Rice Pudding with cooked rice is smooth, creamy, and studded with plump, sweet raisins. This gluten free, dairy free dessert is a great way to use up leftover rice. Make it in less than half an hour on the stove top.
Jump to:
My husband has always loved rice pudding. Sadly, this was one of those things that I couldn't make "just like his mother's!" Both of our mothers used to whip up rice pudding with leftover rice without so much as a glance at a recipe. I'm a recipe follower, and the only recipes that I could find back in the day used uncooked rice. Therefore, I rarely made rice pudding.
Finally, as a special birthday treat for him, I decided to figure out how to make rice pudding with cooked rice. After all, since rice is gluten free, rice pudding is a naturally gluten free dessert! I've been making it this way for about a year now, and I think it's time for me to share the recipe with you.
Ingredients for Leftover Rice Pudding
- Rice - Any white rice is nice. If you'd like the simplicity of cooking your rice in an Instant Pot, my friend Lorena offers great instructions for Failproof Instant Pot Rice.
- Raisins - Sultanas work well.
- Cashew Milk - Use your favourite nondairy milk.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Stove Top Rice Pudding
Whisk the egg in a medium saucepan. Then add everything else except the vanilla. Cook it for 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. You might get away with cooking your pudding in 10 minutes if you have a heavy pot and stir constantly.
When the pudding starts to thicken, remove it from the heat and stir in vanilla.
Hint: Serve the pudding warm.
Recipe FAQ's
Because rice pudding is a dessert, white rice is more suitable for it than brown. You could use arborio, basmati, jasmine, long grain white, or any white rice you happen to have available. Since you're using cooked rice here, it doesn't matter what cooking time or how much water was needed when it was cooked. Stove top rice pudding is a versatile, forgiving dish.
It's easy to make rice pudding with leftover, cooked rice. Simply combine plain, unflavored, cooked rice with a liquid (usually milk), an egg, a little sugar, salt, and some cinnamon in a medium saucepan on the stove top. Cook, stirring frequently over medium heat for 15 or 20 minutes, until it thickens up and becomes creamy.
If vanilla is added too early, it can evaporate and leave very little flavour.
Substitutions
- Milk - I've made this recipe dairy free by using nondairy milk. If you don't need yours to be dairy free, you can use regular milk.
Variations
- Raisins - If you choose to reduce or omit the raisins, reduce the milk by almost the same amount. Raisins tend to absorb quite a bit of moisture. Without them, your rice pudding might be too thin and runny.
Equipment
You don't need much special equipment for this recipe. A whisk is handy for beating the egg, but a saucepan, stove, and something to stir with are really all you need!
Storage
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
I don't freeze rice pudding. If you do, let me know how that worked out for you. In fact, I love to get your feedback in the comment section below the recipe.
Top tip
Be careful not to cook your rice pudding over such a high heat that it might scorch the bottom of the pan. Stir it frequently to prevent sticking and to keep an eye on it.
More Gluten Free Desserts You Might Like
Recipe
Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 cups cashew milk or regular dairy milk
- 1 cup sultana raisins
- 2 tablespoons raw sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the egg. Add everything else except the vanilla. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes until it begins to thicken.1 egg2 cups cooked white rice2 cups cashew milk1 cup sultana raisins2 tablespoons raw sugar½ teaspoon ground cinnamon⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla.1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Serve warm. Sprinkle a little additional cinnamon over each serving, if you wish.
Notes
- I've tested this recipe with both dairy and nondairy milk. We didn't notice any difference.
- The pudding will continue to thicken as it cools.
Twila says
I made it using flax egg since I’m allergic to eggs but it turned out just fine. It was very good.
Cathy Brak says
I'm happy to hear that the flax egg worked well. Thank you for sharing this information, Twila!
Gen says
Delicious! I left out the raisins and decreased the milk.
Cathy Brak says
Thank you, Gen! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Kj says
This is the best recipe I have come across for rice pudding. Definitely a keeper. I used regular milk and added extra cinnamon and nutmeg, because i love those spices. Turned out great.
Cathy Brak says
Thank you so much for giving my recipe a great rating! Extra cinnamon and nutmeg sounds good to me!
Rhonda M. says
I made it with brown rice and 2% milk just tonight after dinner for a last minute dessert. I did add an extra egg, since the ones I had were small, a little bit of extra rice, and doubled the spices. It was just delicious, and still would have been, with or without the changes.
Cathy Brak says
Thank you, Rhonda! It seems that the substitutions you made were logical ones. I’m very glad that the pudding turned out well and you enjoyed it!
Maryann says
I love rice pudding... I used chocolate chips in place of raisins...just to see how it would taste.. I loved it!..
Cathy Brak says
Thanks for sharing this, Maryann! Chocolate chips would be a great variation!
Julie Twig says
I used almond milk. This was delicious and we finished each bowl with a drizzle of honey.
Cathy Brak says
Wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Julie!
Mattie says
I made this for the first time and the taste is wonderful; however, it is so dark-looking. No, it is not scorched! Not at all, did not even stick. For raw sugar, I used "Sugar in the Raw® Premium Turbinado Sugar" which is brown, and the cinnamon was a new bottle of organic cinnamon, and almond milk. Would any of these, or the combination, make the pudding turn brown? I am use to a creamy white rice pudding,
Cathy Brak says
Thank for sharing your experience with us, Mattie. Yes, the raw sugar and cinnamon probably did make it a little darker than you’re used to. I’m glad that you enjoyed the taste!
Itty bitty says
Yep, brown ingredients makes a brown finished product 😂
Mines brown too
Sharon says
I followed the recipe and used unsweetened almond milk with cooked brown basmati rice. While the flavor is good, there was no creaminess or custard like consistency.
Cathy Brak says
Thank you for pointing this out, Sharon. As recommended in the ingredient details and Recipe FAQ's, white rice is more suitable in this recipe for that creamy consistency.
Elizabeth M Sherlock says
I love homemade rice pudding!
Cathy Brak says
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Elizabeth. It's the ultimate comfort food, isn't it!