Easy Rice Pudding
Creamy, sweet and so, so easy to make. This Old Fashioned Rice Pudding recipe is classic and comforting. Made in one pot with just a few ingredients like rice, milk, sugar and vanilla…cooked until thick, then served warm or chilled. This Rice Pudding will be a go-to dessert recipe for years to come.
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Rice Pudding
Ahhhh, rice pudding. Anytime I stuff a spoonful of it into my mouth it instantly takes me back to my childhood….to my pop-pop’s kitchen….to happy, comforting memories. He made this all the time and he was my very favorite person way back then.
I have so many memories cooking with my pop-pop that, now that I’m thinking of it, he was the person that influenced me most in the kitchen. He was my hero…a Polish WWII veteran who bravely brought his entire family here to the US to start a new life. I’m so glad he did. A lot of his recipes have been passed down and I’m going to share them with all of you. 🙂
This Old Fashioned Rice Pudding recipe is what I remember pop-pop’s version to be like. Nobody really knows the exact measurements of everything he used so I had to guesstimate a bit. All I know is he was adamant about using Carolina rice…which I’m not sure if it’s medium grain, long grain, or arborio…so some testing had to be done since I couldn’t find “Carolina” rice.
I settled on medium grain because it held together well and didn’t get too mushy when cooked for a long time. The arborio remained a bit to al dente for my liking so we’ll keep that for risotto.
What is Rice Pudding?
Rice Pudding is a dish that’s made by cooking rice with milk and can be made sweet or savory. For a dessert style rice pudding, the mixture is commonly cooked with a sweetener like sugar or honey.
Raisins and cinnamon is added to a lot of rice pudding recipes but this easy rice pudding is made with a hint of vanilla. We do sprinkle a little cinnamon on top from time to time but it’s not cooked into the dish as many other recipes do.
How To Make Rice Pudding From Scratch
This creamy rice pudding recipe is easy to make and doesn’t take much time at all. Some readers have mentioned stirring an egg yolk into it at the end but we don’t do that here. I don’t like the egg flavor because it makes it taste more like a custard than a pudding.
- Add the milk, rice, salt, vanilla bean and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Reduce heat and simmer.
- Cook until the rice is tender and the pudding has reduced.
- Remove the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds.
- Stir in the butter, vanilla bean seeds or extract.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Chill for 1 hour or overnight.
- Serve warm or chilled.
Tips for Perfect Rice Pudding
Be sure to cook the pudding long enough…undercooking the pudding will cause it to be soupy…still tasty but not thick like pudding. A good way to check if it’s cooked long enough is to run your finger along the back of your spoon to see if you can draw a line that doesn’t seep back together….if the line remains, you have pudding!
If you have a bit of sticker shock with vanilla beans (we use these), you can certainly use vanilla extract. But I love the look of the flecks throughout the pudding and the flavor can’t be beat. Another alternative would be Vanilla Bean Paste, which I LOVE, and you can order here.
This is the Cadillac of vanilla and is a pantry investment but the flavor is other level amazing. It’s a great substitute for vanilla beans and extract.
How To Store Rice Pudding
You can store your stovetop rice pudding in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
I don’t recommend freezing rice pudding because the consistency will change upon thawing.
How To Serve It
We like to serve our rice pudding with a dollop of this homemade whipped cream that takes about 2 minutes to make.
You can also sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top with a dusting wand, drizzle with chocolate sauce or stir in some cinnamon sugar.
More Easy Pudding Recipes
I think my pop-pop would have been please with this Rice Pudding…being that it really is the Best Rice Pudding recipe ever. It’s comfort food at it’s finest….just like this vanilla pudding. Or if you have a chocolate craving, try this one. Or have a pudding buffet with all three. I’m sure nobody would mind.
We also love this easy Butterscotch Pudding and it’s just as easy to make in minutes!
Looking for another sweet rice treat? This Mango Sticky Rice is simply amazing!
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Get the Recipe: Easy Rice Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups whole milk
- 1 cup raw medium-grain white rice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split, or 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, add the milk, rice, salt, vanilla bean (if using, extract…don’t add it yet.) and sugar over medium heat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Uncover and continue to simmer until the rice is tender and the pudding has reduced to about 3 1/2 cups. Continue to stir constantly to prevent scorching.
- Fish out the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla bean seeds or vanilla extract.
- Transfer the pudding to a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
- Chill for 1 hour or overnight.
- Serve warm or chilled.
68 Comments on “Easy Rice Pudding”
I don’t have unsalted butter cab I use salted butter but leave out the salt
Absolutely!
Excellent recipe 🙂
Thanks!
I’ll never eat store bought rice pudding again – this is fantastic!!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you liked it!
I have been craving rice pudding. So I didn’t have enough milk about 4 cups and I noticed in my pantry I had condensed sweet milk. So I followed your recipe but I didn’t add the butter or the sugar due to the condensed milk and it came out so creamy and perfect sweetness. Thanks for the inspiration!
Oh wow! Thank you for sharing your substitute, I’m going to have to try that!! So glad I inspired you to try it. Have a great day!
I’m excited to try this recipe it sounds soooo yummy! I want to cook the rice with cinnamon sticks. Should I? And if so how many? Thanks!
