This savory squash bread pudding is perfect for a main dish, or a side dish for Thanksgiving. When I first made this recipe a few years ago, I was a little nervous to make this recipe, because DH and his family have this “thing” against mushy bread. My mother in law makes a creamed corn dish with bread in it and that is the only thing they like with that sort of texture.
Source: Simply in Season
Ingredients:
- 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 cup onion (chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 9 cups day-old French bread (cut in 1 inch cubes)
- another 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
Directions:
- Peel and cube 3 C of butternut squash into 1/2 inch pieces, and bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in cooking spray in a preheated oven at 400 degrees until tender (about 12 minutes). Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350F.
- In a frypan, saute 1 C chopped onion on medium high about 5 minutes; add 1 clove of minced garlic over medium high about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 large eggs, 2 large egg whites, 2 C milk, 1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp of salt & pepper, 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Stir in squash, onion, and garlic.
- Add 9 C of cubed french bread (1 inch cubes should do it) and stir gently. Let stand 10 minutes and spoon into a greased 2 qt baking dish.
- Sprinkle 1/2 C Parmesan cheese on top and bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 45 minutes until custard is set and top is slightly browned.
The verdict: DH said that it is definitely not for people who don’t like soggy bread. Luckily, he said that he isn’t *that* averse to it. I undercooked the squash, but other than that it was pretty good. I thought the parmesan was just right, but he added a lot of cheddar to his. This goes great with Pino Grigio.
Looking for even more Thanksgiving main dishes? Check out the linky below!
This looks great. I have all the ingredients for this – maybe I’ll make it this week. My H doesn’t like stuffing either/
This is a really interesting dish. I’ve never had a savory bread pudding of any sort!
Mmmm, bread pudding! We like it at our house, but most of my fam has “mushy bread thong.” Just tweaked a basic recipe using local vanilla sherry to plump dried cherries to throw in with chopped almonds, then use drained liquid as part of liquid measurement. It scored well with the two of us.