Rice Pudding
This Rice Pudding is simple to make, uses only six ingredients, and is incredibly luscious and delicious!
Rice Pudding is easily one of the best desserts ever, with all the flavors of a rich vanilla ice cream but with more texture.
That’s my more PC way of saying what my husband says when he eats it, which is: “Mmm…this tastes like chunky vanilla ice cream.”
Either way you put it, it has sweet and rich dairy flavor with fragrant vanilla, and each spoonful is creamy but textured from the rice.
Let’s go through all the checkpoints for making the best version possible, from scratch.
Because if you’ve only ever tasted store-bought rice pudding, or if you’ve never had freshly made rice pudding before, it’s truly incredible.
5 Tips for Making the Best Rice Pudding:
#1. Use Uncooked Rice
I’m not a fan of rice puddings using pre-cooked rice.
You want the flavor of the milk and the vanilla to go inside the rice, not just floating around it.
Cooking the rice from a raw state ensures this cohesiveness.
#2. Don’t Rinse the Rice
Additionally, starting with uncooked rice lets us use it in an unwashed state, which helps in thickening the pudding naturally.
This is particularly helpful since we aren’t using egg yolks here, keeping the recipe and process very simple.
Because of this, I highly recommend using a quality organic rice. I use long-grain.
#3. Use Organic Dairy (it makes a HUGE difference)
Using organic milk and cream here is highly recommended.
There very well may be some decent quality non-organic milk out there, but I’ve noticed that organic dairy has tremendously more flavor than the typical inexpensive standard milk.
If you are skeptical, go buy a carton of each and do a taste test side by side. We’ve even found that when purchasing shredded mozzarella cheese for pizzas, the conventional cheese has no flavor but the organic cheese has sweet and rich pronounced flavors.
In short: make sure the milk and cream you’re using actually taste like something.
#4. Use a Vanilla Bean (I know they’re expensive right now, but it’s important)
Using an actual vanilla bean here will make for the best rice pudding of all (and if you can, use a Grade A vanilla bean [affiliate] over Grade B).
The flavor of true vanilla from the bean is unmatched and the vanilla specks give the pudding subtle textural interest.
In the past I’ve used vanilla paste, but a fresh scraped bean is superior.
#5. Use a Splash of Heavy Cream at the End for Lusciousness
It’s nice to finish the rice pudding with some extra richness at the end.
I see butter commonly used, but I think cream is better.
I find the butter to be too heavy/greasy, while the cream has a luscious fluid richness to it. It keeps the rice pudding “milky.”
Okay, let’s dive into the process!
How to Make Rice Pudding:
In a saucepan, combine long-grain rice, a scraped vanilla bean with the seeds and pod thrown in, granulated sugar, and whole milk.
Stir well to combine, then bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. The vanilla specks should be distributed after a little whisking:
Cook the rice pudding for about 35 minutes, stirring or whisking every few minutes to prevent sticking, until the rice is tender and the milk has cooked down considerably.
You want to adjust the heat on your stove so that it never comes to a full rolling boil, but maintains a gentle simmer. This is usually medium low or medium heat.
When the rice is soft, turn the heat off and add the heavy cream:
Stir through the heavy cream, until it’s evenly distributed:
The mixture is a lot more fluid now.
I noted in the recipe box that the amount of cream you add can be increased if you want a more fluid and milky rice pudding. Just keep in mind that as the rice pudding chills, it will thicken a little bit.
Refrigerate the rice pudding for at least 4 hours to completely chill it before serving:
Creme Brulee is another one of my favorite minimal ingredient desserts.
Ditto with this Butterscotch Budino and Panna Cotta. Enjoy!
Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1/2 cup long-grain white rice (organic recommended)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3.5 cups whole milk (organic highly recommended)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (organic highly recommended)
Instructions
- Split the vanilla bean using a paring knife and scrape all the vanilla seeds out from the inside.
- Place the scraped seeds AND the empty vanilla bean into a medium saucepan, along with the rice (do not rinse the rice beforehand), sugar, salt, and milk.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to medium low and cook for 35-40 minutes, stirring every couple minutes to prevent sticking, until the rice is soft and the liquid has cooked down a lot. Try to ensure it never comes to a full rolling boil (if it does, turn the heat down).
- Turn the heat off and stir in the heavy cream. Note: if you'd like more cream, you can double or triple the amount you add here, per personal preference. Keep in mind the pudding will thicken more as it cools.
- Chill the rice pudding for at least 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
7 Comments on “Rice Pudding”
Hi! Looks yummy! I was wondering when do you take out the pod? Before or after cooking?
Thanks!
Great question. I actually never take it out. I leave the vanilla bean in the container while it’s chilling and when I store leftovers in the fridge. But of course, if you’re serving it in a bowl, it’s not meant to be eaten, so it shouldn’t be served. I will add notes to the recipe.
Oh yum – I haven’t made this in years upon years. I am excited to make again.
I made it for Greek Day at school – this is def a Greek cuisine.
Thanks for the inspiration. I am going to make it tonight! I have all the ingredients. And we always have organic milk and cream – it is truly superior in every way – and keeps so much longer. People don’t realize the slight difference in cost is SO worth it, not always but for SURE with milk and cream!!
Hope you enjoy it! And glad to hear you agree about the organic milk and cream. Makes such a difference!
Hey joanne… One thing i like to recommend you try aromatic rice, one of my Indian friend suggested me this one and it was awesome. The rice name is “Gobinda Bhog”, the English name is not available on google.
But, the test of the rice pudding was awesome..
I have lost track of how many five-star recipes I’ve gotten from you, Joanne! This is another one. I have tried SO MANY rice pudding recipes, but this is the perfect one, in both taste and texture. I also love that it’s not too sweet, and not overly spiced, like some that have cinnamon in it. This is how rice pudding should always be! Thanks again! (I tried to click on the stars to rate it, but for some reason, it won’t let me) I shamelessly ate a bowl for dinner tonight.
Hi Jennifer, that is awesome! So glad you enjoyed the rice pudding! Something weird is going on with the star ratings, and a lot of people have had trouble. My web designer is working on fixing a bunch of things and a redesign so hopefully will be resolved soon. Thanks!