Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding

If you love a rich, luscious bread pudding loaded with the flavors of citrus and berry, you’re going to flip over this amazing bread pudding. Keep reading to discover the simple recipe for this tasty treat. 

What is a Bread Pudding? 

In days gone by, home cooks would find themselves with leftover stale bread. Those were “waste not, want not” days, when nothing went into the trash. So, they took that stale bread, added a milk, eggs, and sugar mixture, and baked it up into a pudding. 

That was then; this is now. 

You rarely hear of people making bread puddings these days. I’m not sure if our mentality has changed or if we consider ourselves too fancy for such simple treats. 

I didn’t really eat bread pudding growing up. I turned my nose up at it because I didn’t care for the way it looked. Now I feel incredibly guilty for telling my mom “No, I don’t want to taste that bread pudding. Thanks anyway.” 

Mama knew best. Her bread pudding was amazing. (I now know this because the first bread pudding I made was her recipe.) 

Mama’s been gone for a few years now so I can’t apologize in person. But I can pass down the tradition of yummy bread pudding to friends and family. 

Why Lemon Blueberry? 

My journey with this Lemon Blueberry bread pudding began several months ago when I made an orange cranberry bread pudding. From there I made an Apple Pie Bread Pudding. 

And a Banana Bread pudding. And a Cherry Pie Bread Pudding. 

Basically, I’ve been on a roll trying different flavor combinations. 

On this particular day I needed something to add to a list of brunch items I’d agreed to bring to a senior citizens’ event. I decided “bread pudding” would be something older folks would appreciate. 

Boy, did they! And they really seemed to love the lemon blueberry combination. It’s not one you see often in bread puddings and they really enjoyed it. 

So did I! (So much, in fact, that I made a Lemon Blackberry version a week later for a writing event.) 

With no further ado, let’s take a look at what you’ll need to make this delicious citrusy bread pudding. 

Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding Ingredients

There’s a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need. These are simple ingredients you might already have on hand in your pantry or refrigerator. 

FOR THE BREAD PUDDING

• Brioche or French bread
• granulated sugar
• whole milk butter
• eggs, whisked
• salt (if you use unsalted butter)
• lemons (zested and juiced)
• lemon extract
• fresh (or frozen/thawed) blueberries

LEMON CREAM SAUCE

• heavy cream
• brown Sugar (Packed)
• cornstarch
• egg
• salted butter
• lemon juice and zest
• Lemon extract

How to Make this Delicious Bread Pudding

This came together so easily, y’all. I plan to make this flavor combination again and again! 

The night before you make this, cut the loaf of French (or Brioche) bread into cubes, place on a large cookie sheet, and leave out to dry. 

BAKE THE PUDDING:

On the day of the bake: 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Zest and juice two lemons. Set aside. 

Melt butter and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk your eggs. 

Now add the milk, sugar, melted butter, and salt into the whisked eggs, stirring well to make sure it’s fully incorporated. 

Add lemon juice and zest. Whisk together. 

Add the bread chunks to the egg mixture. Stir well. 

Now it’s time to add the blueberries. I happened to be using frozen berries but I let them thaw (mostly) first. 

Stir well. You’ll notice the bread takes on some of the color of the berries. Pretty! 

Pour into buttered casserole dish. 

Place in the preheated oven and bake at 350 for one hour. 

Remove when it’s golden brown and let it cool down for about 15 minutes. 

MAKE THE LEMON CREAM SAUCE

Grab a small saucepan. In the pan, whisk the corn starch with a quarter cup of heavy cream. Now slowly work that into the rest of the cream until it’s fully incorporated. 

Add brown sugar and egg to the heavy cream and whisk until it all comes together. 

Heat over low temperature, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to thicken slightly. 

Now it’s time to add the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract. Whisk well!

Set the sauce aside to cool and thicken.

Pour over the (slightly cooled) bread pudding.

Add berries to decorate.

Serve and enjoy! 

What to Expect from this Recipe

Like I said above, this one was a big hit at the party. And it wasn’t just the older crowd! I passed off a serving to a 24-year-old. At first she turned her nose up at it. 

Then she took a bite. And the smile on her face was priceless. 

It’s fun to watch the younger generation grab hold of the recipes from days gone by. But, they’re really great recipes that stand the test of time. 

This Lemon Blueberry bread pudding will remain high on my personal list because I’m crazy about the citrus and berries together. (Lemon and blueberries just seem to belong together!) 

My favorite part is the lemon sauce but the berries (which burst while baking) are sheer perfection, as well. 

I’d have to say this one’s a clear winner. Let me know your thoughts if you make it! 

Variations on this Recipe

As I mentioned above, I recently re-made this recipe using blackberries in place of blueberries. It was equally as good! 

Strawberry Lemonade: I love this flavor combination, too. It would be fun to add a can of strawberry pie filling to the recipe. (It would probably turn out a lot like my Cherry Bread Pudding, which was also made with pie filing.) 

Pecan Pie: I love pecan pie filling and I think it would be great in this bread pudding. 

Traditional with White Sauce: Skip the lemon and berries and make a traditional vanilla-flavored bread pudding with vanilla cream sauce. It’s simple but delicious. 

Other Sweet Breakfast Dishes from Out of the Box Baking

• Monkey Bread with Canned Biscuits
• Easy Cranberry Breakfast Cake
• Easy Cinnamon Rolls from Canned Biscuits
• Easy Cinnamon Streusel Muffins with Pecans

That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe. 

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you’re at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

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See this recipe at

Full Plate Thursday 

Weekend Potluck

The Lazy Gastronome

Busy Monday 

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Learn more about doctored cake mixes, the theme of this blog. 

For the master list of all doctored cake mix recipes on this site, visit Doctored Cake Mix Recipes, Master List. 

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.