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Grape-Nut Pudding

The Editors
Yield
8 servings
Category
Cornmeal, Rice, Grains
Course
Desserts
Preparation Method
Bake
Sources
The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook
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Guests will go nuts for this Grape-Nut pudding—a creamy custard with the cereal “crust” on the bottom. It’s delicious, hot or cold, and the leftovers can even be enjoyed for breakfast. If you serve the pudding warm, add a dollop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream to top it off!

Grape-Nuts, divisive as they are, have an interesting history. In the late 1800s, the Kellogg brothers founded the Battle Creek Sanitarium and advocated a diet rich in whole grains. Rival cereal maker C. W. Post, a former patient at Battle Creek, created Grape-Nuts in 1897. The pudding came soon after. We found a recipe for Grape-Nut pudding in a 1901 church cookbook published by the Dudley Street Baptist Church in Boston. Still, the dish appears to have gained wider national popularity by the 1920s, especially in New England.

Ingredients
Butter for baking dish
4 cups milk
1 cup Grape-Nuts cereal
4 large eggs
Scant 1/2 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350° and butter a 2-quart baking dish. 
  2. Put milk and Grape-Nuts in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, stir, and let cool for 15 minutes.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl, beat eggs with sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the cooled milk and Grape-Nuts to the egg mixture and stir well. 
  4. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle nutmeg over the top. Set the baking dish into a deep roasting pan.
  5. Place in the oven and pour water into the roasting pan, enough to reach halfway up the side of the dish. Bake until almost set in the center, 50 to 60 minutes. There should be a very slight jiggle when you shake the pan and a knife inserted into the center should come out clean.
  6. Let the pudding set atop the stove for at least 20 minutes before serving. Serve plain or with whipped cream.
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The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

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Comments

Northern girl (not verified)

1 year 4 months ago

Do not soak the Bran Buds in water.
The water soaked up by the Buds will ruin the pudding. I added 40 minutes in all trying to get to the clean knife stage. Never got there and the Buds were still spread throughout the pudding. The bottom of the pudding had an egg white consistency.

Michelle (not verified)

2 years ago

Great recipe! For some reason I can’t get the grape nuts to fall to the bottom, despite following the directions exactly. Too bad since that is my favorite part. Terrific taste but I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, Michelle. This recipe for Grapenuts Pudding was adapted from one of our older cookbooks. It may help to “sink” the Grapenuts if you soak them in hot water while you are assembling the rest of the recipe.

Amy (not verified)

2 years 2 months ago

As a northerner living in the south, my mom made this today and it brought me right back to New England! We loved that it wasn’t too sweet, and the grape nuts sank to the bottom as pictured which gave great texture contrast. Flavor was wonderful, we will make it again for sure!

Monica Masiko (not verified)

5 years 4 months ago

I made this yesterday. First time making or eating. I love it! But my grape nuts did not sink to bottom. They were evenly distributed. Followed recipe exactly. How do I get them to sink like in the picture?

Jill Strawn (not verified)

5 years 4 months ago

Growing up in northern Nevada, I spent many Saturdays at my grandparent's ranch while my dad and older brother worked the cows, bailed hay, etc. Often finding myself at loose ends, a favorite activity was making Grape-Nuts custards with my granny. She had carefully copied the recipe in her own hand from the back of a box of cereal, which was for individual custards with Grape-nuts sprinkled on top. She patiently taught me how to heat the milk without scalding it, add the eggs without scrambling them, etc. If she didn't have Grape-Nuts, we would sprinkle the custards with nutmeg. I still remember the anticipation of watching them cook in the oven, and I have loved custard to this day. Granny has been gone for fifteen years, and I have no idea where the recipe ended up, but I am going to make this recipe in her honor. I might just make some individual custards and sprinkle them with cereal too!
Thank you for stirring a cherished memory.

C Clarke (not verified)

5 years 4 months ago

This sounds delicious. I will have to try it. But some of the Comments, on this are simply funny to read, it's amazing, how some people just can not follow Directions. and wonder why it didn't work. funny

Gwen Stites (not verified)

6 years 2 months ago

A Grandmother gave this recipe to my mother in Kevil, Kentucky 67 years ago. It has been passed down to children, grandchildren and now great grandchildren.

Grape-Nut Pudding
4 eggs 1 cup coconut
1 1/2 cup milk 1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup sugar
3/4 cup Grape-Nuts
Mix all together, grease pan (loaf pan) with butter.
Bake at 325* or 350* for 60 minutes.
oblong pan - 350* for 45 minutes

Exactly as it has been passed down 67 years..

NICHOLAS GOMES (not verified)

6 years 7 months ago

i like pudding very much Thanks on recipes and comment

Linda todey (not verified)

7 years 9 months ago

Grapenut pudding is very delicious especially cooled and served with fresh whipped cream and sooo easy. Great for breakfast too!
I have a large family and I can't make enough of it. It quadruples wonderfully.
I have made it for years. I have a couple of comments.
1)Scalding the milk helps the pudding cook faster. After scalding the milk take it off the stove and temper the eggs by adding 1/2 of the hot milk slowly to the eggs first while whisking and then add all the egg mixture back to the hot milk.
2)Nutmeg is much better than cinnamon in my opinion and you do need 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.
3)Custard cups cook faster than a casserole, but I like the casserole better even though it takes longer to bake.