I’m the queen of buying a gigantic loaf of bread, using two or three slices and then realizing that I probably shouldn’t be eating bread at every single meal for the next week. In the past this has resulted in me being forced to throw away half loaves of bread, which pains me every time. To combat waste and my bread eating habit, I’ve started cubing up any excess bread I have lying around and sticking it in the freezer for moments when friends drop over on Saturday morning and I need to whip something up. My go-to solution is to beat a few eggs with milk, some fresh herbs and pour it over the frozen cubes of bread and I instantly have a strata—it’s awesome.

Lately I’ve been wanting to make a sweeter version so this is my go at it with strawberries. I start by pureeing fresh or frozen strawberries with milk to make a delicious strawberry milk. After that it’s poured over the cubes of bread and a few more strawberries are added. Put in the oven to bake and then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Instant breakfast in 30 minutes or less!

Strawberry Bread Pudding

Instant breakfast in under 30 minutes! (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted melted and cooled butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus more for topping
• 1 pound of strawberries, divided
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs
• 8 cups of cubed bread (your choice on type)
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, sifted, as garnish

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2.5 quart baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Set aside 3 or 4 strawberries and slice them up (we’ll use them later). In a blender, add the milk, melted butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, strawberries, salt and eggs. Blend for about 1 minute, until the strawberries have combined with the liquid. Transfer the cubes of bread and add the sliced strawberries. I like to toss the whole thing together so the fresh strawberries are evenly distributed throughout the bread pudding. Pour the strawberry milk over the bread. If there are any cubes of bread that haven’t been coated in liquid, push them around so they can absorb some of the delicious strawberry milk.
3. Transfer to the oven to bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the top of the bread cubes are lightly golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.