This authentic Jamaican Vegan Bread Pudding is full of flavor, perfectly sweet, and the most deliciously soft and tender bread pieces mixed with a vegan custard.
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One of my favorite things to do is veganize my mom’s recipes. She’s always been an inspiration to me in the kitchen and her food growing up tasted like a 5-course meals every night even when we didn’t have much. Today, I’m sharing her authentic vegan Jamaican bread pudding.
Bread pudding is a classic dessert that is very popular in many cultures, including Jamaica. It’s typically made with stale bread and then cream and eggs form a custard like mixture. It can be sweet or savory, though often sweet.
For this recipe, I decided to pair it with our homemade vegan brioche loaves that we made and let stale out overnight; however, you can use your favorite vegan bread.
Vegan Bread Pudding Ingredients
Vegan bread loaf (at least one day old)
You want day old bread because the stale structure does better at soaking up the custard mixture since it’s drier and more absorbent. You can use vegan versions of french bread, rolls, brioche, challah, muffins, etc. will all work.
Liquid vegan egg (like Just Egg)
Helps give more of an eggy taste while also binding the pudding and gives it a custardy texture, just like traditional eggs would.
Substitute: If needed, replace this with 3 tablespoon of cornstarch. Noting that you’ll loose that eggy taste the liquid vegan egg provides.
Full-fat coconut milk and Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk
Adds rich creaminess and that subtle tropical flavor typical in Jamaican desserts. The non-dairy milk lightens the custard mixture while keeping it creamy and helps to balance the richness of the coconut milk.
Substitute: You can just use non-dairy milk, but note that you’ll loose some of the creaminess and richness that you get with the coconut. We’d recommend add ½ tablespoon of cornstarch to the blender mixture.
Brown sugar
Sweetens the pudding and adds deep, caramel-like flavor thanks to the molasses content.
Substitute: You can use granulated coconut sugar or date sugar in place of the brown sugar in equal amounts.
Vanilla extract and spices
We’re adding vanilla, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, as well as salt. These help to enhance the overall flavor and brings warmth and sweetness that are classic in Jamaican desserts.
Raisins (optional)
Add natural sweetness and texture that’s traditional in many Caribbean bread puddings. I prefer to blend my raisins because I don’t care for the texture variations, but you can leave whole.
Jamaican White Rum
Gives the pudding an authentic island flavor and depth. You can omit this if you don’t consume alcohol.
Tip: If leaving your raisins whole, soak the raisins in the rum beforehand to plump them up.
Vegan Vanilla Maple Glaze
We’re combining powdered sugar, maple syrup, non-dairy milk, vanilla and salt together to make a delicious glaze once slightly cooled that just brings everything together so much more. This is optional.
How to Make Vegan Bread Pudding
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly oil a 9 x 9 inch or 2 ½ quart baking dish. Add your chopped bread pieces into a large bowl and set aside.
Step 2: Into a blender add in liquid vegan egg, coconut milk, dairy free milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of the nutmeg, allspice and salt. Blend until mixture is well combined (Do not blend until ingredients are warm).
Step 3: Pour blender mixture in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir consistently with a spatula or whisk to keep custard from curdling or burning. The mixture should begin to thicken and be ready in about 8-10 mins. If custard coats the spatula, it’s ready. Remove from heat.
Step 4: Stir in raisins and rum, if using, and pour the mixture over the bread pieces in the bowl. Stir with a spatula to get everything coated. Let sit for 30 minutes to soak in the custard, stirring after 15 minutes.
Step 5: Spread the bread mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing the cubes into the dish and distributing evenly. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar.
*If using pecans, spread ½ the bread mixture and ½ the pecans. Then the rest of the bread mixture and pecans on top.
Step 6: Bake 35-45 minutes, or until the bread is crisp and beginning to turn golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out mostly clean or just a little moist.
Step 7: While bread pudding is baking, In a bowl, whisk together glaze ingredients until combined.
Step 8: Remove the bread pudding from the oven and allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes. Top with the rest of ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. You can top with the optional sauce, powdered sugar, homemade vegan caramel and/or dairy free ice cream. Serve warm or allow it to cool and set completely before serving.
