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This luscious, silky-smooth vanilla sauce is so versatile and easy to make. It makes an amazing bread pudding or dessert sauce, perfect for topping any dessert!
I make this vanilla sauce any time I want to transform a simple dessert into something special. Leftover cake, a bowl of fruit, or bread pudding – you name it, this sauce goes well with everything. It adds a silky smooth, luscious layer of sweetness to any dessert.
Vanilla sauce is a rich, custard-like sauce made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. This is also known as creme anglaise, vanilla custard sauce, bread pudding sauce, or vanilla cream sauce. You can see there are a lot of uses for this versatile sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Vanilla Sauce
After testing several batches, we came up with the perfect consistency—not too thick or too thin. It’s deliciously smooth and has just the right amount of sweetness. It’s fantastic as a bread pudding sauce, drizzled over fresh fruit, or paired with any baked good.
This sauce is super versatile and can be made with any kind of milk. I recommend using whole milk for a creamier, richer flavor, but if you’re looking for a lighter version, you can use low-fat milk and skip the half-and-half. Just double the amount of milk, and it will still taste amazing. You can even make this with non-dairy milk! Whatever combination you use, it will be divine!
Best of all, it’s quick and easy to make with simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. All you need are five ingredients!
Vanilla Sauce for Bread Pudding
This vanilla sauce will turn your bread pudding from good to absolutely irresistible. Here’s why it’s the best bread pudding sauce:
- Flavor – The warm vanilla flavor complements any flavor of bread pudding – chocolate, cinnamon, fruit, or spiced. It’s also perfectly balanced for sweetness so it doesn’t overwhelm your dessert.
- Creamy texture – The luscious, silky texture of this sauce adds a luxurious layer to every bite.
- Adds moistness – Have you ever had dry bread pudding where the custard doesn’t soak all the way through the bread? Pair it with this sauce and turn any bread pudding into a soft, custardy dessert that’s moist and rich.
Try this with our recipe for Custard Bread Pudding. The bread pudding sauce adds a silky, smooth layer for extra indulgence. Or try this with our recipe for Baked Cinnamon Apples for an elegant dessert. It’s the perfect dessert for dinner parties!
Helpful Tips:
- Temper the egg yolks – When adding the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks, add in a ladle at a time in a narrow stream while whisking quickly. This is called tempering the egg yolks, and it’s done to ensure that they don’t curdle.
- Use high-quality vanilla – Fresh vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste will give the best flavor. Otherwise, use pure vanilla extract.
- Avoid overheating – Keep the heat low and steady to avoid scrambling the eggs.
- Add the vanilla extract once the sauce is removed from the heat and the sauce has cooled somewhat. This ensures the vanilla flavor stays vibrant doesn’t cook off in a hot pot.
- Strain for smoothness – Run the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve for a smooth, silky consistency.
More Sauce Recipes:
- Custard Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
- Cherry Sauce
- Strawberry Sauce (Strawberry Glaze)
- Easy Raspberry Sauce
- Blueberry Compote
- Mango Sauce
- Cherry Pie Filling
Easy Vanilla Sauce Recipe | Bread Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
Instructions
- Add the milk and half and half to a pot and bring to a slight simmer. Remove from heat.½ cup milk, ½ cup half and half
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl. Slowly ladle all the warm milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking quickly. Adding it too quickly will cook the egg yolks and cause the sauce to curdle.4 large egg yolks, 3 Tablespoons sugar
- Return the mixture to the pot and heat over medium-low while stirring until the sauce thickens and coats the back of the spoon, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla once it's no longer hot.1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Strain the sauce if desired. Serve warm or chill in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Makes a little over 1 cup of vanilla sauce.
- To reheat, add the vanilla sauce to a small pot and reheat it on the stovetop over very low heat, while constantly stirring. Remove it from the heat once it’s warmed through.
- Overheating can cause the sauce to curdle so keep stirring and watch it closely.
- Keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Cover the top surface with a layer of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
- Avoid freezing this as it can alter the texture once thawed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
This is the perfect Vanilla Sauce Recipe ! The flavor and consistency is perfect and I will be tucking this recipe into my recipe box to never forget. We served this over baked and apple dumplings and it was amazing.
This Pudding sauce looks so creamy and delicious. I would love to try it on few desserts. Thanks for sharing.
This is such a great recipe to have because it is easier to control the amount of sugar than when you get the premade ones and this is so much tastier as well!
Oh yum! I would drizzle this over almost everything! Good tip about how to not curdle the sauce as I tend to overdo it so I’ll try your method next time.
I love your post. My husband loves bread pudding, but I never make it. You inspired me, so I will follow your guide and make the vanilla sauce; it looks amazing! Wish me luck! Thanks for a terrific post and recipe.
Just tried this recipe and my family loved it. Thank you so much!
This is so good. I paired it with some sticky gingerbread. ?
Dessert ready in minutes. So very creamy, delicious, quick and easy too.
I made this to serve over my Apple Crumb Pie. Fabulous!!
Thanks for trying it Sylva! So happy you loved it!
This looks so delicious and tasty! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! My son is going to love this!
I love a good vanilla custard! I haven’t had bread pudding in a while and now I’m craving some like whoa. I can’t wait to make both of these over the weekend!
I had been testing some pastry recipes, and had some scraps left over. I cooked them up with a sprinkle of sugar, and made a batch of this sauce. We had a lot of fun dipping the pastry into the sauce! Delicious!
Thanks Harriet! That’s a great idea to use this as a vanilla dipping sauce! So glad you enjoyed it!
The photos look so good! I can’t wait to make some bread pudding and fill it with vanilla sauce!
Really easy to prepare – I served mine with some fruit cake, and it was really delicious. If you’re anything like me though, I recommend making a large batch as I couldn’t stop eating it with a spoon!!
Thank you Eloise! That’s a great idea to serve the vanilla sauce with fruit cake! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This is incredibly good! Flavors are well balanced and easy to make! Loved it!
I love how versatile this vanilla sauce is. I think I will try it on bread pudding first.
Delicious and just the right amount of sweetness. Made this to accompany a friend’s dessert and everyone loved it.
If you make and chill the sauce afte ahead of time what is the best way to heat?
Hi Lydia!
You can reheat the vanilla sauce by placing it in a small pot and reheat it over very low heat while constantly stirring. If it gets overheated, it can curdle. Hope you enjoy!
This custard sauce is so delicious! Very creamy and smooth.
this custard is so easy to make, I make this to serve with any desserts.
Love this vanilla sauce and the idea or serving it with baked apples is delightful. We all need to learn the basics and this recipe is a keeper!