Cheesy Pizza Bread Pudding

Easy and deliciously cheesy way to use leftover pizza. A fun dinner or brunch recipe that can be made ahead, or prepped to be on the table in under an hour!

How do you divide 3 slices of leftover pizza among 4 children?

Make Cheesy Pizza Bread Pudding for 6, of course.

Whether you call it bread pudding. Or, call it strata. I call this cheesy casserole the best way to use up leftovers and avoid food waste. I make a version of it almost weekly. Here’s the simple formula you can follow:

1. Search the fridge for leftover dibs and dabs of cooked meat, veggies, cheeses, even rice and noodle dishes…or pizza. Chop leftovers into bite-sized pieces.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, about milk, spices, salt, and pepper.

3. Toast whole grain bread and chop into cubes. Toss those leftovers and the toast cubes with egg mixture and let set 5-10 minutes.

4. Pour into a casserole dish, bake and top with cheese at the end.

And the best part about this casserole dinner plan? Many of your impromptu creations may become family favorites. My family discovered we’re happy when there are leftovers of chicken, roasted veggies and black beans; they create a killer combo in cheesy bread pudding, especially when topped with salsa. Over the years I’ve fine-tuned a few of these ‘leftovers’ recipes:

Sweet Potato, Bagel, and Blue Cheese Bread Pudding
Thanksgiving Leftovers Breakfast Casserole
Apple Cheddar Bread Pudding Bites

Today’s Cheesy Pizza Bread Pudding creation was specifically inspired by this month’s theme for The Recipe ReDux: Budget-Friendly Eats. We challenged our members to go as low as they could for their healthy recipe’s per-serving cost. With eggs and milk being as inexpensive as I can remember them, this recipe can probably fit most budgets:

4 eggs – $0.40
1 1/2 cup milk – $0.23
4 slices whole grain bread – $0.80
Frozen broccoli – $1.22
Leftovers – practically FREE – especially if they would have been tossed in the trash otherwise!
TOTAL cost per serving – $0.43

Before baking

Enough said. Add bread pudding/strata/casserole to your menu plan for this year and ‘add’ up the savings in terms of cost and less food waste. Easy Cheesy Pizza Bread Pudding uses leftover pizza to make a budget-friendly meal via @TspCurry #TheRecipeReDux Click To Tweet

Cheesy Pizza Bread Pudding

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• Author: by Serena Ball, RD
• Yield: 6-8 servings 1x

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Description

Easy and deliciously cheesy way to use leftover pizza. A fun dinner or brunch recipe that can be made ahead, or prepped to be on the table in under an hour!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (crumbled between your fingers)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3–4 slices whole grain bread
• 3 slices leftover pizza
• 2 cups frozen broccoli, cooked in the microwave (or 2 cups leftover cooked vegetables)
• 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (or any type of cheese)
• 1 cup leftover tomato sauce (with a sprinkle of garlic powder and dried oregano)

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Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375-degrees-F. Coat 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, oregano, salt, pepper. Set aside
3. Toast bread and cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3/4-inch cubes.)
4. Cut pizza into bite-sized pieces (about 3/4-inch cubes.)
5. Add broccoli, 1/3 of the cheese, toast and pizza to egg mixture and toss well. Let set 5-10 minutes for bread to soak up liquid.
6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese. Bake 5 more minutes until cheese is melted.
7. Serve with tomato sauce.

How do you use up leftovers? Do you eat leftover pizza cold or warm?