You could do that….maybe two or three? Just remove them before serving.
I added 1 and left it in thru the whole process. Tasted delicious
Thank you! I’m so happy you liked it!
i followed the directions completely, the flavor is there but it never set even after refrig over night.. its a flavorful milky rice..
You do need to cook it until it starts to thicken, you’ll know when it changes consistency but not all rice cooks exactly the same so if you used a different brand or variety, that could affect the cooking time significantly.
Just a GREAT recipe for some of the best comfort food ever invented.
Add some golden raisins, add boiled hot water to raisins to plump them up, drain and add raisins to pudding.
Puts this great recipe over the top.
I love raisins in my rice pudding but there are others who would totally object to the suggestion. LOL!
Great recipe..very creamy and tasty!
Thank you!
Cooking nowsuper excited! Carolina rice is a brand name, grown in USA ( in case you haven’t figured that out yet). You could buy online
That’s all we use. 🙂
Balsamic rice, a small grain rice is recommended for rice pudding as it contains much more starch which thickens much better than your “Carolina Rice (so nice).
The Carolina Rice is a long grain rice….the Carolina is the brand. And I think you mean Basmati rice….not balsamic.
Hi great recipe Taste absolutely wonderful the only thing is mine came out a bit too creamy not like the picture at all still tasted very good I didn’t have cinnamon sticks so I used a little cinnamon in the recipe I use 8 cups of whole milk and it just wasn’t producing enough even after about a half hour 35 minutes but still tasted wonderful I’m wondering if I should use a little less milk next time thank you so much for the wonderful recipe
What an awesome rice pudding recipe! I was craving some of my Dad’s rice pudding after recently buying some store bought stuff. That stuff just doesn’t cut the mustard- the ratios are all wrong and there’s not enough rice and too much gluggy milk. Blegh!
I clicked on this because it looked so rice-packed and delicious! Mine turned out great! It took a while to cook and a little longer than 15 mins to thicken up but the result was exactly what I needed.
Thanks for the awesome recipe. I’ll be thinking of you and your Pop every time I make it now
Awww, I’m so glad you loved it! This is, by far, my favorite comfort food and I’m thrilled that it’s exactly what you were looking for. Thank you for your comment!
I made this recipe but altered it a little because I didn’t have whole milk and only long grain rice. I used 5 cups of 2%milk and 1 cup of 35% cream. I followed the directions as per the recipe and it was absolutely amazing.
I’m so glad you love this!!
Great Recipe.
Thank you!
Do you think I could use non-dairy milk?
Honestly, I’m not sure if it would work….I haven’t tested it to know for sure.
I just tried it using cashew milk, and Earth Balance butter, and it was delicious! I added some raisins and some cinnamon. I ended up having to cook it for a lot longer than what is stated in the recipe. Perfect! This recipe is a keeper,
This sounds so amazing….i’m going to have to try it myself!
How does jasmine rice work for the rice pudding?
I’ve never tried it but it could work because it’s still starchy enough to thicken it up.
Can you use a rice cooker?
I never tried it with a rice cooker so I can’t be 100% sure.
Loved the rice pudding
Thank you! It’s total comfort food!
This is a very good recipe. Family loves it. I make it with golden raisins that have been soaked. Adds another dimension.
It’s my favorite!
Gisela here again, golden raisins soaked in RUM.
good call!
I don’t have a comment, just a question: what is a serving, a cup, half? All it says is 1g , 292 koala, where is the mistake?
It sure looks like a delicious recipe!
It serves 8, a one cup serving per person. And I don’t know what you mean “292 koala”. But the serving size is one cup.
I need an instant pot version for this, anyone tried that?
I love rice pudding and tapioca also.
So glad to hear that!
Nowhere in the instructions does it say when to add the butter.
Hi Judy, It does….right after you turn off the heat, stir in the butter. I hope you enjoy it!
Forgive me, I just re-read the whole thing again and see it!!
No worries! Sometimes I miss things when I write them so comments keep me on my toes. 🙂
I know what Carolina rice is, only rice we use!
It’s definitely a staple here.
The Carolina rice I get is long grained.
That works!
Delicious! Creamy but not too thick, and excellent flavor! Thanks for sharing with us all!
We added ground coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and a touch of honey to our individual servings – YUM!
I love the spices you added! So yummy!
One of the easiest rice puddings I’ve ever made. They are tasty and so satisfying. Must-try!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This rice pudding recipe is one of my go-to comfort food. It is so easy to make and it is satisfyingly delicious. Highly recommended!
Thank you so much!
This was the first time I have ever tried rice pudding and it did not disappoint! My kids loved it too. Will be making this again soon.
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you liked it!
Perfect base recipe. Added some rumchatta (thinking of Jenn Fred )and cinnamon
Yes! Rumchatta is a nice addition!
Just made this. Super Yum!! I did substitute almond milk for whole milk and used Jasmine rice. I also used Mexican vanilla extract which just brought it up a notch for our family and now I’m told I can never buy it again that I always have to make it. Lol. Thanks for recipe!
Love the substitutions! It sounds even better than the original!!