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This creamy, comforting and Old Fashioned Rice Pudding recipe is easy to make on the stovetop. It’s a cozy, quick-fix snack or dessert that’s perfect for chilly afternoons!
If you’ve never tried rice pudding, you really should. It’s one of those old-fashioned recipes that never goes out of style. During the colder months it’s so nice served warm with all those cozy flavors from the cinnamon and brown sugar! Then when the weather warms up, rice pudding can be served cold to become a sweet and refreshing summer treat.
I gave some to the twins recently and they loved it. Ashton has the sweet tooth and Brooks actually prefers fries over sweets pretty much every time. Brooks is like his daddy. But when Ashton took a bite, he immediately said “Mmmmmmm,” and repeated it with every single bite!
Why You’ll Love This Rice Pudding Recipe
- Simple. Rice pudding is a classic dessert partially because it’s so easy to make. You won’t need any fancy ingredients or techniques to make this down-home treat.
- Flavorful. This recipe is perfectly sweet thanks to brown sugar and warming cinnamon.
- Perfect texture. I personally love the texture that the rice gives to this pudding! Letting it simmer slowly allows it to puff up and be more dessert-like. The combination of puffy and creamy is irresistible.
What You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make this rice pudding recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for a printable list.
- Egg: Not all rice pudding recipes call for an egg, but I 100% recommend it. It adds a richness that is so worth it. Plus, it helps to thicken the pudding without having to cook it a ton. Ultimately, that gives the pudding a creamier texture.
- White or Light Brown Sugar: Both are delicious, but the brown sugar adds some really nice flavor, so I prefer using that.
- Vanilla Extract
- Ground Cinnamon: You could also sprinkle a small amount of freshly ground nutmeg on top of your finished pudding.
- Whole Milk: You could also use low-fat milk, but whole milk results in a creamier pudding.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: I always use a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. You could use all whole milk, but this pudding is meant to be creamy, and the cream really adds that lovely richness.
- Short Grain White Rice: Don’t substitute for a different variety of rice as the cooking time will be different.
- Salt: Just a touch to enhance the sweetness of the pudding and add dimension to the flavor.
Tips for the Best Rice Pudding
- Use short grain rice: You want to use a short grain rice, like Arborio rice. It’s more starchy than long grain rice, so it helps to thicken the pudding nicely and gives it a better texture.
- Slowly add rice mixture to egg mixture: When adding half a cup of the rice into the bowl with your egg mixture, do it slowly and whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
- Don’t let it boil: Once you’re finished combining your mixtures, don’t let the pudding come to a boil. If you do, it’ll curdle. You just want to keep it over low heat until it starts to thicken. Remember that it will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Add raisins: Rice pudding and raisins go together like bread and butter. To make this dish even more classic and flavorful, add some in!
How to Store & Reheat
- Store in the fridge: Keep leftover rice pudding in an airtight container. Once cooled completely, store it in the fridge. Rice pudding stays fresh for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. If you store it in the freezer, thaw it in the fridge overnight before eating or reheating.
- To reheat: Some people like cold rice pudding, but you can easily warm up your leftovers on the stove if desired. Do so over low heat and stir continuously. Add a little bit of milk at a time to thin out the pudding until it’s reached your desired consistency.
Watch How To Make Rice Pudding
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Recipe
Rice Pudding Recipe
- Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Spanish
Description
Looking for a quick treat to cozy up with on chilly afternoons? This classic rice pudding recipe is creamy, comforting & full of warm flavors!
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup (52g) white or light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup (65g) short grain white rice (I used arborio)
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Whisk together the egg, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Add the milk, cream, rice and salt to a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Slowly add about half a cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, whisking quickly, to temper the egg mixture.
- Add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the remaining rice mixture. Stir everything together and continue heating on low heat for about another 5-10 minutes, or until thickened. Don’t boil. It will thicken quickly. Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to thicken as it cools, so you don’t want it to be too thick before you take it off the heat. A touch soupy still is ok.
