Need an easy, make-ahead, cool-weather brunch dish? Take a look at Sausage, Cheddar, and Apple Bread Pudding. It’s delicious, it’s simple, and you can make it ahead–and even freeze it–if you want to. And while it’s tailor-made for a chilly-day brunch, it can certainly moonlight as a supper dish. Bread pudding plays savory like a champ!
Sausage? The recipe calls for bulk pork sausage. You can use mild sausage of course, or sage, or even maple. I’ll give you three guesses what kind I use. That’s right! I use the spicy kind. I’m sure turkey sausage will work, too. As always, you do you.
I do urge you to use a very sharp cheddar cheese. The flavor is important, and as the main ingredients are bread and eggs, you run the risk of a bland dish. The sharper the cheddar, the better.
I tend to keep Gala apples on hand, and that’s what I used here. My second favorite for this is Granny Smith. Use any non-mealy apples you like.
Bread? I vote for using something sturdy for all savory bread puddings. I’ve used a stale sourdough boule here, but French bread, Italian bread, even whole-grain bread will work. You’re better off with an uncut loaf than sliced bread if that’s possible.
Beyond that, I think everything is self-explanatory. Feel free to bake right away, cover and refrigerate for a day or two before baking, or wrapping well and freezing unbaked for up to a month. If baking from frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight first.
Savory bread puddings are infinitely customizable, and a great way to use not only stale bread, but odds and ends in the refrigerator. Here are some ideas:
Bacon and Onion: Substitute bacon for the sausage, omit the apple, and increase the onions to two.
Cordon Bleu: Substitute diced cooked chicken and chopped ham for the sausage, substitute gruyère or Swiss cheese for the cheddar, omit the apple and whisk a tablespoon of Dijon mustard into the custard.
Mushroom: Substitute 8 oz. sautéed sliced mushrooms for the apple.
Happy cooking!
Sausage, Cheddar, and Apple Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 6 cups stale French bread, sourdough boule, or similar, in 1" cubes
- 1 lb. bulk breakfast sausage, hot or mild as you prefer
- 3 T. butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 large apples, peeled and diced
- 6 cups stale French bread, sourdough boule, or similar, in 1' cubes
- 2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
- 5 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups milk
- 2 t. Dijon mustard
- 1½ t. salt
- 1 t. pepper
- ½ t. dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
- Brown the sausage in a skillet, crumbling as you go. Remove the cooked sausage and set aside. Wipe the skillet clean.
- Add the butter to the skillet and sauté the onion for a few minutes until beginning to soften. Add the apples and sauté f minute or two more.
- layer half the bread, half the sausage, half the onion mixture then half the cheese in the prepared in that order. Repeat.
- Beat together the eggs, milk, salt, thyme, and pepper. Pour over the casserole and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes so the bread can absorb the custard. If making ahead, stop here.
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour.
Notes
- If your bread is very fresh, you can cube it, spread the cubes out on a shet pan, and bake at 350° until lightly toasted. Then proceed with the recipe.
- Feel free to assemble the bread pudding, cover, refrigerate overnight, and bake in the morning. You can even freeze the assembled casserole--very well-wrapped--for up to a month. Allow the frozen casserole to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
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