Savory bread pudding recipe with vegetables, cheese and herbs from 'Chuck's Home Cooking'

Canadian chef and TV personality Chuck Hughes joined "Good Morning America" on Friday with a great one-pan dish from his new cookbook, "Chuck’s Home Cooking," that's perfect for a crowd any time of day -- savory bread pudding.

Plus, he explained the key differences between Montreal and New York-style bagels, while pledging his personal allegiance to the popular version made nearly 400 miles north of the Big Apple.

Montreal bagels are thinner and smaller with a slightly sweeter dough than that of the famed New York bagels.

In Montreal, the bread roll has a chewy interior and a crisp exterior from baking in a wood-fire oven. It also has a larger hole in the middle of the bagel because how they are rolled by hand.

Savoury Breakfast Bread Pudding

Serves 6 to 8

Savoury bread pudding is a great way to use up leftovers and feed a bunch of hungry kids (and adults). This one-pan dish is perfect for a sleepover breakfast, brunch, or a lazy dinner with some simple greens or a salad.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
10 cups day-old bread torn into pieces
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup julienned smoked ham
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups + 2 tablespoons milk(any type)
2/3 cup heavy (35%) cream
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons salted butter, cut into small cubes

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 13 × 9-inch baking dish.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Scrape the cooked onions into the prepared baking dish. Add the bread, cheddar, and ham and mix together.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture and gently mix everything together. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, scatter the cubed butter over the bread pudding, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and crispy.
Let the bread pudding cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Excerpted from Chuck’s Home Cooking by Chuck Hughes. Copyright © 2024 Chuck Hughes. Photography by Marc-André Lavoie. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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