Overnight Baked French Toast
This incredible Overnight “Baked” French Toast makes a sweet breakfast or dessert with dried cherries, white chocolate chips, and a white chocolate drizzle, and cooking it in your Instant Pot is the easiest way to start your morning!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is a super easy make-ahead-friendly breakfast or sweet dessert made with stale bread that the entire family can get behind.
We’ve been making bread pudding and baked French toast recipes in the Instant Pot for years, and it’s always a hit with kids and adults.
We wanted to make an easy overnight version, and my kids asked for their favorite flavors: dried tart cherries and sweet white chocolate. (Dessert for breakfast, anyone?)
We really love making baked French toast recipes all year long. You can serve it for breakfast with a side of Ham and Cheese Quiche or Instant Pot Egg Bites (or just scramble the eggs in a frying pan). Or make it dessert and call it bread pudding (swap in some half and half to make it extra decadent).
We love serving “baked” French toast for breakfast because you get warm, eggy toast without worrying about the oven or griddle, and it’s completely hands off. With this method, you can prep the dish the night before and bake it in the morning. (It works for any of our baked french toast recipes.)
What could be easier?
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED
Here’s what you need for this chocolate and fruit bread pudding in the Instant Pot:
- Butter. We use unsalted, melted butter for this bread pudding
- Sugar. Regular granulated sugar works.
- Milk. We use whole milk.
- Eggs. Lightly beat the eggs before adding them to the bread pudding mixture.
- Vanilla extract. You’ll want to use pure vanilla for the best flavor.
- Challah bread. Be sure to use either stale or toasted and cooled pieces of bread.
- Dried cherries. You can also use dried cranberries if you prefer.
- White chocolate chips. If you’re more of a dark or milk chocolate person, feel free to swap!
- Pistachios. You’ll want to use unsalted or lightly salted nuts that have been chopped into fine pieces to sprinkle over the bread pudding when serving.
- White chocolate baking bar. This is optional, but it’s nice for a pretty white chocolate drizzle before serving slices of bread pudding.
How to Make White Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding in an Instant Pot
✅ This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
Start by making the batter for the bread pudding by combining the butter, sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl. Be sure to stir until the sugar is dissolved. Then add the cubed bread and give it a good stir to coat in the batter.
Let the bread mixture rest so it has time to absorb the liquid ingredients, stirring a few times. Before baking, carefully stir in most of the dried cherries and white chocolate chips.
Pour the bread mixture into a greased 7×3-inch round cake pan. Sprinkle the remaining dried cherries on top of the pudding.
Now you’re nearly ready to start cooking. Add a cup of water to the Instant Pot pot, along with a trivet. Use a sling to lower the cake pan onto the trivet. Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Release the pressure with a quick pressure release, and remove the lid when the valve drops.
Use your sling to carefully remove the bread pudding from the Instant Pot. If there’s any liquid on the top of the pudding, use a paper towel to soak it up. Sprinkle the remaining white chocolate chips and pistachios over the top of the bread pudding.
If you’d like to make a chocolate drizzle, microwave the chopped white chocolate baking bar for 15 seconds. Stir it well, and if necessary, microwave for another 10 to 15 seconds at 50% power, until the chocolate is smooth. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the bread pudding. Now you’re ready to slice and serve your beautiful Instant Pot cherry bread pudding, topped with a pretty sprinkle of pistachios. Enjoy!
Important Tips for Making White Chocolate Bread Pudding
- Note that the white chocolate chips can turn a little bit brown as they cook. However, the brown-looking chips pack a ton of flavor from the caramelized sugars (kind of like a marshmallow that’s browned on a fire tastes better than a regular marshmallow).
- If you’d like, you can add some of the chopped pistachios to the bread pudding mixture with the dried cherries. Just know that the nuts will soften up a bit as they cook.
- We left the cherries whole for the photo. But, we’ve also made it by cutting the cherries and found that they were easier to distribute throughout the pudding.
