Pear, Leek, and Cheddar Bread Pudding
I love the balance of flavors in this unconventional savory bread pudding. You can use it as a replacement for tabletop stuffing on the Thanksgiving dinner table, but when you add crumbled sausage to it,. It’s a really filling weeknight meal as well. Staying away from meat? Par-baked sweet potatoes or butternut squash will extra heft as well. Don’t have time to let your bread sit and dry out? Spread cubed bread on a sheet pan and bake at 250*F for about 15 minutes- that’ll do the trick. Use sandwich bread if that’s what is easiest, but I really love using a good quality artisan loaf here. I use slightly sweeter Bosc pears in this recipe, but pretty much any ripe pear will do.
Servings: 4
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups cubed day-old bread let it get good and dried out
- 1 cup leeks trimmed and minced
- 2 pear peeled, cored and diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 egg
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
optional:
- sweet Italian sausage casings removed if necessary
Instructions
Prep Ahead:
- Cube the bread and dry it out, either on the counter overnight, or in the oven as instructed.
- Brown and crumble the sausage, if using.
- Mince the leeks and garlic
- Peel, core, and dice the pears
- Grate the cheddar.
- Combine the bread cubes, crumbled sausage, leeks, garlic, and cheddar in a large resealable bag or container. You may have to divide between 2 containers for space.
Prepare From Prepped:
- Preheat the oven to 350*F and grease a 9x13” baking dish.
- Spread the dry ingredients in the bottom of the pan.
- Whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt until the eggs are well beaten
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake 15-18 minutes, until the egg and cream mixture has set and the top breadcrumbs are browned and crisped.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.
Make From Fresh:
- Preheat the oven to 350*F and grease a 9x13” baking dish.
- If using, brown the sausage over medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to break it up as it cooks, until it is crumbled into small pieces.
- In a large bowl, toss together the sausage if using, bread, leeks, diced pear and grated cheddar.
- Transfer the dry ingredients to the baking dish.
- Combine the eggs, milk, minced garlic and salt. Whisk until the eggs are well beaten into the milk.
- Pour the wet ingredients evenly over the dry ingredients.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, until the egg and cream mixture has set and the top bread cubes have browned and crisped.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.