This Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding is a great way to use leftover bread and can be served for brunch or dessert.
I am excited to report that it finally cooled off for a couple of days! Yesterday I had to grab a sweatshirt when I went to sit on the front porch to drink my morning coffee.
It’s the perfect weather for baking. So, I put some pumpkin bars in the oven and put a dessert in one crockpot and ribs in another Crock Pot! Vanessa had friends at our house and I overheard one of them exclaiming how good it smelled every time they walked into the house from outside.
First, I’m going to share the pumpkin dessert recipe for slow cooker pumpkin pecan bread pudding that is perfect for fall.
How To Make Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding
Step One: Bread
Cut slices of day-old bread into cubes. I had some leftover sliced Italian bread in my freezer that worked great for this. Cut enough bread for 8 cups.
Step Two: Crockpot
Put the cubed bread into a greased CrockPot (I used my 3.5-4 quart CrockPot but an 8-quart CrockPot will work too) along with the cinnamon chips and chopped pecans.
Step Three: Pumpkin Mixture
Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, half-n-half, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
Pour over the cubed bread and gently stir to coat.
Step Four: Cook
Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step Five: Ice Cream
Spoon warm pumpkin pecan bread pudding into dishes and top with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding FAQs
1. What are cinnamon chips and where can I buy them? Cinnamon chips are like chocolate chips, but they are cinnamon flavored instead. The ones I use are made by Hershey’s and can be found in grocery stores or buy them online here.
2. Can you suggest something to use in place of the cinnamon chips? You can use pumpkin spice chips (usually only available in the fall), caramel chips, chocolate chips, or leave them out.
3. Would pumpkin bread work in place of the French bread? No, you need a sturdier bread like French bread, baguettes, brioche, or challah.
4. How can I make this in the oven instead of a slow cooker? Let the bread soak up the egg/pumpkin mixture. Spread in a 9×13 pan and bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes.
5. What should I do if I don’t have day old bread for bread pudding? If you do not have day-old bread, cut bread into cubes and bake them at 325°F for about 5 minutes on an ungreased baking sheet.
More Bread Pudding
- Slow Cooker Blueberry Bread Pudding
- Crockpot Apple Walnut Bread Pudding
- Slow Cooker Chocolate Turtle Bread Pudding
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 cups day old bread cubes
- ½ cup toasted pecans chopped
- ½ cup cinnamon chips
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 cup half n half
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- Vanilla ice cream optional
- Caramel ice cream topping optional
Instructions
- Cut slices of day-old bread into cubes. Cut enough bread for 8 cups. Put the cubed bread into a greased Crock Pot (3.5 – 4-quart size or 6-quart size) along with cinnamon chips and chopped pecans.
- Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, half-n-half, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Pour over the cubed bread and gently stir to coat.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Serve warm topped it with vanilla ice cream and caramel ice cream topping.
Marion says
I’m making this right now. Looking at the pictures (pumpkin bread pudding), is that with or without lid on crockpot? It looks like without but I want to make sure….Thanks
Tonia says
Yes, cook it with the lid on! I’ve updated the blog post just in case others are wondering! Thanks, Marion!
Diana Evanciew says
would like to know on your slow cooker Pumpkin Pecan bread pudding you have cinnamon chips what and where do you get them
Tonia says
Hi Diana – Cinnamon chips are like chocolate chips but are cinnamon flavored. The ones I used are sold by Hershey’s and are available at the grocery store and on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1JNxXXD (affiliate link). Best of luck! ~Tonia
Karen Hobson says
I plan to make this desert. I have a 6-qt. crock pot. How long would I need to bake it in the crock? Would it all fit in a 6-qt crock if I doubled the recipe? Thanks.
Tonia says
Hi Karen! I’ve made bread pudding in my 6-qt crock pot and I baked it for the same amount of time (3-4 hours on low). I’m not sure if a doubled recipe would fit in the crock pot or how it would affect the baking time. Best of luck! ~Tonia
Kim says
I am trying this for breakfast tomorrow morning…yes, breakfast. I am substituting the butter for 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks.
Faith says
Tonya, please let me know what cinnamon chips are to put in this pumpkin bread pudding recipe. I want to try it with all my leftover pumpkin that I pureed from pumpkins that we raised but sure don’t know hat cinnamon chip are.. Thank, Faith
Tonia says
They are just like chocolate chips but instead they are cinnamon flavored. Here is a link to the Hershey’s brand ones that I used for this recipe http://www.hersheysstore.com/product/hersheys-cinnamon-baking-chips
Rachel says
Merry Christmas! Do you think this can be baked rather than slow cooked? Thanks! 🙂
Tonia says
Merry Christmas to you too! Yes, I think that it can be baked instead but I’m not sure if the liquids would need to be adjusted and what the bake time would be.
