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!
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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This was absolutely delicious and taste and texture, I had a quart of fat-free half-and-half that I bought by mistake and used it instead of milk. I added an extra tablespoon of butter and an extra ate a cup of sugar no raisins probably the best batch of rice pudding I’ve ever made took an hour and 10 minutes, but I like it thick so I let it cook longer before I added the egg.
We’re so happy to hear that, Jan!
I was very disappointed too. After 1 hr of cook time, could not gauge liquid reduction, even when the rice was cooked. So I have a big pot full of rice soup. My hunt for the elusive best rice pudding recipe continues.
Sorry to hear you didn’t have success with this recipe. As noted in the recipe notes, the cook time can definitely be longer than 1 hour and is truly dependent on your stove top and the type of rice that’s used. Some just take longer, and the rice pudding will continue to thicken as it cools.
Sorry, but very disappointed. Not the creamy version made with all milk. Serving tonight and no time to start over.
Sorry to hear you didn’t have success with this recipe, Carol. The rice pudding will thicken as cooked (may take over an hour), and will continue to thicken as it cools.
Your recipes look scrumptious and exactly what we love and are looking for. They seem easy and I can’t wait to make the rice pudding for my husband. He eats store bought rice pudding and this recipe will be a special treat.
Thank you so much for your great recipes they are very much appreciated.
We hope you and your husband enjoy it, Linda!
Great recipe!
Best rice pudding is properly named! The best the best I’ve had. Just have have to be patient slow and low is how it goes.😊
So happy to hear that, Ande!
This recipe looks very good and I appreciate your sharing it! Question: Can this be made in a slow cooking crock pot to avoid the need to stand over it stirring?
Hi John, we haven’t tested it in a crock pot so can’t say for sure what the results would be.
Made this tonight after not having rice pudding since I was a child. I didn’t have unsalted butter or enough milk so I used salted butter and a bit if heavy cream. I also like allot of raisins but mixed in some dried cranberries and as good as it turned out, I still wanted it a little sweeter so just added a little more sugar. Next time I’ll just add more raisins but I only had the 1/2 cup. All in all it satisfied my craving so thank you!!
How can I make 1/2 this recipe
You can just halve the ingredients.
Old fashioned deli style
So happy you enjoyed, Tim!
First off, thank you so much for providing the timing. I made someone else’s rice pudding (I hadn’t seen your recipe yet) and it just seemed to take far longer than I thought it should have so I rushed it with higher heat and it turned out gloppy.
Second, thanks for the video … while your photos are great, the video really sets your recipes apart as we can see virtual “minute-by-minute” progress.
I am not a fan of raisins but I did add two teaspoons of DeLallo espresso powder to the last batch I made and think that I will try yours recipe with that addition also. While it does change the appearance a bit, the pervasive coffee flavor is great.
My only question: was the milk room temp or refrigerator cold? and what about the water: cold, cool or warm?
Hi Bill, thanks for the comment. The water and milk can be cold or room temp; it doesn’t really matter for this particular recipe.
While I realize it is difficult for you to diagnose from afar, I am hoping that you might have some suggestions for me. After cooking for almost an hour and 45 minutes, I still had a pretty soupy mixture. Given that it was taking such a long time, well beyond what was expected, I gave up and let it cool before putting it into a dish in the refrigerator. It tightened up some, but was still far looser than I expected. I used arborio rice. The only two things I can think of is I used a 4qt saucepan, so less surface area for evaporation and maybe I was using a burner with a lower BTU output which would have significantly changed the temperature at medium and medium-low. Thoughts?
Hi Bill, it sounds as though the heat over which it was cooked could have been an issue, esepcially if you were using a lower BTU output.
Thanks for the feedback … that was my thought even though my burner is (in theory) the same BTU output as the unit your husband was using. I’m going to try again today with a larger burner but, regardless, the flavor was awesome! Thanks so much again for helping troubleshoot.
I did it without eggs..I used whole grain rice so it was all ready brown in colour. I didn’t have cinnamon so I used some hot chocolate powder to give it extra sweetness. When I heated it I used some almond milk to add some extra flavor.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Andraya!
Should we rinse the rice?
Hi Jane, no, you don’t want to remove the starch because it’s needed for the rice pudding.
Turned put very good.! Best recipe I’ve tried so far.
Followed your thorough instructions & it turned out perfect on the first try! Thank you for giving this to us. It is now a family favorite. ❤️
So happy to hear that, Jane!
Can this recipe be made with nonfat milk?
Yes.
Hi James! Can you recommend a brand of rice or the brand that you use for the pudding?
Thanks,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, I don’t recommend a specific brand. Use any medium-grain rice you can find in your local grocery store.
I like the recipe a lot; I watched the video, red the tips and the instructions assiduously and still wound up with rice pudding soup. I can’ figure out where I went wrong.
I would recommend one tweak which I have often used: plump the raisins with a few spoonfuls of Marsala or sweet wine (e.g., Moscato).
I may take another stab at this one.
Hi David, we’re sorry to hear this didn’t quite work out for you. The rice pudding will definitely thicken at some point, so it’s possible it needed to cook a little longer. It also does continue to thicken as it cools.
As one person commented, I too babied it so took a bit longer. All I can say is WOW! 😍, turned out perfect! Purchased vanilla beans just for this (first time using) and it couldn’t have turned out better. Thank you for your thorough step by step instruction. I will be sure to try your other fantastic recipes!
Subscribed to YT and email list. 👍
Hi Robin, we’re so happy to hear that!
Omg! I’m so proud!! I fit it and it is delicious and creamy! I didn’t have raisins so used extra sugar! Wow!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Pam!
Help. Been cooking for over an hour an not thickening up! Been cooling for 15 mins but still watery. Can i put it back on the heat?
Yes, you can put back on the heat but know it will continue to thicken as it cools.