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HomeRecipesDesserts

Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)

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By: IsabelPosted: 3/4/22

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Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)

Capirotada, or Mexican Bread Pudding, is made with layers of crusty bread, raisins, bananas, almonds and cheese all soaked in sweetened cinnamon milk! This dessert is traditionally served during Lent and Easter.

Capirotada (or Mexican Bread Pudding) in a baking dish topped with raisins and cheese.

It’s the time of year to start eating Capirotada again, and I couldn’t be more excited!

There’s nothing better than an extra-large helping of this Mexican bread pudding during Lent and Easter, especially since my family only makes it once or twice a year. I grew up eating Capirotada so it’s always been a normal Mexican dessert for me, but I know that many people have never heard of it at all.

It’s time to change that.

Once people get their first bite of this sweet dessert, I know it will become an instant hit!

What is Capirotada?

Capirotada is a traditional Mexican bread pudding that’s served during Lent. There are many variations of this dish throughout the U.S. and Mexico, but it’s typically made with layers of bolillo bread (or french bread), raisins, bananas, nuts, cheese and sweetened milk or syrup.

It can be eaten warm right out of the oven or chilled for a tasty after-dinner treat.

If you’re ready to try out this Mexican staple, follow along and let’s get started!

Capirotada Ingredients on a table

Ingredients in Capirotada

There are various preparations of Capirotada depending on where you are in Mexico. It seems like no two families make it the same way! Here’s what you’ll need to make the version that I love and grew up eating. (For reference, my family is from a rural town near Sombrerete, Zacatecas.)

  • Bolillo bread – Commonly found in Mexican bakeries and grocery stores, this is the type of bread that’s traditionally used to make Capirotada. If you don’t have access to a Mexican bakery or store, you can make your own bolillo bread at home. Alternatively, you can use French bread or any crusty bread you can find.
  • Shredded cheese – I used shredded Oaxaca cheese, but you can use any melty cheese that you have on hand. I typically opt for a milder cheese like mozzarella or provolone, but others prefer a cheese with a little more punch like Monterey jack, colby, or even cheddar. It’s all personal preference!
  • Piloncillo – A staple sweetner in Mexican kitchens, piloncillo is an unrefined form of pure cane sugar. The cane sugar is melted down until it reaches a caramel-like consistency, then it’s poured into a cone-shaped mold. It’s commonly found in Mexican grocery stores, but if you can’t get it near you, here’s where you can buy it online.
  • Milk, cinnamon sticks, and whole cloves – These ingredients are mixed together with the piloncillo to create a sweetened milk that is poured over the bread.
  • Raisins, bananas, sliced almonds – These fruits and nuts give the bread pudding a little sweetness, nutiness, and texture in each and every bite.
Ingredients for capirotada recipe in a baking dish.

How to make Capirotada

Start by cutting the bread into cubes and baking it for 5 minutes to dry it out and toast it a little bit. I like doing this because I find that it doesn’t get super mushy to the point of disintegration when soaked in the milk right away.

Alternatively, you can leave out the cubed bread on the kitchen counter overnight to harden slightly or use stale bread. Don’t worry if you think the bread is too hard – it will soften once it soaks up all liquid.

Next, prepare the sweetened milk mixture by simmering some milk, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks and cloves in a pot.

Milk being poured over fresh capirotada.

To build the capirotada, add the bread, raisins, banana slices, sliced almonds and cheese in two layers into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish (or larger).

Pour the sweetened milk all over the bread and let it soak on the counter for 15 minutes. When pouring the milk, pay close attention to the bread along the edges of the baking dish as I find that those pieces don’t tend to get as much milk as others.

Right before baking the Capirotada, I like to tilt the baking dish from side to side to help the top layer of bread and the edges soak up as much milk as possible.

Bake the capirotada in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.

Capirotada baked and ready to be served.

How to serve Capirotada

You can eat it right out of the oven while it’s still warm and bubbly, or you can refrigerate it and eat it cold.

I eat it both ways, but my personal favorite is eating it once it’s cooled and sat in the refrigerator for a day. The bread layers on the bottom of the dish soften and soak up all the sweetened milk, while the top layer remains a little crunchy and chewy from the melted cheese. It’s just the best combination and I can’t get enough of it!

On the other hand, my mom and husband like it best when it’s warm and gooey, so it’s totally personal preference. Try it both ways and see which way you prefer!

Substitutions and variations

  • Bread – If you don’t have bolillo bread, you can use French bread or any crusty loaf of bread.
  • Cheese – Any melty cheese will work. Oaxaca, Monterey Jack, Provolone, Mozzarella, or even cheddar will work.
  • Sweetener – If you don’t have piloncillo, you can use 1 1/4 cups of dark brown sugar.
  • Sprinkles – It’s totally optional, but my family always served it with round rainbow nonpareils sprinkles on top! It sounds a little strange, but it adds such a fun pop of color and a little crunch. Since we only make this dish once or twice a year, what better way to celebrate than with sprinkles!

Storing and Reheating

To store, cover the baking dish and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Keep in mind that the longer it sits, the softer the bread will become.

To reheat, bake the leftovers for 10 minutes in a 350°F oven or until fully warmed through. Alternatively, you can reheat individual portions in the microwave until warm.

Recipe

4.73 from 18 votes

Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)

Serves: 10 servings
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Capirotada (or Mexican Bread Pudding) in a baking dish topped with raisins and cheese.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total : 1 hour
Capirotada, or Mexican Bread Pudding, is made with layers of crusty bread, raisins, bananas, almonds and cheese all soaked in sweetened cinnamon milk!

