Nibbles with Nelly

Vegan Apple Pie Bread Pudding with non-dairy Ice Cream

Hello, and welcome to the Blue Barn Farm and Sanctuary. Fall is in full swing here in Oregon, and what better way to celebrate than to make a delicious dessert with some of our local apples. I found a recipe shared by Lauren Hartmann on Rabbit and Wolves that seemed to be exactly what I was craving. This vegan apple pie bread pudding was a huge hit at dinner! Simple, yet bursting with flavor, and relatively easy to put together.

We have a local bakery in town that makes fantastic vegan bread. So, of course, I stopped there first to get the bread I needed to make the pudding part of this dish. Did I mention it’s apple season in the Pacific Northwest? Yes! Which means whatever kind of apple you are looking for, there is a very good chance you will find it, locally grown, and just waiting for you to make something divine with it. Lauren’s recipe called for traditional Granny Smith apples. Once I mixed up the goodies for the bread pudding, and tossed the cubes of bread in there until they were nice and coated, I poured that into my baking dish. Next, I chopped the apples, and tossed them in a bowl with a bit of corn starch, maple syrup, and a tiny bit of brown sugar. She calls for 1 Cup, but I am not a huge fan of refined sugar, so I strayed from her instructions. I mean, we’re talking about apples and maple syrup…what could possibly go wrong?

Divinely saturated cubes of fresh, organic, locally made vegan bread. Yummy!

I forgot to mention that I was preheating the oven while I was getting everything ready. Once I poured the apples over the bread pieces, I evened them out a bit, and put the pan in the oven. About an hour later, my whole house smelled like heaven, and I had a blissful dish full of baked and saucy apple pie bread pudding. The final touch? Put a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream on top of this warm sweetness, and watch it melt as I load up my fork, preparing to test out my theory about the brown sugar/maple syrup substitution I mentioned earlier. Yep, perfect! Hello fall!!!

Who would have thought eating a 100% plant-based diet could be so amazing? If you have an internet connection, you can do a search and figure out how to adjust just about any recipe to leave out the animal products. It’s a great experiment to do with your family while you’re planning out a meal. Have each person think of their favorite dish, and then search for it on the internet, but put the word “vegan” in the search box. You will be surprised with what you find. Take these opportunities to practice kindness, compassion, and empathy. Be a part of the solution, and devour some delicious vegan apple pie bread pudding!

Sending you all much love and gratitude from the crew here at the Blue Barn Farm and Sanctuary!

Miss Nelly Rose and Company