The Kitchen Appliance You Never Knew Was Perfect For Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is a nostalgic comfort food that requires minimal effort for maximum flavor. It's sweet, filling, and totally customizable. You can use up any ingredients lying around your kitchen, put day-old bread to good use, and you don't even need to crank the oven on if you don't feel it. Enter the trusty slow cooker: The perfect bread pudding companion.

Historically known as "poor man's pudding," bread pudding is already a pretty no-fuss dessert. But utilizing the slow cooker makes things even easier. Simply toss in the ingredients, stir, and let the appliance do the work. No need to keep checking on it or time everything perfectly. Just stick on the cover, go enjoy your day, and a few hours later, you'll have a delicious, crowd-pleasing dish that'll leave the whole house smelling like cinnamon and sugar. Plus, it's incredibly easy to adapt any bread pudding recipe for the slow cooker, so you can use whatever flavors you like.

Slow-cooker bread pudding is prepared just like an oven-baked one. Cut up some stale bread into chunks, using a sturdy loaf like challah, brioche, or French bread, and place in the slow cooker with toppings such as raisins or chocolate chips. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, sugar, and flavorings like vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour the mixture over the bread, stir to coat evenly, set the slow cooker on low, and leave it to do its thing.

The main difference between oven and slow cooker bread pudding is the baking time: It will take about three hours for all the liquid to get soaked up into the bread chunks in the slow cooker. It's also recommended to use an oval slow cooker, rather than a round one, to ensure the bread pudding cooks evenly. Another thing to keep in mind is that slow cookers can vary in temperature. Some heat up faster than others, so check on the bread pudding after about two hours or so the first time you make it. You know it's done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

You can try this method with any recipe once you get the cooking time down. Use a variety of ingredients to elevate your bread pudding. Add in apples, nuts, and maybe a drizzle of maple syrup. To make it more decadent, swap in heavy cream for some of the milk or try a cinnamon roll bread pudding recipe. Or, go the opposite direction and make a savory bread pudding with cheese and mushrooms. A classic bread pudding recipe made in the slow cooker will keep for five days in the fridge, but if you top it with something like a bourbon caramel sauce, don't expect it to last that long.