Tres Leches Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce

Several of my family members are huge Tres Leches Cake fans. What is not to love about a variety of creamy milks combining together and soaking and saturating each and every bite?!

This Tres Leches Bread Pudding is a dessert or breakfast that will wow your company. It is SO simple to throw together but tastes so fancy and special! It is absolutely perfect for the holidays!

The layers of bread just melt in your mouth. It is heaven with each and ever bite.

That said, the real magic of this recipe is found in the Vanilla Cream Sauce. Oh. My. Gosh. It is to die for! I could drink this stuff…. I wish I were kidding!

The Vanilla Cream Sauce and bread pudding combine together to bring you melt-in-your-mouth amazingness! Don’t miss out on this recipe!

Tres Leches Bread Pudding from chef-in-training.com ...This bread pudding is AMAZING!  The Vanilla Cream Sauce is out of this world yummy!

4.6 from 26 reviews
Tres Leches Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce
 
The flavor of this Tres Leches Bread Pudding is amazing!
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast, dessert
Ingredients
  • 1 loaf french bread, thinly sliced and cut into quarters
  • 2¼ cups whole milk
  • 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 9 large egg yolks
  • ¼ teaspoon rum extract
Vanilla Cream Sauce:
  • 1⅓ cups butter
  • 5 Tablespoons flour
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1¼ cups sugar
Instructions
  1. Grease 9x13 baking pan.
  2. Place bread slices in pan and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla, rum extract, salt and egg yolks until smooth.
  4. Pour over bread and bake 375 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and set.
  5. Serve warm and top with Vanilla Cream Sauce.
Vanilla Cream Sauce:
  1. In saucepan, melt butter on medium low heat. Add flour and cook 10 minutes, stir continually. Add salt, cream, and sugar and stir until mixture becomes thick.. Remove from hear and stir in vanilla. Pour warm over Bread pudding.
Notes
Vanilla Cream Sauce from the Kneaders Raspberry Bread Pudding recipe

Enjoy!

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #chefintraining and/or #chefintrainingblog. I would love to see how these recipes take shape in your kitchens.

Filed under: bread, breakfast, sauce

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Comments

  1. Averie @ Averie Cooks

    I have a bread pudding/baked french toast recipe up today too...but you were the smart one because that vanilla cream!! I want to drink it! Pinned :)

  2. Elizabeth

    This is a dream of a recipe. I cannot wait to try it.

  3. Chels R.

    Oh man, does that ever look good. I have a weakness for bread pudding.

  4. Denise Baker

    HI. ! Can you make this ahead of time and keep it in the refridge and then just warm it up again in the oven the day of the party?

    1. Diananu

      5

      Tres Leches is a very traditional dish in Costa Rica, we eat it cold.... like coming out of the fridge cold and its awesome! :)

  5. Hannah Sensenbrenner

    4

    Cut the vanilla sauce in half and it should be just enough. Recipe makes way too much sauce.

  6. Z

    5

    HO. MAI. GOD. Sooo so good. Made this for brunch and it was a hit! People who are worried abt calories can STFU and move along. (Excuse my French!) I have such strong feelings for this bread pudding!

    I followed the recipe to a T, except i omitted the rum extract (didn't have any), used an italian loaf (similar to french loaf), and i halved the sauce like another reviewer suggested.( i still ended up with extra sauce)

    I would suggest that u lean the bread slice halves kinda 45 degrees against the side of the pan. And keep arranging the whole bread that way and pack it somewhat tight. This way when u pour the egg mixture it doesnt cover all the bread, leaving the tops exposed to allow them to get crunchy! The crunch with the moist pudding is perfection.

    Also, do not prepare this overnight and let the bread soak in the egg mixture so u can pop this in the oven in the morning. Just prepare it in the morning. It takes no time at all. You do not want your pudding to be soggy.

    I keep my baked bread pudding in the warm oven until i'm ready to serve, and then I pour the sauce over it.

