The very best Rice Pudding is incredibly creamy, a little bit sweet, and perfectly balanced with vanilla, and a touch of cinnamon. Since it relies on kitchen and pantry staples, it can be made whenever the mood strikes you!
Editor’s Note: This recipe takes about 1 hour to cook. If you have soupy rice pudding after 25 minutes, please go back and read the instructions or watch the video in the recipe card. We’ve tested this recipe on multiple cooking surfaces (gas and electric) and while the cooking time may vary depending on the type of stove you have it’s important to note that this is not a “quick” rice pudding.
I’ve eaten countless varieties of rice pudding in my life, but this deli-style rice pudding is the version I come back to again and again because it really is that good.
The method I use to cook the rice ensures a perfectly creamy, never gluey consistency, and it’s got just the right amount of sugar.
I love to serve my rice pudding with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a Maraschino cherry – simple and classic!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Rice. While you can use any type of rice for rice pudding, I’ve found that medium-grain rice or Arborio rice yields the best creamy texture and starchiness. We used medium-grain when testing this recipe; if you use a different type of rice, it may yield different results and cook times.
- Raisins. Feel free to scale up (or down) depending on how you feel about raisins. I love them and find they provide a little extra sweetness.
- Vanilla. I used vanilla extract when creating this recipe but a vanilla bean would be even better! If using, slice the pod open lengthwise and remove the seeds. Add the seeds at the same time as called for the extract in the recipe.
- Liquid. This recipe calls for a combination of whole milk and water totaling 8 1/2 cups. This amount of liquid is needed to cook the rice slowly in a way that allows it to gradually release its starch.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- In a large pot over medium heat place 3 cups of whole milk, 5 cups of water, 1 cup of uncooked medium-grain rice, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, and a pinch of fine sea salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer while stirring frequently to prevent scalding.
- Once the mixture begins to bubble (about 15-25 minutes), reduce the heat to low and cook for 25-35 minutes or until the rice is soft and the mixture has thickened and liquid has reduced by about half. Be sure to stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking or burning.
- In a separate bowl beat together 1/2 cup of whole milk and 1 egg. Temper the egg mixture by gradually adding approximately 1 cup worth of the rice mixture to the egg mixture while stirring, then add the tempered egg mixture to the pot while stirring.
- Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1/2 cup of raisins and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or longer depending on the thickness, however, it’s important to note that the rice pudding will continue to thicken as it cools. Remove from the heat and add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. You can add some ground cinnamon to taste now if you’d like, but doing so may cause the mixture to turn brown. Serve the rice pudding warm or allow it to cool, then place in the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. Serve with cinnamon and Maraschino cherries if desired. Enjoy!
Top tips
- Don’t rush. The best rice pudding shouldn’t be rushed! The first step of the recipe is to cook the rice, milk, water, and sugar over medium-low to medium heat and no higher than that. You want to make sure that the milk doesn’t burn, so keep stirring and let it come up to a simmer slowly! This can take 15-25 minutes. After that initial step, you will turn the heat to low and cook the rice until it is tender and the liquid has been reduced by about half. This can take anywhere from 25-35 minutes, or even longer. That’s a total cooking time of about 1 hour. Everyone’s stove is different. Note: the rice pudding will continue to thicken as it cools, especially when placed in the refrigerator.
- Cinnamon. I recommend adding the cinnamon at the very end, right before serving. Adding it earlier on will still taste ok, but may turn the rice pudding a brownish color.
- Additions. Deli-style rice pudding is typically served with cinnamon and Maraschino cherries, but this recipe is versatile enough for you to make it your own! Other flavor combinations that would be great are pistachio, cardamom, and rose water, Fiori di Sicilia, pine nuts, and orange zest, or shredded coconut and coconut extract.
More sweet treats
We’re big fans of dessert in our home and often make things on a whim, which is why we love rice pudding! Here are a few more simple treats that can be made with kitchen staples.
- New York Crumb Cake – Moist and delicious with a super thick crumb topping!
- Oatmeal Raisin Pecan Cookies – chewy and deliciously chunky!
- Chocolate Chip Scones – perfect for breakfast or with tea.
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The Best Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups whole milk divided
- 5 cups water
- 1 cup medium-grain rice uncooked
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ground cinnamon plus more for garnish
- maraschino cherries optional, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot over a touch less than medium heat add 3 cups of milk, water, rice, sugar, and salt, and bring to a simmer while stirring frequently to prevent the milk from burning or scalding.
- Once it begins to bubble (should take about 15-25 minutes), reduce the heat to low and cook for another 25-35 minutes, or until the rice is soft and the mixture has thickened. The liquid will have reduced by about half. Make sure to stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking or burning.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg and the remaining 1/2 cup of milk. Then temper the mixture by gradually adding approximately 1 cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture while stirring. Then add the tempered egg mixture back to the pot while stirring.
