Savory Bread Pudding with Sausage + Sage

Creamy, savory bread pudding with sausage, sage and caramelized leeks is the family favorite side dish that goes on my Thanksgiving table every year!

Typically you may think of bread pudding as a dessert, but when you take out the sugar and add in savory herbs, sausage, and caramelized onions bread pudding takes on a whole new identity!

Savory bread pudding is reminiscent of a traditional Thanksgiving stuffing. I actually prefer bread pudding because it’s baked with milk, cream, and eggs it stays super moist, whereas stuffing can dry out easily.

Pro tip:

You’ll want to use day-old bread or bread that’s stale and doesn’t have much moisture in it.  If your bread is still fresh or not dried out you can cube it into small pieces, place them on a baking sheet, pop it in the oven, and bake it for about 10 minutes.  You don’t want to completely toast the bread, just dry it out.

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Savory Bread Pudding with Sausage + Sage

Creamy, savory bread pudding with sausage, sage and caramelized leeks is the family favorite side dish that goes on my Thanksgiving table every year!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork sausage
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 yellow onion thinly sliced
• 2 medium leeks whites only washed well and thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp minced fresh sage
• 1 large loaf day-old bread (about 1lb) country loaf or sourdough

Custard

• 5 whole eggs
• 4 c milk
• 4 c cream
• salt and pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a large baking dish. Whisk together the milk, cream, eggs and a generous pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
• Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces and place it in a large bowl. Heat a skillet over medium heat and begin to brown the sausage. Saute the sausage until it is fully cooked and golden brown, right at the end add in the fresh sage and thyme. Remove the sausage from the pan and add in the butter, leeks, and onion. Cook the leeks and onion on medium/low heat until soft and caramelized, about 20-30 minutes. Stir often to prevent scorching.
• Stir together the cooked sausage, leek, onion and custard. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 1-1.5hrs until golden brown and bubbly. Serve warm!

Notes

You’ll want to use day-old bread or bread that’s stale and doesn’t have much moisture in it.  If your bread is still fresh or not dried out you can cube it into small pieces, place them on a baking sheet, pop it in the oven, and bake it for about 10 minutes.  You don’t want to completely toast the bread, just dry it out.

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