizzling with extra oil and sprinkling with extra Parmesan, if desired.TO MAKE AHEAD: Pudding can be prepared through step 4 and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Increase baking time in step 5 by about 5 minutes.
Time
2¼ hours, plus 30 minutes coolingYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a rich bread pudding that focused on the ultrasavory flavor of roasted seasonal tomatoes. We chose plum tomatoes because their lower water content allows them to keep their shape when cooked. Roasting the tomatoes transformed them into slightly chewy, savory-sweet morsels with deep, concentrated tomato flavor. Seasoning them with plenty of olive oil, salt, garlic, and sugar bumped up their sweet-and-savory profile. We preferred a French baguette for its strong crumb and neutral flavor here. The crust gave the bread pudding an enjoyable, slightly chewy texture, so we left it on. Toasting torn pieces of baguette to a light golden brown enriched their flavor and gave the bread a crispiness that helped prevent the finished dish from turning soggy. For the custard, we found that a mixture of 2 parts cream to 1 part milk was rich but not over the top. To prevent a curdled mouthfeel, we replaced the traditional whole eggs with just egg yolks.
Before You Begin
Plum tomatoes work best for this recipe. Other tomato varieties will work, but they may be slightly softer after roasting. For a spicier dish, use the full ½ teaspoon of pepper flakes. We prefer the flavor and texture of a French-style baguette here, but you can use another hearty, rustic bread, such as ciabatta or Italian bread.
Instructions
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil spray. Toss 2 pounds plum tomatoes (cored and cut into eighths), ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 minced garlic cloves, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1½ teaspoons sugar, and ¼–½ teaspoon red pepper flakes together in prepared dish; arrange in even layer. Toss 11 ounces torn baguette, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil together on rimmed baking sheet; arrange in even layer.
- Place tomatoes on upper rack and bread on lower rack. Bake bread until crisp and lightly browned, about 12 minutes; remove and let cool on sheet for 10 minutes. Rotate tomatoes and continue to roast until tomatoes are softened and lightly browned and have released their juices, about 40 minutes longer.
- While tomatoes roast, whisk 3 cups heavy cream, 1½ cups whole milk, 8 large egg yolks, 2 ounces (1 cup) grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme and/or rosemary, remaining ¾ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Stir in toasted bread and let sit, stirring occasionally, until bread is softened and most of custard has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.
- Stir roasted tomatoes and their juices into bread mixture until evenly combined. Transfer mixture to now-empty baking dish and gently press into even layer.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake pudding on lower rack until top is deep golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking. Let cool for 30 minutes. Serve, drizzling with extra oil and sprinkling with extra Parmesan, if desired.TO MAKE AHEAD: Pudding can be prepared through step 4 and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Increase baking time in step 5 by about 5 minutes.
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