Very Berry Bread Pudding

This easy Berry Bread Pudding is the best dessert (or breakfast) to satisfy those sweet cravings. It is creamy, decadent and so easy to make in the air fryer, oven or even the instant pot. Perfect to serve to the family or for entertaining!

Adapted from Air Fryer Revolution: 100 Crispy, Healthy, Fast & Fresh Recipes © 2019 by Urvashi Pitre. Photography © 2019 by Ghazalle Badiozamani. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

I first got the idea to make bread pudding from my friend Urvashi Pitre’s air fryer cookbook. In the cookbook, there is a wonderful Blueberry Cream Cheese Bread Pudding. So I used that recipe as a base to create this Mixed Berry Bread Pudding in the air fryer.

The cookbook is wonderful with 100 easy and delicious recipe to make in your air fryer. I loved that there are recipes from all over the world, including vegetables, chicken, seafood, and my very favorite desserts. When I had to pick one recipe to share on my blog, the decision to share this bread pudding was an easy one!

So back to this Very Berry Bread Pudding. Who does not love a dessert which can also be enjoyed as breakfast? 🙋‍♀️

This bread pudding is also very versatile, I used raspberry and blueberry. You can make it with any berries you have on hand or without any berries…maybe add banana to make it a banana bread pudding or make it an old-fashioned cinnamon bread pudding.

Ingredients

I used a 6×6 baking pan to make this bread pudding in the air fryer. The reason for the small pan so it fits in the air fryer, and also that we sometimes want to just make a little dessert to indulge, but not eat a lot of it for the whole week 😉

Brioche – Use a day old brioche and cut it into small cubes. You can also use challah or croissants in this recipe. A day old bread is better at soaking all that custard to make this dessert rich.

Eggs – I used 2 eggs when making this bread pudding in a 3-cup pan in the air fryer. Adjust the quantity based on how big your pan is. This is the key ingredients along with sugar and the half-and-half to make the custard.

Light Cream or Milk – I have tried this recipe with light cream and whole milk. They both work well.

Lemon Extract – I loved the use of lemon extract in this bread pudding. It compliments well with the berries and balances the flavors.

Berries – I used raspberries and blueberries. You can use either one or both along with strawberries or blackberries too.

How to make in the Air Fryer?

• Grease a 6×6 baking pan and keep it aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream, sugar and lemon extract. Whisk until they are well combined to make a custard.
• Spread the cut brioche pieces in a single layer in the baking pan. Spread a handful of berries on the brioche.
• Now add another layer of brioche and then spread more berries on it.

• Now pour the custard spreading it all over the brioche.
• Press with a spatula, so that all the brioche is soaked in the custard. Keep aside for 10 minutes to let the custard soak in the brioche.

• Now place the baking pan in the air fryer tray/basket.

• Set the air fryer to 330F for 15-20 minutes, or until the custard is set in the middle. Insert a knife and check. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: If you use a deeper/larger baking pan, you might need to cook for longer about 30 minutes.

• Sift some powdered sugar on the top for a wonderful look on the pudding.
• Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup. This is completely optional, but we loved it.

How to make in the Instant Pot?

• I used a 6-inch round baking tin to make bread pudding in the instant pot. You can use a baking pan as the one used in the air fryer in the instant pot too, basically any oven safe pan will work.
• Follow the same steps as above to assemble the pudding in the baking pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, so the condensation does not go into the pudding.
• Add 1.5 cups of water to the instant pot steel insert and place a trivet with handles (or use a long foil sling on a trivet). Put the covered baking pan on the trivet. Close Instant Pot with vent in sealing position.
• Cook on Manual or Pressure Cook mode at high pressure for 30 mins. When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then release the pressure manually.
• Open the Instant Pot and carefully lift the trivet with the pan, and take it out.
• Insert a knife to check if the pudding has cooked through. If it comes out sticky, pressure cook for an additional 5 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• Sift sugar and enjoy with a drizzle of maple syrup!

This is a perfect dessert for a little treat for two…maybe a valentines day breakfast, along with these fudgy brownies for dessert!

If you are making it for entertaining, you might want to double or triple the recipe in a large baking dish, baked in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set.

You can serve this pudding warm or cold. We prefer it warm with some fresh berries on the side. You can use the microwave or the air fryer to reheat it quickly.

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