- It’s important to use day-old or toasted bread to absorb the liquid, because very little liquid cooks off when using a pressure cooker.
- You can mix together the liquid ingredients and bread cubes the night before and pop it into the pressure cooker in the morning to cook. This will take a little longer to come to pressure because the dish is cold, but it’s a great make-ahead breakfast.
Products
It’s important to use a round cake pan that will fit inside your Instant Pot. We always use this aluminum pan from Fat Daddio’s. You’ll also need the trivet that came with your pressure cooker. If you don’t have one, this is a great replacement option.
And to place the cake pan inside the pressure cooker and remove it, you’ll need a sling. You can make your own with aluminum foil by following these instructions, or get a reusable sling like this one from OXO.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cherry Chocolate Bread Pudding
Yes, you can freeze cooled bread pudding in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to three months.
You can serve this pudding still warm, fresh out of the Instant Pot. Or let it cool and serve it at room temperature.
This is a sweet treat that’s delicious for dessert. We’ve also served it for breakfast, and it’s very sweet. We like to balance it out by serving it with Instant Pot Egg Bites.
If you prefer a different kind of chocolate, this cherry-studded pudding will taste just as good with dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of white.
The key is to use day-old or stale bread. We love challah because it’s naturally sweet and airy, so it readily absorbs the liquid ingredients for a super creamy, soft bread pudding. You could also use brioche or another light, airy kind of bread. It’s best to avoid anything that’s too dense or crusty, which can make the dish tough.
MORE Instant Pot Bread Pudding and Baked French Toast Recipes
If you love making creamy bread pudding in your Instant Pot / pressure cooker, try these favorites next:
- Raspberry Orange Bread Pudding has a bright and warm citrus flavor with fresh berries.
- Pumpkin Spice Baked French Toast is a breakfast bread pudding perfect for fall, thanks to everyone’s favorite pumpkin spice flavor.
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding tastes like freshly baked cinnamon rolls, but is so easy to throw together!
- Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole features apples, pecans, and raisins for an easy-to-make overnight breakfast.
Plus, check out Instantly Sweet for even more sweet and savory bread recipes.
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White Chocolate Cherry Baked French Toast
This White Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding is made in an Instant Pot with dried fruit, white chocolate chips, and day-old bread for a sweet dessert or breakfast.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 loaf Challah bread, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes (about 7 cups) (stale or toasted and cooled)
- 1/2 cup dried cherries (can sub dried cranberries if desired)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips**
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios (unsalted or lightly salted), chopped fine, optional for serving
- 2 ounces white chocolate baking bar, roughly chopped (we used Ghirardelli's), optional for serving**
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Continue stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Gently mix in the cubed bread until well combined. Cover and let rest in the refrigerator overnight or until the bread absorbs the milk. (If possible gently stir a few times before bedtime.)*
- In the morning, remove the pan from the refrigerator and gently fold in most of the cherries and white chocolate chips.
- Transfer the bread mixture into a buttered 7x3-inch round cake pan. Top with the remaining cherries.
- Pour 1 cup water into the pressure cooking pot and place a trivet in the bottom. Center the pan on a sling and carefully lower it on top of the trivet.
- Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and set the timer for 30 minutes. When the cook time ends, use a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid.
- Use the sling to remove the dish from the cooking pot. If needed, use the corner of a paper towel to absorb any liquid that may have condensed on top. Sprinkle the top with remaining white chocolate chips and chopped pistachios.
- If desired, place the chopped white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at full power for 15 seconds, then stir well. If any lumps remain, reduce to 50% power and microwave for 10 to 15 seconds longer, stirring well each time. (Keep in mind white chocolate can scorch easily.) Drizzle over the bread pudding.
- Cut into wedges and serve warm. Or cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
*If you wish, you can mix the bread together beforehand. I put it together overnight and it cooked up great in the morning.
**If you prefer, you can swap out the white chocolate chips for the other half of the baking bar, roughly chopped.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 414Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 130mgSodium: 268mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 1gSugar: 44gProtein: 8g
Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.
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