Lauren says
Making this tonight. It’s cooking now 🙂 I wanted to add that I found “Pumpkin Spice” flavored Nestle Toll House chips at Target. (It is labeled as Pumpkin flavored morsels with Cinnamon and Spices)…we’ll see how they work out. My backup plan was going to be white chocolate chips. Thanks for the recipe. I had leftover pumpkin puree and a bag of bakery bread. This was the perfect way to use them up, (and a good excuse to have dessert, I’m sure!)
Barbara Cox says
thank you for your suggestion…I needed right away for a meeting and couldn’t find the cinn chips…went right to Target and got the pumpkin chips with cinnamon and worked great….
Paula says
My daughter in law made this for Thanksgiving. It was outstanding! Better served with ice cream rather than whipped cream.
Jody says
Has anyone put the ingredients together the night before and then turned on crock pot the next day? I want to bring to work for a potluck, but leave very early in the a.m., so like to keep morning ritual to a minimum.
Tasha says
Do you think the recipe would work substituting butterscotch chips for cinnamon and adding cinnamon? Cant find the chipsand the recipe above is tortilla cinnamon chips.
Tonia says
It would change the flavor but I think that would be delicious!
Melissa says
I tried this tonight (I had to make adjustments for what I had on hand… French bread, used pumpkinegg nog instead of 1\2 & 1\2, candied pecans, and made a glaze with the pumpkin egg nog and confectioners sugar) I’m bringing this to all holiday parties this year, thank you so much!!!
Tonia says
Wonderful! The pumpkin eggnog sounds like the perfect addition!
Mary says
What size can of pumpkin did you use? 15 oz or larger?
Tonia says
Hi Mary,
I think I had a large size can because I used the pumpkin for multiple recipes. You only need one cup of pumpkin for this recipe. Enjoy!
~Tonia
Maggie says
This looks amazing! I have never heard of cinnamon chips though…I Googled it and found some Hershey’s cinnamon chips (shaped like chocolate chips), but not sure if there is also chocolate in them. Is that what you used?
Tonia says
Thanks Maggie! Yes, those are the ones I used, no they don’t have chocolate in them. Enjoy! ~Tonia
Tracy Whipkey says
Could you use pumpkin bread? And how about homemade Carmel sauce…..kinda like a lava cake?
Tonia says
I’ve never tried either one but they both sound amazing! Let me know if you try it! ~Tonia
The Gay Mennoite says
Pumpkin bread is a quick bread. It would fall apart and dissolve… you want a yeast bread such as Challah, Italian or Franch. Also, try 2 things: 1) fresh grating the nutmeg and grinding the dried whole ginger and whole cloves in a spice (coffee) grinder first. Pre-gound spices lose flavor too quickly and 2) toast the spices with the pumpkin puree in a nonstick skillet before mixing into the wet ingredients.
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
I’ve never tried a dessert in a slow cooker. . can’t wait to try this!!! love and pinned!!!
Lori says
I have never seen cinnamon chips in our grocery stores here in Nova Scotia, Canada.. Can I substute with regular cinnamon and how much?
Thanks, going to try this soon. It looks delish.
Tonia says
That’s too bad! I’m not sure but I did find a recipe for DIY Cinnamon Chips here: http://www.brighteyedbaker.com/2012/03/04/diy-cinnamon-chips/
Barbara Cox says
Tanya, I need this for Sunday, I have been to 5 stores in the Sat. Traffic looking for Cinnamon Chips…they do not exist in my area at this time…and no time to get from Amazon….several people have mentioned this and you have failed to give an alternative suggestion to the recipe. I am really, really in need of what could be used in place of these chips….please offer an idea I have to fix this by noon tomorrow for a meeting……thanks..very grateful for your wonderful recipes…
Barbara Cox says
disregard request….took the suggestion of one of your fans and went to Target for the Pumpkin/cinnamon flavored chips….worked fine…thanks for your time in reading my request…
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Loving the idea of using a slow cooker for this bread pudding! I bet it tasted amazing.. saving the recipe to recreate. Thanks for the idea Tonia.
Tonia says
Thank Thalia!
Tonia says
For sure!! I’m sitting on my porch right now with a hoodie and a blanket…love it!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
This is AMAZING Tonia!! Pinned!
Tonia says
Thanks so much Dorothy!
Kelly @ Mostly Homemade Mom says
Oh my word Tonia, this is like the trifecta of favorite desserts for me – GOTTA try this!!
Tonia says
It really is a great combination, isn’t it! Thanks Kelly!