Caramel Pecan Cornbread Pudding
Not sure what to do with that leftover cornbread? Make this Cornbread Pudding! It’s drenched in the most amazing homemade caramel topping and crunchy pecans.
Sometime last year I went to a BBQ restaurant in Dallas that served cornbread pudding for dessert. It was one of those things that I didn’t know I was missing in my life until I experienced it for the first time. I like my cornbread a little sweet, but turning it into bread pudding was something I had never considered! It was perfection, and such an awesome pairing to delicious, smokey BBQ.
This cornbread pudding is everything you want it to be. Soft, fluffy, sweet. The caramel topping is the same one I use for my Caramelized Pecan Brie, just in a smaller batch. It’s a perfect recipe for your next BBQ cookout or for when you have leftover cornbread.
What’s Needed for Cornbread Pudding?
This easy cornbread dessert calls for minimal ingredients:
- Cornbread
- Brown sugar
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Eggs
- Cinnamon
- Butter
- Light corn syrup
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Pecans
How to Make Cornbread Pudding
- Fill an oven-safe skillet or casserole dish with slices of cornbread.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, cream, eggs cinnamon, and half of the brown sugar.
- Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar evenly over the cornbread.
- Pour the egg mixture over the cornbread.
- Bake.
- While the cornbread is cooling, prepare the caramel topping, then pour over the cornbread.
- Top with pecans.
Can I Prep This Cornbread Pudding Dessert in Advance?
This leftover cornbread dessert is best enjoyed the day it’s made. However, you can bake the cornbread a day or more in advance. (It’s okay if it’s stale, the sauce takes care of that!).
Tips for Making Cornbread Bread Pudding
- Since cornbread is obviously a main component of this dish, it’s important to use a quality cornbread. I flip flop between buying box mix and making my own but I’ve found I do prefer the baking mix for this recipe.
- If you can’t have pecans or nuts, simply omit them from this recipe.
- For the best flavor, I recommend using whole or 2% milk in the cornbread bread pudding. Skim or low-fat milk will make the mixture too watery.
More Thanksgiving Desserts:
- Pumpkin Trifle
- Banana Bread Cobbler
- Caramel Pecan Brownies
- Pecan Sticky Buns
- Slow Cooker Spiced Apples
Ingredients
- 15 oz package of Simply Homemade Cornbread
- 3/4 cup brown sugar , divided
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Caramel topping:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp light corn syrup
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Bake the cornbread as directed on the box.
- Allow the cornbread to cool, and then slice into small squares.
- Fill a skillet or casserole dish with the pieces of cornbread.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, cream, eggs cinnamon, and half of the brown sugar. Mix well.
- Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar evenly over the cornbread.
- Pour the egg mixture over the cornbread.
- Bake for 50 minutes at 325 degrees F.
- While the cornbread is cooling, prepare the caramel topping.
- In a small saucepan, heat the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring constantly until it begins to soft boil.
- Allow the mixture to soft boil without stirring for one minute.
- Remove from heat and immediately stir in salt and baking soda.
- Pour the caramel sauce over the cornbread.
- Top with pecans.
Wow! This sounds super decadent. I am a fan of cornbread but have never had it like this. It looks like an amazing breakfast or treat!
This was fabulous! Got some ideas to tweak it just a bit. Double the caramel and poke holes in the cornbread cake with the handle end of wooden spoon, then pour the caramel over the pecan crumb topping and let the caramel go down into the cake.in the holes. Made the cake in an 8×8 pan, it was totally full. Also put pecans in the batter of cornbread. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
I litterly just made this, from box mix through caramel topping. Looks fabulous but I think next time I’m gonna put pecans in the cornbread mix as well as on top. Also, put pecans on top first, then cover with caramel. Have never made caramel before, you made this so easy. Thank you for this unique recipe.
Hi – my husband’s family loves both cornbread and bread pudding, so I’d really love to try this recipe. What size skillet did you use?
Thanks!
Fabulous recipe, Emily. It turned stale, 5 day old cornbread into a sublime pudding! The caramel topping is super easy. I had never made caramel before; thanks so much for teaching me how! The caramel is a perfect addition to the cornbread. Notes: I cubed the cornbread into ~1 inch chunks. I added the pecans to the caramel so they cooked a bit. They expanded quite a bit with the absorption of the liquid mixture.
Thanks so much for this superb, but easy recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Abbey!
Hello gorgeous! I’m just stopping by to let you know that we will be featuring you tonight at our linky party! Pinned and tweeted. I can’t wait to start partying with you tonight! Lou Lou Girls
I have never had cornbread pudding, but your pictures make me want to dive right in. Thanks for sharing your unique recipe on Merry Monday. Pinned.
This recipe is SO unique. I love cornbread, pudding, and caramel…I’m pretty sure this is my new favorite recipe!! Thanks for sharing 🙂