

My regular pumpkin bread pudding is perfect for entertaining, and is a great alternative to pumpkin pie for holiday dinners. It serves a big crowd and you’ll get plenty of leftovers, so you can eat a piece for breakfast or a snack the next day. The problem with the recipe is that you don’t always need a huge batch. When you’re in the mood for bread pudding but only need to serve one or two, you need to try my 5 Minute Pumpkin Bread Pudding instead. This small-batch bread pudding is baked in a microwave oven and is just as delicious as the oven-baked version – with the added bonus that it will be ready to eat within a few minutes of getting out your mixing bowl. It is the perfect dessert to make on a cool fall evening when you want something spicy and sweet to treat yourself!

The base for the bread pudding is very similar to the base of any other bread pudding recipe, there is simply less of it! It uses a mixture of milk, pumpkin, brown sugar and spices, along with one single egg. You can actually halve this recipe if you really only want one serving, but it is much easier to work with a whole egg than a half of one – plus that second serving can be stored in the refrigerator and eaten the next day if you aren’t going to eat it right away. I use any bread I have on hand, though I highly recommend using a white bread or a challah/brioche bread for added richness.

The bread pudding bakes up perfectly in the microwave oven. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that it is baked in a mug, you probably wouldn’t guess that it wasn’t baked in a conventional oven! I use the same method that I use for my other mug cakes, stirring it part-way through the cooking time, to ensure that it cooks through evenly. The pudding is not too sweet and has a great pumpkin flavor, with just the right touch of spice. It is really good with lightly sweetened whipped cream, which adds just the right extra pop of sweetness to each bite. In this batch, I added in some chopped pecans for a little bit of crunch, however you could omit them or even substitute mini chocolate chips if you happen to like chocolate with your pumpkin.



5 Minute Pumpkin Bread Pudding

1 large egg

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups cubed bread (pref. white bread)

In a large bowl, whisk together egg, milk, pumpkin puree, sugar, spices, vanilla extract and salt. Add in bread cubes and stir, allowing them to soak in the pumpkin mixture. Divide evenly into two 11-14-oz mugs.

Microwave at 50% power for 60 seconds and stir gently with a fork. Stir in pecans, too, if using.

Microwave at 50% power for an additional 90 seconds, then rotate and microwave at 50% power for another 90 seconds, or until bread pudding is set and the top is not wet.

Allow to cool for 2 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream.

Serves 2.