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Enjoyed warm or cold and scented with vanilla and cinnamon, every bite of homemade Rice Pudding is as comforting as your favorite pair of slippers.
Skip the boxed mix and simmer up a pot of classic, old-fashioned rice pudding on the stove. This easy Rice Pudding is a wise use for leftover rice and the last bit of milk left in the bottle, but feel free to start from scratch; we explain how to cook the rice from dry.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- White rice: I prefer a long-grain variety of white rice, such as Jasmine rice, Basmati rice, or American long-grain rice. But you can also use a medium-grain rice variety, like Valencia or Arborio rice. If you only have short-grain rice, that will work too.
- Milk: For the best rice pudding flavor, use whole milk if you have it. For even richer Rice Pudding, opt for a combination of milk and half-and-half, or even heavy cream.
Step-by-step instructions
- Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan, then add the rice and salt. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the majority of the liquid is absorbed.
- Heat the milk in the microwave (or in another saucepan) until steaming. Add the hot milk to the rice, along with the sugar, and simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan, until it is a thick consistency, about 45 minutes. The rice pudding is at the optimal texture when it’s nice and thick and you can stand a spoon up in it.
- Take the pudding off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Allow it to cool a bit before serving. Eat it warm, or chill in the refrigerator until the pudding reaches your desired temperature. Spoon into small bowls and garnish with ground cinnamon or another spice.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: One batch of the recipe makes about 4 cups of rice pudding.
- Freezing: Store in a freezer-safe container, label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before eating.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4 days (chances are it won’t last nearly that long!).
- Start the rice in water: Cooking the rice in water at first (rather than milk) makes a more tender product that tastes more rice-like.
- Leftover rice: If you have it in the refrigerator, use pre-cooked rice to cut down on cooking time. You’ll need about 3 to 4 cups of cooked rice for one batch of the recipe.
- Non-dairy: You can use a non-dairy milk, like soy, almond milk, coconut milk, oat, or another nut milk instead of regular dairy milk.
- Low sugar: Instead of some or all of the granulated sugar, sweeten the pudding with honey, maple syrup, or another low-calorie sugar replacement, if desired.
- Raisins: If you like raisin-spiked Rice Pudding, add 1 cup of plain or golden raisins to the pudding before it’s completely done, so the dried fruit has a chance to absorb some moisture and flavor. Dried currants, cranberries, or cherries would be tasty, too.
- Nuts: Top with toasted pecans, almonds, chopped pistachios, walnuts, or pine nuts.
- Spice it up: Think of rice pudding as a blank canvas for any flavor combo you love. Ground nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla bean paste, lemon zest, orange zest, and ginger can all amp up the creamy rice if you prefer them over (or in addition to) the cinnamon.
- Fruit: For a naturally-sweeter treat, whisk in or top with some fresh fruit like diced mango, berries, or sliced bananas.
More old-fashioned desserts
Sweets
Cream Puffs
Chocolate Recipes
Easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe
Fruit Dessert Recipes
Lemon Meringue Pie
Cookie Recipes
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe
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Rice Pudding
Enjoyed warm or cold and scented with vanilla and cinnamon, every bite of homemade Rice Pudding is as comforting as your favorite pair of slippers.
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup long-grain white rice (see note 1)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups milk (see note 2)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon for garnish
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in rice and salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until water is mostly absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Microwave milk until steaming, about 1 to 2 minutes. To the rice, stir in milk and granulated sugar and bring to a slow simmer. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally until mixture is thick, about 45 minutes. (A spoon should be able to stand up in the pudding)
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Allow pudding to cool slightly before serving, or refrigerate until chilled to serve cold, about 2 hours. Garnish with a dusting of ground cinnamon.
Notes
- White rice: I prefer a long-grain variety of white rice, such as Jasmine, Basmati, or American long grain rice. But you can also use a medium-grain variety, like Arborio or Valencia. Short grain rice will work as well.
- Milk: For the best flavor, use whole milk if you have it. For even richer Rice Pudding, opt for a combination of milk and butter or half-and-half.
- Yield: One batch of the recipe makes about 4 cups of rice pudding.
- Make ahead: Feel free to make this a day or two ahead of time, especially if you want to serve the pudding chilled.
- Freezing: Store in a freezer-safe container, label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before eating.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4 days (chances are it won’t last nearly that long!).
- Start the rice in water: Cooking the rice in water at first (rather than milk) makes a more tender product that tastes more rice-like.
- Leftover rice: If you have it in the refrigerator, use pre-cooked rice to cut down on cooking time. You’ll need about 3 to 4 cups of cooked rice for one batch of the recipe.
- Non-dairy: You can use soy, almond, coconut, oat, or another nut milk instead of regular dairy milk.
- Low sugar: Instead of some or all of the granulated sugar, sweeten the pudding with honey, maple syrup, or another low-calorie sugar replacement, if desired.
- Raisins: If you like raisin-spiked Rice Pudding, add 1 cup of plain or golden raisins to the pudding before it’s completely done, so the dried fruit has a chance to absorb some moisture and flavor. Dried currants, cranberries, or cherries would be tasty, too.
- Nuts: Top with toasted pecans, almonds, chopped pistachios, walnuts, or pine nuts.
- Spice it up: Think of rice pudding as a blank canvas for any flavor combo you love. Ground nutmeg, cardamom, lemon zest, orange zest, and ginger can all amp up the creamy rice if you prefer them over (or in addition to) the cinnamon.
- Fruit: For a naturally-sweeter treat, mix in or top with some fresh fruit like diced mango, berries, or sliced bananas.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5 cupCalories: 225kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 129mgPotassium: 188mgFiber: 1gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 198IUCalcium: 146mgIron: 1mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.