Microwave bread pudding

I’m not much of a chef, but I love to experiment in the kitchen. I do this thing where I read a ton of recipes for something fairly easy and then try my own spin on it. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. The mistakes only make me learn and try again.

Lately I’ve been testing out ideas for microwave bread pudding and I think I’ve nailed it. Making microwave bread pudding is incredibly easy, great for breakfast, and a delicious way to use up leftover bread. I don’t like food to go to waste. Last week, I made banana bread that was a little dry, so I wanted to re-purpose it in a way.

Microwave bread pudding, serves 1
1 slice of bread in cubes (I used banana bread.)
1/3 of a cup milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of cinnamon

Step 1: Mix all ingredients in a liquid measuring cup.

I find this is an easy way to cut down on the number of dished used, and therefore how many you will need to wash later. So, start by pouring the milk into the measuring cup. Then add egg, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Blend with a fork.

Step 2: Break up the bread into a small microwavable dish, such as a ramekin or mug. Stop after the first layer of bread. Pour some of the liquid over the first layer.

Step 4: Add the rest of the bread. Pour the rest of the liquid into the dish, making sure to coat all of the bread.

Step 5: Heat in microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

When I was researching recipes, I found that some cooks add sugar, but I felt that wasn’t necessary. Maybe that’s because I used banana bread, which was already sweet. In any case, the cinnamon and vanilla extract add a nice flavor.

Okay, so now I’m going to correct myself, as I tend to do. Although I didn’t want to put sugar in the recipe with the liquid mixture, I did feel it would be nice to put some sugar on top. Once it was out of the microwave, I added crumbled walnuts, sweetened coconut flakes and some Hershey’s syrup. Of course that’s totally optional. I’ve had this dish with and without toppings. It’s delicious either way.

There are a ton of recipes out there for this super easy, yummy mini meal. Let me know if you try out my version of microwave bread pudding and comment with your favorite toppings.