Ingredients

  • oil or butter, for greasing
  • 4 large bolillo bread rolls, cut into 1-inch thick pieces (about 10-12 cups)
  • 5 cups nonfat milk
  • 1 (8-ounce) cone piloncillo (or 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar)
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 3 large bananas, sliced into rounds
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 2 cups shredded Oaxaca cheese (or any melty white cheese like Monterey Jack, Provolone or Mozzarella)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish (or a dish that's slightly bigger) with oil or butter. Set aside.
  • Place the cubed bolillo bread onto a large baking sheet. Bake it for 5 minutes so that bread become a little toasted and dried out. Remove it from oven and set aside.
  • Add the milk, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, and cloves to a large pot over medium-high heat. Whisk it together and bring it to a gentle boil.
  • Reduce the heat to low and simmer it for 10 minutes, uncovered, whisking occasionally. Remove it from the heat and discard the cinnamon sticks and cloves.
  • Assemble the capirotada by spreading half of the toasted bread in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Top it with all of the banana slices, half of the raisins, half of the sliced almonds and half of the shredded cheese. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients to make one more layer.
  • Carefully pour the sweetened milk all over the capirotada, paying close attention to the bread on the edges.
  • Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for another 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake it uncovered for 15 more minutes.
  • Remove it from the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes, and serve warm. Or let it cool completely, cover and refrigerate, and serve cold.

Isabel’s Tips:

  • Bread – If you don’t have bolillo bread, you can use French bread or any crusty loaf of bread.
  • Cheese – Any melty cheese will work. Oaxaca, Monterey Jack, Provolone, Mozzarella, or even cheddar will work.
  • Sweetener – If you don’t have piloncillo, you can use 1 1/4 cups of dark brown sugar.
  • Sprinkles – It’s totally optional, but my family always served it with round rainbow nonpareils sprinkles on top! It sounds a little strange, but it adds such a fun pop of color and a little crunch. Since we only make this dish once or twice a year, what better way to celebrate than with sprinkles!

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving Calories: 413kcal (21%)
Author: Isabel Eats
Course:Dessert
Cuisine:Mexican
Capirotada (or Mexican Bread Pudding) in a baking dish topped with raisins and cheese.
Did you Make my Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)?Leave a comment below and tag @isabeleats on social media!
@isabeleats

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Recipe Rating:




  1. Angelica says

    Posted on 1/11 at 1:13 am

    How excited am I !?! 🤗 Many years ago I had the absolute epitome of Mexican Bread Pudding at a restaurant. So, I am super excited about trying your recipe. Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Amandah Mollinga says

    Posted on 5/1 at 7:51 pm

    5 stars
    Made it for Easter… Making another one we liked it so much!

    Reply
  3. Anna Castanon says

    Posted on 4/15 at 5:14 pm

    Help I made the recipe but I layered it in 4 layers. My top layer is dry

    Reply
    • Ana @ Isabel Eats says

      Posted on 4/18 at 11:04 am

      Hi Anna! Next time maybe make an extra half batch or full batch of the milk mixture to make sure it doesn’t get dry!

      Reply
  4. Veronica says

    Posted on 3/13 at 12:13 pm

    5 stars
    Love it!

    Reply
  5. Raya Meltz says

    Posted on 3/5 at 12:23 pm

    Imagine my surprise to see CAPIROTADA (MEXICAN BREAD PUDDING) online with the ingredients and directions. I live in Israel and this week I have lots of Challah (a traditional Jewish food item for Shabbat) left over. I truly was craving this type of bread pudding, which my husband and I ate at a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. I plan on making this tomorrow. Thank you for all the information …… Raya, one of your online followers who misses Mexican food.

    Reply
    • Ana @ Isabel Eats says

      Posted on 3/7 at 9:25 am

      Hi Raya! Thank you, let us know how it turns out!

      Reply
  6. Doane says

    Posted on 12/28 at 7:49 pm

    5 stars
    Looking forward to fixing this, even though it isn’t Easter!

    Reply
  7. Marlene says

    Posted on 12/5 at 2:26 pm

    definitely going to try this recipe I will just toast my coconut I make a similar version .

    Reply
    • sherri says

      Posted on 4/9 at 12:10 pm

      Coconut? Where is the coconut in the recipe?

      Reply
  8. Sofia Parent says

    Posted on 3/22 at 3:28 pm

    Hi Isabel, I’m so lucky I found your receipts I’m from Delicias Chihuahua, I baked the apple empanadas, and I’m ready for the capirotada thank you. I love you and proud of you. (looking for meat loaf).

    Sofia Parent

    Reply
  9. Raquel Escobar says

    Posted on 12/4 at 10:03 pm

    Awesome thanks 👍. My family is from Chihuahua, so we are neighbors! I’m making it this weekend! It’s lovely to see how diverse yet similar our Culture is. I’m now following you on Instagram!

    Reply
  10. Raquel Escobar says

    Posted on 12/2 at 8:35 am

    I have been looking for this recipe for ever! I’ve been trying to make it from memory, since my mom has passed away long ago. Where is your family from? I’ve been trying to figure out what part of Mexico this particular recipe is from. I’ve come across so many different ways… But this is THE one!

    Reply
    • Raquel Escobar says

      Posted on 12/2 at 8:37 am

      OH congrats 🎉 to you and your husband.. Happy Marriage!

      Reply
    • Isabel says

      Posted on 12/2 at 9:16 am

      That makes me so happy, Raquel! I hope you like it! My family is from Villa Insurgentes, Zacatecas. It’s right on the border with Durango.

      Reply
  11. Sandra says

    Posted on 3/21 at 3:06 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe is very similar to how my family makes it. I can’t wait to try it!

    Reply

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