Keto Bread Pudding Recipe - Gluten-free & Vegan

To construct this detoxed recipe, I carefully reviewed a few 5-star traditional recipes online for bread pudding. I used some of my favorite baking blogs like ‘Sally’s Baking Addiction’, ‘Preppy Kitchen’ and ‘New York Times Cooking’. Traditionally made bread pudding starts with store bought bread, typically a sweet egg loaf like brioche or challah is recommended. The bread can be stale or past the point it would normally be enjoyed, then it’s drenched in a custard mixture using milk, sugar, eggs, butter and a combination of spices like allspice, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. The custard is folded into the bread then baked into a mouth-watering decadent pudding which is usually drizzled with a sweet glaze and served warm.

For a more complicated dessert like this, I couldn’t have used a simple 1:1 Swap for Flour, Sugar, Eggs and Butter in the traditional 5-star recipe. The Swaps can create amazing breads, and I knew we’d have to create our own bread base for this pudding. I borrowed the wet to dry ingredient ratios from the DD focaccia bread recipe along with a little salt and baking powder to create a simple, low carb, high-fiber bread which worked amazingly well in this recipe. Don’t stress about baking your own bread here, it takes 5 minutes to whip up and doesn’t need to look pretty because we’ll be cutting it up to use as our bread base.

The custard recipe also needed to come from scratch in order to make this dairy and egg free, in addition to it being keto, paleo and gluten-free. I’m patting myself on the back because I nailed it on the first try. The Egg Swap won’t bake into a custard like regular eggs, so I blended it with a little Flour Swap so it would thicken as it cooked. I also infused the custard with plenty of warming spices, vanilla extract and a generous amount of Butter Swap so it’s ultra rich and decadent like a proper pudding. Remember, the Egg Swap has 50% more protein than an egg without the cholesterol so there’s no compromise in nutrition here. This detoxed bread pudding and traditional bread pudding will have the same amount of protein, but the detoxed version contains half the calories and almost no carbs. Plus, you’ll notice the added digestive benefits from the 11 big grams of soluble plant fiber coming from the whole psyllium husk contained in the Flour Swap. The combination of psyllium and inulin (Egg and Sugar Swaps) can help provide more blood sugar stability throughout your day and can keep you feeling full and satisfied. This stability keeps energy levels optimal without the normal sugar crashes one would experience eating a traditional style, carb-loaded bread pudding. One big piece of detoxed Grain-Free Swap pudding only carries 4g of net carbs (vs. 76g in regular bread pudding!) which will not only keep your body in ketosis but provides the clean fuel to keep your metabolism firing at optimal speed.

The psyllium husk and inulin are functional ingredients that help to feed and increase the number of healthy gut bacteria. Plenty of good flora in your intestines can promote a healthy immune system along with the added digestive benefits we all love with a healthy dose of fiber. Don’t forget that the whole psyllium husk binds waste and toxins in your intestines and helps clear them from the body. This detoxified bread pudding is not only free from all the unhealthy ingredients found in traditional dessert but it’s actually gently detoxifying to the body…double win!

Feel free to get creative with this bread pudding, the possibilities are endless! For a “spiked” bread pudding, substitute ¼ cup dark rum + ¾ cup plant milk for the 1 cup of plant milk in the custard recipe. Before baking, consider folding in about ½ cup toasted pecans, toasted coconut flakes, raisins, shredded apple or even sugar-free chocolate chips. If you follow a strict diabetic or keto diet, stick with coconut flakes or nuts as your add-ins because the apple, raisins or rum will increase the carb count just a bit.

I made this recipe with both Whole-Grain and Grain-Free Flour Swaps to test both outcomes. The finished results were uniquely different but equally delicious and loved by everyone who sampled them. The Whole-Grain Swap pudding will have a few extra healthy carbs, but I love the earth flavor this version has. I also used a variety of add-ins on the Whole-Grain Swap version because I wasn’t as concerned about the carbohydrate count (remember, the carbs in the Whole-Grain Swap are SLOWLY digesting making them healthy carbs). I used dark rum as a replacement for a portion of the plant milk in the custard. I also folded in a freshly shredded apple and toasted pecans before baking and it was DELICIOUS. I kept my Grain-Free version simple without add-ins and it ended up being my favorite. The Grain-Free will give you a keto/paleo/low-carb version and it bakes up soft and gooey just like the bread pudding I remember as a kid.

Although I didn’t test this recipe using both flours in equal parts (for this recipe it would be 1 cup Whole-Grain plus 1 cup Grain Free Flour to equal the full 2 cups of Flour Swap the bread recipe calls for), that is usually my favorite taste/texture preference and I bet it would turn out amazing.

For most of my patients, I’m a big advocate for balanced macronutrient meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here is an easy way to know what type of Flour Swap to choose as your dessert to create a balanced macro dinner. If your dinner consists of just protein and veggies, I recommend eating Whole-Grain Swap pudding for dessert to serve as your healthy carb for that meal. Conversely, if you already had a healthy carb with dinner (quinoa, sweet potato, beans, etc), I would recommend the Grain-Free Swap pudding for dessert so you don’t overeat carbs at that meal. Easy, right! Balanced macro meals are the best thing you can do to keep your metabolism firing optimally, create blood sugar stability and keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout your day (or night). If you’re a diabetic or need to stay in ketosis, always bake using the Grain-Free Flour Swap.

Store covered tightly in the fridge for up to 5-7 days or wrap your pudding tightly and freeze for long term storage up to 3 months.

Reheat the pudding in your oven or microwave.

*An important note on carbs:

Net carbohydrates are the sum total of carbohydrates that convert into glucose (therefore raise blood sugar) in the body. Anyone following a keto or diabetic diet should count net carbs NOT total carbs. To determine net carbs, simply subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrates on the nutrition label. If you count macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein) you should always count net carbs, not total carbs.