Easy Vanilla Sauce Recipe | Bread Pudding Sauce

5 from 502 votes

Make the best creamy, sweet vanilla sauce for bread pudding with this easy recipe. Perfectly rich and smooth, it’s the ultimate dessert topping!

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Servings:

Calories: 147kcal

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.

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.