    Thank you so much for this recipe, and I hope everyone else will enjoy it too!

  7. Patricia A Billiot

    5

    my husband loves bread pudding ,i need a new recipe .

  8. Ban

    Hello!
    This recipe looks absolutely amazing! I have to try it.
    I just want to ask.
    By "evaporated milk" do you mean powdered milk?

    I'm thinking of making this as dessert and adding/sprinkling sliced almonds on top.

    1. Janice

      Evaporated milk comes in a can just like the sweetened condensed milk does. They are usually next to each other in the baking aisle. The best brands are Carnation and Eagle. Powered milk is totally different.

    2. kit kat's mom

      No... evaporated milk is JUST THAT - EVAPORATED MILK --- it comes in a can and will say "EVAPORATED MILK" on the label - "Pet" is a brand name that makes it, so some people call it "Pet Milk" --- basically it is just canned milk... but NOT the sweetened kind

    3. Brian Raef

      4

      No, canned milk. Skip it and use cream. You won't have the metallic taste of canned milk.

  9. Kara

    wouldnt brioche be better?

  10. Mary M

    2

    I made this for my bookclub dessert. Sooooooooooo not impressed. I would call this mediocre. The vanilla sauce was very good, but only make half the recipe as it makes way too much. There are too many other GREAT bread pudding recipes out there, find another one.

  11. Alex

    5

    I made this for my boyfriend who loves bread pudding and he LOVED it! I brought the rest to work and everyone here is loving it too and asking for the recipe! I cooked it 40 minutes and wish I had cooked it a tad longer. I also used Challah bread instead.

  12. Sherry

    Could the sauce be altered to make a rum sauce (pretty fond of rum sauce on bread pudding). I would assume you would replace the vanilla with dark rum... or just add dark rum and cook until it is reduced? This sauce sounds great, but mmmmmm.... rum sauce! lol

  13. Sue

    How much white or dark rum should put in the sauce for flavor? I'm leaving the extract out of the pudding, but I'd like to add s littlr in the sauce. Thoughts ?

  14. Amy

    4

    i love the recipe. But we did not finish it. Can we keep the leftover? Do I assume I need to refridigate ?

  15. Rick Shaffer

    Nothing better then bread pudding

  16. Char Stuto

    5

    I made it for Father's day . Was good but needs tweeking it's missing something

    1. Kathleen R West

      2

      If you feel it needs something, try putting some raisins or dehydrated dark sweet cherries into a small bowl of rum, brandy, or whiskey over night. Drain and add to your bread pudding mixture just before putting in the oven. I have also used sliced peaches adding a bit more cinnamon to them. I noticed this recipe does not call for any seasonings, so definitely add cinnamon and nutmeg if you like.

  17. Tanya

    My children are lactose intolerant what can I use instead of a can of condensed milk & a can of evaporated milk ,could I use oatly cream or coconut cream instead as I would love to try this recipe .

    1. Carolina

      In Brazil we make tres leches with condensed milk, heavy cream, and coconut milk.
      So to answer your question about making it for you're kids who are lactose intolerant maybe you can use coconut milk, almond or soy milk, and then maybe coconut cream (which is thick and sweet like condensed milk- of course then you get the bonus of the coconut flavor!)

    2. Kyle

      4

      Get your kids some Lactaid - lactase enzyme supplement. I'm lactose intolerant too, so I take Lactaid so I don't have to sleep in the bathroom after consuming dairy.

  18. Mark

    I could touch myself just thinking about this! I made it yesterday and it turned out just glorious. Don't worry about there being too much vanilla sauce, whatever's left you'll just wanna drink afterwards! I'd become the personal servant of the woman who created this if I could! Warm, moist, lovely, and delicious.

  19. Denise d'Entremont

    What size loaf?

  20. Kimberly

    This is ridiculously good. The sauce makes it. Yes, you certainly do want to drink it.

  21. Ksmnforck

    Just made this tonight. Family loves it! WIN! Only half the sauce, though I could probably eat it alone.

