This Eggnog Croissant Bread Pudding is the ultimate holiday breakfast or brunch dish, especially for Christmas morning! Fresh cranberries bring a vibrant pop of color and a refreshing tartness that perfectly balances the richness of the dish. Perfect for a crowd!
The Christmas season is all about festive colors and indulgent, boozy eggnog! If you’ve got leftover eggnog and are looking for ways to use it up, this baked eggnog croissant bread pudding is a yummy dish to try!
The best part? It’s completely customizable! No croissants? Swap in cubed bread instead. No fresh cranberries? Dried cranberries, raisins, or even leaving them out entirely will work just as well. Make it your own!
It’s the perfect Christmas breakfast and brunch recipe—assemble it the night before, refrigerate, and bake it fresh and warm on Christmas morning. Fresh cranberries not only add a festive pop of color, but their tartness also balances the richness and sweetness of the dish!
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Why you'll love it?
- Perfect way to use leftover eggnog
- Double the recipe to feed a larger crowd
- Assemble overnight and bake it the next morning
- Best Holiday breakfast or brunch ideas
- Guaranteed crowd-pleaser
- Festive colors from fresh cranberries
Ingredient substitutions & variations
- Croissants - You can simply replace the croissants with other bread like brioche, challah, Italian or French bread.
- Boozy or not - You can use either alcoholic or non-alcoholic eggnog, depending on what you have on hand and who you're serving. For an extra kick, feel free to add a splash of rum, brandy, or bourbon to the custard.
- Sweetness - If your eggnog is on the sweeter side, you may want to reduce the sugar, or if it's less sweet, you can add a little more to balance the flavors.
- Cranberries - As for the cranberry orange sauce, I used fresh cranberries, which are in peak season during the holidays. If they’re out of season, you can either skip them or substitute them with dried cranberries.
How to make eggnog bread pudding with croissants?
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
👩🍳 Pro tip - I used 3 large Costco croissants for this bread pudding. If you're using medium-sized croissants, you'll need 4 to 5. In the end, you’ll want about 4 to 5 cups of chopped croissants for the perfect texture.
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Eggnog Tips & Considerations
I used store-bought eggnog for convenience, but feel free to use homemade eggnog if you have it on hand. You can choose either alcoholic or non-alcoholic eggnog, depending on weather you are serving the eggnog bread pudding to the kids or not.
Contrary to popular belief, eggnog doesn't last forever in the fridge once opened. Over time, it can separate or develop an off-flavor if it’s past its prime. Always check the expiration date, and for the best results in baking or cooking, use fresh eggnog. The Food and Drug Administration recommends consuming store-bought eggnog within 3 to 5 days of opening, while homemade eggnog should be used within 2 to 4 days.
Make ahead instructions
Toss the cut croissants with the eggnog custard, top with fresh cranberries, cover the pan with foil, and refrigerate for up to a day. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge, uncover, preheat the oven to 350°F, and bake according to instructions. You may need an additional 5 minutes.
Looking for more ways to use croissants? Try our delicious tiramisu croissant bread pudding or pumpkin croissants for a festive twist!
Recipe tips
- Use other types of bread like brioche, soft Italian bread or leftover dinner rolls instead of croissants.
- It is a great way to use leftover croissants and eggnog from Costco.
- Increase or decrease the sugar based on the sweetness of your eggnog.
- Cut the croissants into 1-inch chunks.
- Cranberries are optional but recommended.
More Christmas morning breakfast ideas
Eggnog Croissant Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 to 5 day old croissants 4 to 5 cups in total when chopped
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups eggnog
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 pinches freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Chop the croissants with a serrated knife into 1-inch bite size pieces.
- Grease a 8x8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Add the eggs, eggnog, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg into the dish. Whisk well to combine.
- Add the chopped croissants and gently toss to evenly coat all the pieces with the custard. Spread to an even layer and scatter the cranberries on top.
- Allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature to soak up the custard mixture. (Or, if you’re making this ahead, cover and store it in the fridge overnight)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the pudding for 35 to 45 minutes or the top is puffed and golden in color. Serve warm!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.
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