- Remove from heat and serve warm.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 221
- Sugar: 19 g
- Sodium: 425.8 mg
- Fat: 6.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.2 g
- Protein: 7.2 g
- Cholesterol: 65.9 mg
Other Classic Desserts to Try
- When it comes to cheesecake, simplicity is often the tastiest way to go. This is definitely the case for my Classic Cheesecake Recipe! It’s so silky and creamy, and the flavor is right on the money.
- These Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting put all store-bought cupcakes to shame. The cupcakes are soft & fluffy and the chocolatey homemade frosting is irresistible!
- Since we’ve covered arroz con leche with this rice pudding recipe, you have to try my classic Tres Leches Cake next!
I didn’t have any cream to put in it but I used 1/2 cup of French vanilla Ice cream,I would suggest a little less sugar because the Ice cream has sugar I. It.Perfect recipe for a few servings and easy and quick to make.It was creamy and very good.😋
Unbelievably good. I used brown sugar. I also put a half of a vanilla bean in the milk/rice mixture while the rice cooked. Amazing flavor. I also added raisins. This will be my forever recipie for rice pudding.
Love the flavor, just the right amount of sweetness… unfortunately my jasmati rice was still crunchy after 45 minutes of simmering snd stirring!😢
This is one of my favorite recipes from this website. I have made this recipe about 4 times since it came out in January. It is so very creamy and delicious. Thank you so very much!
So glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Happy New Year! I made this for the first time a few nights ago and it was delicious!! I shared it with my landlords and they gave it an A+! Next time I’ll add some raisins. Thank you for the simple-to-follow recipe!
yes yes yes just reduce your cooking time by half (1\2)
I love this recipe I had to tweak it a little because I didn’t have whole milk on hand so I used evaporated canned milk instead and my heavy cream had went bad so I used sweetened condensed milk instead, everything else stayed the same. It was awesome, I will always me it this way in the future, it was sweet, creamy and delicious. We ate it while it was a tad bit warm and we used the extra creamy cool whip on top. Highly recommend that you try it. Our family consisted of ages ranging from 17 months to 73 years and several ages in between including a teenager and we all loved it. Thank you
Love this rice pudding and so easy! Best recipe I’ve found and the closest to our local Greek restaurants. They add raisins to theirs and so did I. This one is a keeper!
Would it work to double the recipe? Love your site & your recipes!!
Photos are Awesome !!! Thank You For Sharing this Wonderful and Healthy Recipe !!! This Recipe is Look So Fresh, Healthy and Delicious to Prepare. Nice Blog to Follow while Preparing Recipes. I’ll Definitely Try it.
Lindsay, Great recipe! I tried to make rice pudding once before and it really wasn’t very good. Your recipe is easy to follow and makes a velvety pudding.
I’m surprised that you don’t use nutmeg. I always use nutmeg when I make rice pudding. I’ve never used cinnamon.
I made this recipe it was delicious but at the end of it I forgot that I love raisins in my rice pudding. I’ve never actually made it myself, I always bought it. So I went back to check your comments on the recipe and you said oh just add raisins if you like them. When do you add them in: the beginning, in the end afterwards? You know that would be helpful to know when to add the raisins in the cooking process and proportions. Other than that this was a great recipe it will probably be my go-to.
I inherited a recipe almost exactly like this (but calling for regular sugar, not brown, and two eggs, not one) from my great-grandparents, who ran deli/bakeries in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City from about 1890 through the 1930s. They were Alsatian, so their food was a little French, a little German. My family version is absolutely wonderful served warm or cold. If you’re using heavy cream, save some to make whipped cream for topping. Do try this.
Hi! Can I use instant rice?
I would not. The cook time would turn instant rice to mush. You want the real rice texture.
This one is just like my grandmother used to make 😁
I really like this recipe. I love rice pudding, and this recipe is perfect. Glad to have it. Often I do a bit to lemon zest on top, but it’s totally optional.