- Add the raisins and vanilla and cook for an additional 3 minutes or longer depending on the thickness, however, it's important to note that the rice pudding will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Remove from the heat and add the butter. You can mix in cinnamon if you like, but it will turn the rice pudding brown.
- The rice pudding can be eaten warm or allow to cool, then place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours. Serve and garnish with cinnamon and maraschino cherries, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- The exact cooking time will vary but it will take about 50-75 minutes for the liquid to reduce enough and for the rice to become tender and creamy depending on your stove top and the type of rice you use.
- Rice pudding can be served warm or cold. The rice pudding will continue to thicken as it cools. If you plan to serve it cold, note that it will continue to thicken even more once placed in the refrigerator for a few hours.
- Medium-grain rice works best for texture and creaminess, but any type of rice can be used.
- Cinnamon can be mixed in towards the end of cooking but will turn the rice pudding brown. I recommend sprinkling on top of each bowl when serving.
- If you love raisins, you can increase to 3/4 cup or more.
- Store the rice pudding in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do you keep the raisins from sticking at the bottom of your rice pudding ?
Hi Peggy, the raisins are only added at the very end. Additionally, the rice pudding is stirred very frequently to prevent anything from sticking.
It isn’t thickening O.o
Hi Alena, how long have you been cooking it for? It will absolutely thicken after time and will continue to thicken as it cools.
Stove top preparation FABULOUS. Donta need any air fresheners when you make this. Wish we had smellavision.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Saundra!
Well worth the time it takes to make. Nice that it is not overly sweet.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Mike!
I just made this and I would like mine sweeter. Could I just increase the amount of sugar? Or will that have a bad impact? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Love your recipes by the way. Have made many.
Hi Pat, you can definitely increase the amount of sugar if you’d like.
Like your recipes love getting them in my email. I would like to see a good bread pudding recipe.
I Love to make dumplings like chicken and dumplings. It’s the dumplings. I have a hard time doing. If you could do them and make a recording so I could see how you make them. For some reason, I have a hard time making dumplings and putting them into the soup.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for the comment and so happy you’re enjoying the recipes. We will do a bread pudding at some point. We do have a chicken and dumplings recipe here: https://www.sipandfeast.com/chicken-and-dumplings/ Jim will shoot a video for this one at some point.
I love rice pudding, and this is one of the best recipes I have found yet!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Elizabeth!
On the stove top right now but really hasn’t thickened after cooking for almost an hour. Does it thicken as it cools or should I keep cooking on low?
Hi Patricia, this rice pudding takes a while (about an hour). If it hasn’t thickened, you can continue to cook until the liquid reduces but it will definitely thicken more as it cools, especially if placed in the refrigerator.
Looking for a crockpot recipe for this, help. thanks
Hi Lorinda, we haven’t tested this in a crockpot.
My English grandma made this all the time. She put all the ingredients in a small roasting pan and place in the oven to bake. Do you think I could put your recipe in the oven to bake, instead of stove top?
Hi Lisa, we haven’t tested this recipe in an oven, but it will likely work – we just can’t say how much time it would need. If you do happen to try it, let us know how it turns out.
James, toss in blueberries, it really takes it up a notch.
How nice to have a recipe for a naturally gluten free dessert. Many thanks!
Oh my goodness….. now I am going to have to make this immediately!
Love this recipe. My original was always a bit too dry, this was perfect!
Thank you
We’re so happy you enjoyed it!
Looks delicious! Nutritional value info shows 260 Calories per portion. What is the portion size?
Thank you
Hi Angela, this recipe makes 8 portions.
You are a great chef, I’ve made so many of your recipes. Many things that you cook are very similar to the way my mom use to make her meals-
Delicious! Just like my mom used to make! Thanks
Hi guys. Would arborio rice be a good choice in this recipe? Thanks !
Yes! You can definitely use Arborio rice for this one, Elaine. Hope you enjoy!
We order Chinese food often and always have containers of rice left over. Would there be a way to adapt the recipe to use left-over rice?
Hi Lynn, you can use 3 cups of cooked rice and 3-4 cups of liquid. You’ll still need to cook the rice with the milk, water, and sugar for roughly 15 minutes to pull some starch out of it. That being said, we haven’t tested the recipe this way so can’t say that the results will be the same as our recipe with uncooked rice.
Thank you, Tara! Love your YT channel and all these fabulous recipes!
delicious
8 1/2 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice, plus 1 egg?
Yes.
This was an EZ way to make lots of Rice Pudding, but 8.5 C of liquid was too much. I had to drain off more that a cup at the end of the cooking time:hopefully it will thicken up a bit as it cools…. THX for all of your cooking recipes and video efforts!
Hi RK, thanks for the comment. The rice pudding definitely takes time to cook (about an hour). It does continue to thicken as it cools, especially when placed in the refrigerator.