Rice pudding is creamy and full of sweet texture. It is perfectly spiced with cinnamon and scrumptious served warm or chilled!
Rice pudding is simply rice cooked in sweetened milk. It has a warming, an old-fashioned feel to it and is simply delish. For more desserts with a made-by-grandma feel, try Perfect Coconut Cream Pie and Mini Apple Pie A La Mode.
Stovetop Rice Pudding
I am a big fan of pudding. It is one of my favorite treats, next to ice cream that is! It is creamy and can be a warm or cool dessert.
I adore the texture and cinnamon spice in rice pudding. Rice pudding is oh so easy to make and only requires a handful of ingredients you most likely have on hand…making it a great go to treat in a pinch!
There’s nothing like it in the world. It’s creamy, sweet, dreamy, and just perfect. If your mouth is watering like mine is, it’s time to give this easy treat a try!
Rice Pudding Ingredients
Rice: Basic long grain white rice works great! You can also use minute rice if need be.
Milk: The higher the fat content of the milk the better! In terms of non dairy options, cashew milk is a really good option because of how creamy it is. Canned coconut milk is a good option if you’re okay with a strong coconut flavor. (Note: you will want to use less milk if your rice is already cooked!)
Butter: Using real butter, as opposed to margarine, creates a much better flavor.
What to flavor it with? Vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar create a great flavor profile for rice pudding!
How to Make Rice Pudding
SIMMER. In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan set over medium heat, add the milk, rice, butter, and salt. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Let cook for 15 minutes.
WHISK. In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together an egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
TEMPER. Temper the eggs, by slowly pouring the hot milk from the rice mixture into the bowl, and stirring continuously.
WHISK. Then pour the warm egg mixture back into the pan and return to the heat. Whisk frequently and continue cooking for 5-8 minutes until mixture thickens and rice is soft. Take care not to curdle the mixture.
SERVE. Remove from the heat and serve warm with a dash of cinnamon.
Note: You can tell that rice pudding is done when the rice is tender and the mixture has thickened up.
Serving Tips
Warm or cold? You can serve rice pudding either warm or cold! It really depends on your preference. Most people enjoy rice pudding straight from the pot, but you don’t have to reheat the leftovers if you don’t want to!
Try serving your dish topped with candied nuts or homemade whipped cream!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
Achieve the perfect texture: Use these techniques to thicken or thin your rice pudding as needed.
- Cooling the rice pudding will thicken it up or fold it in whipped cream(let it cool completely and then gently fold in whipped cream)
- To thin it out, you can rewarm the pudding on the stove or in the microwave with added milk. Mix in extra milk when you’re rewarming the pudding if the texture is too thick for your taste after storage.
Variations/Additions
- Coconut: substitute the water in the recipe for coconut milk
- Raisins: top your rice pudding with raisins
- Black rice: black rice is an interesting type of rice. For a cool image, or a slightly more chewy texture, use Thai black rice.
- Chocolate: use cocoa powder, hot cocoa mix, or chocolate milk powder to add some delicious chocolate flavor to your rice pudding.
- Lemon: add the zest of a lemon and the juice of ½ a lemon. (Save some zest to top your rice pudding with before serving.)
Store: Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. Then either reheat in the microwave or eat cold! You can also place it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and either reheat it or eat cold!
Make ahead? Because this is a recipe that can be served warm or cold you can easily make this ahead of time.
For other “pudding” recipes, check out:
- Oreo Mud Pie
- Banana Pudding Cheesecake
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Pumpkin Bread Pudding
- Mini Banana Cream Pies
Easy Stovetop Rice Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup long grain rice
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- pinch salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium heat, add the milk, rice, butter, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Let it cook for 15 minutes.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together an egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
- Temper the eggs by slowly pouring the hot milk from the rice mixture into the bowl, stirring continuously. Then pour the warm egg mixture back into the pan and return it to the heat. Whisk frequently and continue cooking for 5-8 minutes until the mixture thickens and the rice is soft. Take care not to curdle the mixture.
- Remove from the heat and serve warm with a dash of cinnamon.
I love the texture of this and the cinnamony flavor is my favorite.
So all I’ve got after all this time is a pan of hot milk with sugar and egg in it and a few kernels of rice. There is something wrong here.
Hi Kathleen, I’m not sure what happened, but it sounds like it didn’t thicken up. You can tell that rice pudding is done when the rice is tender and the mixture has thickened up.
Achieve the perfect texture: Use these techniques to thicken or thin your rice pudding as needed.
Cooling the rice pudding will thicken it up or fold it in whipped cream(let it cool completely and then gently fold in whipped cream)
To thin it out, you can rewarm the pudding on the stove or in the microwave with added milk. Mix in extra milk when you’re rewarming the pudding if the texture is too thick for your taste after storage.