Rhubarb Bread Pudding (and more!), recipe from Molly MacRae

 

At Cleo’s wonderful suggestion, we discussed comfort food for our May 2026 edition of Around the Kitchen Table. I linked to recipes for a couple of family favorites—Fläskpannka and Chickpea Noodle Soup—but left out bread pudding. Comforting, tasty bread pudding deserves a post all its own.

The basic recipe is a thrifty use of leftover or stale bread, but the cooks of Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen have posted some elevated variations over the years. You’ll find links to our past recipes below. Below those links you’ll find my latest contribution, Rhubarb Bread Pudding.

Apple Bread Pudding

Basic Bread Pudding

Berry Bread Pudding

Black and White Bread Pudding

Blueberry Lemon Bread Pudding

Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding

Caramel-Whiskey Bread Pudding

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Croissant Bread Pudding

Dessert for Breakfast: Individual Bread Puddings

Gluten-Free Bread Pudding

Irish Bread and Butter Pudding

Krista’s Double Chocolate Bourbon Bread Pudding

Maple Bread Pudding

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

 

Rhubarb Bread Pudding

Look for a free, downloadable, printable pdf of the recipe below the cooking directions.

 

Ingredients

5 slices day-old bread (I used sourdough. Whole wheat is good, too)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened (less is okay)

2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar (I used brown)

1/4 cup crystalized ginger, chopped

2 to 3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease an 8” or 9” square pan (or the approximate equivalent – bread pudding in an oval casserole dish is lovely)

Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter or margarine. Arrange the bread slices in the prepared pan, butter side up, in one or two layers. You can cut some of the slices  so they fit the pan more exactly. (I didn't really need to cut my slices into so many smaller pieces but I enjoyed the pattern.)

Add the sliced rhubarb over the bread. Sprinkle the ginger over the rhubarb.

Heat the milk and sugar until steaming (microwaving is fine). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly, then gradually stir the hot milk mixture into the eggs. Pour eggy-milky mixture over the rhubarb and bread.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a knife stuck in the middle of the pudding comes out clean. Baking time will depend on the size of the pan, how many layers of bread, etc.

Serve warm or cold, with or without ice cream or warm pouring custard.

 

💖 click here for a free, downloadable, printable pdf of this recipe 💖

On North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island, Maureen Nash sells exquisite seashells to locals and tourists—with Bonny the shop cat and the ghost of a Welsh pirate for company. And, when needed, she steps in to help the police solve murders . . .

 

Now available for pre-order – two Haunted Shell Shop mysteries!

Book 2 - new paperback edition of There’ll Be Shell to Pay – coming May 26

and

Book 3 - All Shell Breaks Loose – coming June 30

 

 

Maureen and her sleuthing sidekicks Glady, Burt, and Emrys (the ghost of an 18th century pirate) meet up with three women who call themselves the Fig Ladies. The ladies came to Ocracoke for the figs, but they’ve found a body. Can they be trusted, or is something figgy going on?

Dr. Irving Allred is boasting around town that he’s about to get his hands on an authentic haunted sword. But minutes after Maureen hears the story, a woman walks into the Moon Shell, sword in hand. She found it while walking her bulldog on the beach—and its blade is stained with what looks like blood.

 

 

Happy reading!

  

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.