Creamy Rice Pudding

This Creamy Rice Pudding is a simple rice pudding with a touch of cinnamon, vanilla, and raisins. It’s made on the stovetop for the creamiest rice pudding! 

Creamy Rice Pudding

Rice pudding has been at my family’s Christmas dinner since before I was born. This, however, is not my Grandma’s recipe for rice pudding. Like most good cooks she makes hers from memory and does not have a written recipe for it. One of these days I am going to have to watch her make it so I can write it down!!

My Grandma leaves out the raisins but all of my kiddos love them so I toss them in. My husband just has to fish them out because he doesn’t care for them. A few other desserts that would be great for Christmas dinner are: Cranberry Bread Pudding with Whiskey Cream Sauce (<-SO GOOD!), Cinnamon Roll Cookies, and Brioche Cinnamon Snowflake.

Homemade Rice Pudding

This creamy rice pudding is also made on the stovetop and not baked. I find most baked rice puddings to be too dry. It’s great warm or cold. We actually almost always eat it cold. I find that the flavors have more time to meld and make a more flavorful pudding.

This is a great dessert option to make ahead as you can keep it refrigerated for up to 1 week!! I don’t think it will last that long though, lol!

Tips about Rice Pudding

• When cooled this rice pudding will thicken quite a bit. I often stir in extra milk before serving.
• You can leave out the raisins if you prefer.
• You can substitute the raisins for any dried fruit. Dried cranberries are another of our favorites!
• This recipe has only been tested using medium grain white rice. I am not sure how the recipe will turn out using any other type of rice. I like to use medium grain because it makes a creamier pudding.
• You can also replace the vanilla with a vanilla bean for even more flavor.
• If you would like to soak your raisins in your choice of alcohol do so at least 1 hour before starting this recipe. Drain any extra liquid before adding them to the pudding and stir them in at the end of cooking instead of boiling them with the rice.

Creamy Rice Pudding

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

This Creamy Rice Pudding is a simple rice pudding with a touch of cinnamon, vanilla, and raisins. It's made on the stovetop for the creamiest rice pudding! 

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 (1/2 cup) servings

Calories: 264kcal

Author: Malinda Linnebur

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Ingredients

• 7 cups milk (skim, low fat, or whole are all fine)
• 1 cup (190g) medium grain rice
• 1/2 cup (65g) raisins, optional
• 1/4 cup (55g) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (55g) granulated sugar `
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, optional
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

• In a large saucepan combine the milk, rice, raisins, sugars, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. 
• In a small bowl whisk together the cream and egg. When the rice is tender temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in 1 cup of the hot rice mixture. Then whisk the temper egg mixture into the large pot of cooked rice. Cook on low until thickened (about 2 minutes).
• Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm or chilled. 

Notes

1. When cooled this rice pudding will thicken quite a bit. I often stir in extra milk before serving. 
2. You can leave out the raisins if you prefer.
3. You can substitute the raisins for any dried fruit. Dried cranberries are another of our favorites!
4. This recipe has only been tested using medium grain white rice. I am not sure how the recipe will turn out using any other type of rice. I like to use medium grain because it makes a creamier pudding. 
5. You can also replace the vanilla with a vanilla bean for even more flavor. Just toss the bean in when cooking the rice then remove and scrape out the inside and stir into the pudding. 
6. If you would like to soak your raisins in your choice of alcohol do so at least 1 hour before starting this recipe. Drain any extra liquid before adding them to the pudding and stir them in at the end of cooking instead of boiling them with the rice. 
7. Nutrition Facts: Nutrition was calculated using 2% milk. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the information shown is just an estimate.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 308mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 365IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 1.2mg