  22. Jeannie

    5

    Looks delicious!

  23. Tally

    5

    I've made this so many times, its amazing!

  24. Arlene Smith

    "m making this for my bunco group coming up.

  25. Andrea

    5

    It really is dreamy! Most desserts in our house last a couple days at least, but this one disappeared in hours.

  26. Elena Heisel

    My son loves bread pudding and Tres Leches cake so I had to try this. He loved it, said it's his new favorite dessert! In fact my whole family loved it. The only changes I made were adding cinnamon to the custard because it's traditionally in a Tres Leches cake, and I halved the Vanilla Cream Sauce recipe as others had suggested. I thought about adding rum to the sauce too, but it was perfect without it. I will definitely make it again. Thanks!

  27. Annette Rosa

    I expecting to do this delicious recipe. Good for breakfast, not so early, approximate at 10:00.Or like a dessert. When I see you in Facebook, I thought, this is the right opportunity for me, to learn something new about baking and cooking. I cook but I need to do something more, different, try different flavors. I'm sure you'll be my Chef, my teacher. Thank you, Niki.

  28. Cynthia

    I made this tonight for a Cinco de Mayo gathering at my house and it was a HUGE hit! Talk about delicious. That cream sauce is everything. And it was so easy to make. Thanks for sharing!

  29. Leslie

    I don't really care for rum extract but would rather use rum. Can you sub it out in this recipe and if so, thoughts?

  30. jan

    5

    That was fabulous. I normally just eat one serving of fresh made bread pudding, when it hot and fresh and then that is all I want. I made this bread pudding, and IT was fantastic. I can't put it down. I took some to the office for the girls who work for me, and they even begged for more. GREAT recipe, easy and very very good. I love it when the recipe is as good as the picture. I did add some raisins and cinnamon. Oh, and I love the extra vanilla sauce. PERFECTO.

    1. jan

      Oh, i didn't use the rum at all and it was great without it.

  31. Heather Hedrick

    This is very easy to make. Almost all the ingredients are already in my pantry. I have never made bread pudding. This was the first time. It is for my husband and his fire department crew. I will be dropping off tonight and let them be the official taste testers.

  32. jan wells

    5

    I made this for my family and it was heavenly. I took some into my office and the girls just went nuts for it. This is the easiest and best bread pudding I have made so far. Thank you.

    1. Patsy

      I would also love to take this to work but the recipe says to pour the sauce over the "warm" cake. How did you store it overnight? Did it taste good cold or did you warm it up?

  33. Valerie Vitale

    Can you make this ahead and rewarm to serve?

  34. Ayesha

    Look very yummy n tasty:-)

  35. Carleen

    5

    Most amazing bread pudding I've ever ever ever had! Wow! I made it at Thanksgiving, and my family who was there requested I make it again for Christmas - and my son said, "Are you making your famous bread pudding?" - though this is only the second time making it - it's already famous!!!! :)

  36. Mary Ann

    5

    Delicious! Warm and comforting. My entire family loved it. Half the sauce is enough.

  37. Andy

    Can I substitute 9 egg yolks with 5 whole eggs? Would that give similar results and hold the bread pudding together?

  38. Margaret

    5

    AWESOME! I used a loaf of Brioche bread and cut the sauce in half as mentioned by others.
    When I told my husband I was going to make this, he said yuk, I hate bread pudding so take it to work. Well, long story short, most of it went to work and everyone loved it with and without the sauce. What little I left at home for me to eat was gone before I could eat it. My husband did try it and said 'WINNER'!

  39. Sherri Killam-Albee

    5

    I made this today for our fellowship hour after the church service! Delicious! Everyone enjoyed it. I forgot the salt in the bread pudding mixture, but had used salted butter. I did not have the rum extract so I used about a teaspoon of bourbon. The flavors of the sauce and the pudding were wonderful. There's hardly any left. One person told me she could just eat the sauce by itself. It was really good! Thanks for the great recipe.

