Creamy Rice Pudding Recipe
Published April 17, 2020. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious classic creamy vanilla rice pudding recipe topped off with raisins is the perfect after-dinner dessert or daytime treat.
We are huge dessert fans in our house. It doesn’t matter if it’s churros or Crème Brulee; our sweet tooth is always craving something.
Rice Pudding
Rice pudding is in almost every country globally, and each version has a slight variation. In the middle east, it might be spiked with anise or cardamom. In Sri Lankan, it is cooked with coconut milk. No matter where you are, each country has a slightly different version of rice pudding.
Some places use short grain rice others use long-grain or even medium, and it’s really about what you have available to make it work for you.
One thing remains the same, and that is that you need rice, milk, and sugar, and from there, anything goes.
How to Make It
Bring a sliced vanilla bean with seeds and pod, milk, sugar, salt, and rice to a rolling simmer over medium heat while continuing to stir.
Turn the heat down to low and cook while stirring every 2-3 minutes until it becomes thick, similar to a thinned-out risotto.
Remove the vanilla pods and stir in an egg yolk and ground cinnamon and chill until cold.
Serve with raisins.
Rice Pudding With Leftover Rice
My mom used to make rice pudding with any leftover rice all the time. It used to gross me out for some reason, but now I love it. To make it, you follow the same instructions as this recipe, except you use half the amount of milk and sugar.
Since the rice is already cooked, you don’t need as much milk, but don’t worry, as it will still taste the same.
How to make it Extra Creamy
There are a few tricks to making rice pudding extra creamy:
- Be sure to cook it slow and low and give the milk time to combine with the starch from the rice to thicken up naturally.
- Once it is finished and cooled, serve it with a scoop of whipped cream.
Variations
There are quite a few things you can put into rice pudding or even on top. Here are some of my favorites:
- Dried Cherries
- Lemon Zest or Juice
- Currants
- Rosewater
- Honey
- Ginger
- Pistachios
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Brown Sugar
Please do not let any of these optional ingredients limit your creativity, as there are many more ingredients you can add to it.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 3 days ahead of time. Keep it in the refrigerator before serving.
How to Store: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This does not freeze well.
chef notes + tips
- If you don’t have a vanilla bean, then use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and put it in right after you add in the cinnamon for maximum flavor.
- When it comes to adding in fruit or nuts, you can incorporate them when stirring in the cinnamon or add them right before serving. I prefer to add at the end before serving.
- To cool the rice pudding faster, spread it out on a sheet tray or in a casserole dish first before placing it in the refrigerator.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
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Video
Creamy Rice Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 vanilla bean
- 3 ½ cups whole milk
- Heaping 1/3 cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2/3 cup medium-grain rice
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Slice the vanilla bean in half longways and scrape out all of the seeds using a knife. Place the seeds and hollowed out vanilla bean pods in a medium-size saucepot.
- Add the milk, sugar, salt, and rice to the pot with the vanilla and bring to a rolling simmer over medium heat while constantly stirring.
- Turn the heat down to low and stir every 2-3 minutes for 20-25 minutes until the rice is soft and the mixture is relatively thick, like a thin risotto.
- Remove the vanilla pods and stir in the egg yolk and cinnamon until completely mixed in.
- Transfer the rice to a casserole dish and spread out. Chill for 30-40 minutes or until cold.
- Serve with raisins.
Simple ingredients, fast and easy to make! What a great dessert! This was the first time I ever cooked with a vanilla bean! Wow what a difference the bean makes!!! Beautiful and tasty! Thank you Chef Parisi!
Hi, I have a question. Can I use cooked rice that I have left over? and how much cooked rice would I use for this recipe?
yes
Delicious
I love rice pudding. So quick and easy. But I like my rice pudding warm!!! So I eat a portion still warm and refrigerate the rest for later!!!
Love rice pudding..
Thank you ChefBilly shall so enjoy your recipe rice pudding 😁😋🤩
Loved this recipe – creamy and delicious.
Have wonderful memories of rice pudding with lefotver rice. Would you suggest bringing half the listed amount of milk and sugar (as I read somewhere in the notes) and the vanilla and salt to a simmer and then adding the leftover rice? I’m wondering if it will thicken the same.
give it a shot
Hello Billy, just a quick update. Today I had the opportunity to make the rice pudding in my 3.5 L slow cooker. There were a few minor variations based on what I had available and personal preference. I used 1 L of unsweetened oat milk, 1/4 cup organic coconut nectar/syrup, 200 g arborio rice and dried currants, as well as the other ingredients you mentioned. I cooked it on the high setting for two hours in total, stirring every 30 minutes. It was so delicious! I was so impressed with adding the egg yolk in the end that I was initially concerned about and the pure vanilla bean pod also gave it a lovely flavour. The coconut nectar gave it a beautiful toffee like flavour and golden colour. Thank you so very much and I can’t wait to make it again. 😊
Question:
When you say medium grain rice? Which brand of rice would I select? Can I use aborio?
If I use vanilla bean paste do I stir into milk & cook or add after like vanilla extract?
arborio is short grain and not a brand. It will say medium grain on the bag.
Thank you ChefBilly been blessed with you Recipe now so great you have one yum 😋 😁👋😋🤩👌
my pleasure!
I’m so looking forward to trying your recipe, but for my personal preference, I would like to make it in my slow cooker as I have done in the past, I’m just wondering is it okay to add the egg yolk into the slow cooker as you would on the stove top right at the end? Thank you so very much. I look forward to hearing from you. Greetings from Sydney, Australia.
Sure, but without testing it that way I’m not 100% sure.
I was wondering, does it matter if I rinse my rice first, since I’ll just use what I have on hand. I was wondering if rinsing it would remove too much of the startch from it. Thanks, Karen
I love rice pudding. This recipe is wonderful. It reminds me of my mother’s pudding. Thank you Chef for this recipe.
so good!!
This was so good and so easy. My Sweetie made it for me! Except for putting a lid on the pot and boiling over…a perfect experience. Worth it.
Great!
This was excellent!
Just loved this! The technique for cooking it as well as the egg yolk at the end made this ahhhhmazing!
thanks for giving it a shot!!
Hi Billy,
Just wanted to tell you how I love every single recipe that I look up on your site. You give great instructions, and make it easy to purchase the ingredients. Thank you for being a magnificent chef, great teacher, and an old Italian friend!!!
Appreciate the support!
This was so easy to make. The taste was so creamy and smooth. The taste was outstanding. Making a cookbook for my grown kids, and this is definitely going in it. With 5 stars of course. Thanks!
Awesome!
Omg I made this. It was easy but oh so good! I gave a bowl of this to my neighbor. She texted me 10 minutes later and said it was delicious and be sure to keep this recipe ! She said it reminded her of what her husband’s mother used to make. Her husband is 80 years old so his mother’s rice pudding had left a lasting impression. Thank you Chef for another great recipe.
Thanks for sharing this story and for giving it a try!
Definitely 5 stars!
Thank you for the high praise!
Instructions were easy to follow. Overall easy recipe. Best rice pudding I ever made.
Perfect!
It’s easy to make and really yummy!
thanks for giving it a shot!!
I have been looking for a recipe for rice pudding that didn’t use minute rice! I remember my grandmother always making me rice pudding on the stove and it was always so good. I can’t wait to make this for myself now.
So good!! We didn’t have vanilla bean the cost is just WAY to high! But vanilla extract worked perfectly. Very very good !
Delightful. Don’t skip the egg yolk. I was a lil skeptical, but it makes this simple dessert really decadent. Thank you for the recipe. It’s perfect!
Wonderful and thankyou!!!!
Very creamy and a husband pleaser!