Vegan Bread Pudding FAQs
We do not currently have a gluten free dough recipe to recommend, although we are working to create one. You can try this recipe with vegan gluten bread of your choice.
For the remaining ingredients, yes you can.
Omit the nuts, use a safe non-dairy milk, replace the coconut milk with a thicker non-dairy milk like an extra creamy oat milk, and use a safe egg replacement of your choice.
Nothing else included in the recipe contains a Top 9 allergen.
For best results, this is great eating the same day it’s made; however, you can store this, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days as well. Reheat in the oven or microwave until desired temp.
What other vegan Jamaican recipes can I make?
If you love Jamaican recipes as much as I do, then you will love these other recipes. Here’s some of our favorites:
- Vegan Beef Patties
- Authentic Jamaican Jerk Tofu
- Vegan Jamaican Rice and Peas
- Vegan Jerk Tofu Rice Bowls
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Jamaican Bread Pudding Recipe (Dairy Free / Vegan)
Ingredients
- 16 oz vegan bread loaf* At least one day old, cut into 1-inch cubes (vegan versions of french bread, rolls, brioche, challah, muffins, etc will all work)
- ¾ cup liquid vegan egg (we used Just Egg)
- 14 oz full fat coconut milk
- 1 ¼ cups unflavored dairy free milk
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp ground nutmeg, divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- ½ cup raisins*, optional
- ¼ cup white rum, optional (Jamaican rum preferred)
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar, for topping, optional
- ⅓ cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped, optional
Vegan Vanilla Maple Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2-3 tablespoon non dairy milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, optional
Optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly oil a 9 x 9 inch or 2 ½ quart baking dish.
- Add your chopped bread pieces into a large bowl and set aside.
- Into a blender add in liquid vegan egg, coconut milk, dairy free milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of the nutmeg, allspice and salt. Blitz on medium until mixture is well combined (Do not blend until ingredients are warm)
- Pour blender mixture in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir consistently with a spatula or whisk to keep custard from curdling or burning. The mixture should begin to thicken and be ready in about 8-10 mins. If custard coats the spatula, it’s ready. Remove from heat.
- Stir in raisins and rum, if using, and pour the mixture over the bread pieces. Stir with a spatula to get everything coated. Let sit for 30 minutes to soak in the custard, stirring after 15 minutes.
- Spread the bread mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing the cubes into the dish and distributing evenly. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar. *If using pecans, spread ½ the bread mixture and ½ the pecans. Then the rest of the bread mixture and pecans on top.
- Bake 35-45 minutes, or until the bread is crisp and beginning to turn golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out mostly clean or just a little moist.
- While bread pudding is baking, In a bowl, whisk together glaze ingredients until combined.
- Remove the bread pudding from the oven and allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes. Top with the rest of ¼ teaspoon nutmeg.
- You can top with optional sauce, powdered sugar, homemade vegan caramel and/or dairy free ice cream. Serve warm or allow it to cool and set completely before serving.
What is your suggestion to make it halal and skip the rum? Is there any option. Thanks
I’ll be honest, I’m not 100% versed in halal, but from my limited understanding – definitely omit the rum (you don’t need to substitute anything as it’s optional) and make sure that the bread you use doesn’t contain non-halal ingredients (enzymes, etc). Otherwise, this recipe I believe would be okay.
Can’t wait to try it! Can I assemble this the night before and bake in the morning? Love your recipes!!!
Yes you can
Hi thanks for sharing, will sliced whole wheat bread work? Thanks!
yes it will affect the taste some
This looks amazing. I’m not totally sure that I understand the directions in step 3 though. “Do not blend until ingredients are warm”. Do you mean that the ingredients should be warm before you start blending them? Or do you mean that blending will warm the ingredients, so stop blending before that happens?
I really want to try this. It gives me an excuse to buy just egg.
Hi! Sorry for any confusion. Just meaning stop blending before it gets warm (you don’t want to start cooking the “egg”)
This was soooo good! Made it for a Mother’s Day brunch. Everyone loved it!!
So happy to hear that it was a hit!
WOW 😳
Thanks!