  40. Englan Sanchez

    I made this a couple of times. First time by mistake I used egg whites and it was great. Everyone loved it. This time I used egg yolks and it looks uncooked. I've left it in the oven for an hour and no change. What could've gone wrong? Help!

  41. Mirella

    I made this with eggnog in between I put cheese the Hispanic not too much

  42. Liz McCrea

    5

    Made this tonight for my family. Cut the sauce in half and there was plenty. Also added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the milk mixture. My husband had seen a tres leches bread pudding with candied bacon, so I made some to put on top. Everyone loved it. Only thing I would do different next time is try to figure out a way to get more crispy parts. Those are everyone's favorite! Thanks for a great recipe.

  43. Tammy

    This looks so amazing. I was hooked on tres leches the very first time I went to Costa Rica. But now that I have to have gluten free I have to pass :( has anyone tried this with gluten free bread? And if so what brand worked?

  44. Debi

    5

    This was AMAZING! I made it as one of the desserts for a women's conference and it was gobbled up! I did use mini croissants (12 c. Torn up) and heavy cream instead of evaporated milk. Also cut the luscious vanilla cream in half and still had plenty. Thanks for posting. Totally delightful!

  45. Melinda P.

    What else can I use instead of rum

  46. Joceline

    does this recipe call for vainilla extract? Or vanilla flavoring?

  47. Dottie

    I think I would add raisins

  48. Delma

    Thanks for a delicious recipe! The bread pudding is moist and soft and the top is crispy. I had no rum flavoring, and didn't miss it at all! The sauce is perfect! This recipe was easy to follow and I love the end result!

  49. BOPSHE Powell

    5

    Delicious! Just made this! I prepared the first part yesterday and was too busy to make the sauce last night. Sooo, tonight I created the yummy sauce. One question, how thick am I waiting for the sauce to get before I know its ready to take off the stove? I cooked for 15..20 minutes till I started sweating. Lol. Was I to wait till it boiled like cook pudding? Anyway, it turned out rich and delicious! I'd show a picture of MY bread pudding if I can figure how....lol. ENJOY!!!

  50. Jennifer Jones

    I make it often and it’s always a hit. But disappointing hat I can’t find a printer friendly version rather than having to screenshot it then print so it’s not so many pages. Takes two screenshots on my phone so still two pages long :(

  51. Juliana

    I am serving this tomorrow for Christmas dinner. Are all loaves of French bread the same weight? I'm afraid mine will be too much bread. It's pretty heavy.

  52. Sandi

    5

    OMG! First of all let me apologize for the “presentation”’ in a foil pan...but, I made this for Easter and my family was literally “gobsmacked”. Even ME—who first of all CAN NOT bake and secondly doesn’t like sweets ( I know weird, right) ATE an entire serving!! That said my guy and his friend Elliot are going trout fishing for 4 days and my guy specifically asked me to make this for them to eat! So here we are...at 10pm...Dang... I MUST really like this guy! LOL #chefintraining!

  53. cindy

    My mom added apples, raisins, bananas, cinnamon really makes it even better, that was the New Orleans way of bread pudding.

  54. Jaynie

    5

    AAAAA-MAAAAA-ZINNNNNNG!!! I love bread pudding, and this recipe is a pure 10! Didn't change a thing . Nothing worse than changing someones recipe and then raving about how good it is. This one needs no changes, it is moist, perfectly sweet, and takes on that addicting flavor of Tres Leches!!! the Vanilla cream sauce is to die for but, yes it makes a LOT. I agree that 1/2 recipe is plenty. Awesome recipe and have added to my favorites of all time. Thanks so much for posting!!!!!

  55. Deb

    5

    This bread pudding is so delicious! This recipe makes a lot , so if you want just a casserole dish , maybe cut the recipe in half . The cream sauce is also a lot maybe cut that in half also . I actually used the small french bread (sandwich size) and cut them length wise to make , super easy and a little cheaper !