Here’s the Old Fashioned Rice Pudding Recipe you’ve been searching for. This dreamy stovetop pudding tastes like creamy vanilla clouds and hugs from Grandma. Make it with staple pantry ingredients and a bit of old school elbow grease.
I love vintage recipe that never go out of style…the kind of dishes my grandma made for me when I was a wee kiddo. Two recipes that come to mind when I think of those days are Creamed Garden Peas and Strawberry Rhubarb Fluff. She was the masterchef and I was her very willing student!
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An Old Fashioned Rice Pudding Recipe
After falling in love with this Classic Homemade Tapioca Pudding, I knew which vintage recipe I’d be recreating next. Rice Pudding needs a hype man and I am here for it. Instead of bringing sexy back, I’m bringing cozy back. You heard it here first.
What’s not to love about Rice Pudding? The super creamy, dreamy texture is really beyond amazing. It is soul healing. Then, there’s the flavour…it’s incredibly subtle with more than a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. I don’t know if you are #teamraisin or not, so I’m leaving it up to you to add them, or not.
I consider Rice Pudding to be a little more ‘approachable’ for those who don’t enjoy the texture of tapioca pudding. While it has the same flavours and creaminess, the cooked rice grains are less chewy than the tapioca.
Simple Ingredients
Vintage recipes such as this one often contain simple ingredients that everyone has in the their pantry. The genius of this old fashioned rice pudding recipe is that these five pantry staples (plus milk) combine together to result in something magical.
- Milk
- Rice
- Sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
In short, you can use any milk you have on hand. However, the amount of milk fat you put into the pudding will have a direct impact on how creamy the finished dessert will be. I highly suggest at least 2% milk and thoroughly endorse full fat milk. If you can sneak some cream in, even better! Make this pudding vegan by substituting coconut, almond, cashew, or oat milk.
Without rice, well…this dessert would be a tasty beverage. Use a rice that can stand up to a little stirring but cooks quickly. Any long grain rice will work (except maybe Basmati) as will short grained varieties such as arborio or carnaroli. When cooked, their rounded grains are firm, and creamy and chewy…just perfect for rice pudding! NOTE: You may need to adjust the amount of liquid according to the type of rice.
For this creamy rice pudding recipe I have used Jasmine rice because it has a delicate sweet floral fragrance that really shines in this dessert. Think of it as a little ‘refresh’ on a vintage classic.
Sugar and salt are a powerhouse combination that amp up the flavour of any dish. This pudding is sweet, but not too sweet while the salt is virtually undetectable. Its job is to hype up the cinnamon and vanilla.
As I always say, it’s best to use freshly opened ground cinnamon and premium vanilla extract (not imitation) for maximum flavour.
How to Make Old Fashioned Rice Pudding
I highly recommend you use a heavy bottomed pan or Dutch oven for this old fashioned rice pudding recipe. It is also important to stir frequently to keep the pudding from scorching, especially the mixture becomes thicker.
To make rice pudding, stir together the milk, rice, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large saucepan (or Dutch oven). Heat and stir the mixture over medium heat until it boils. Then, turn the heat down to a low simmer. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t boil over.
Cook the mixture (uncovered) until the pudding becomes thick and creamy and the rice is tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Switch to stirring constantly during the last 5 to 10 minutes so the pudding doesn’t stick to the bottom.
NOTE: To achieve your desired pudding consistency, you may need to add more milk. It is best to stir in a little at a time. The pudding will also thicken as it cools, feel free to thin it out with more milk if needed.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Serve warm or cold, it’s up to you.
A word about raisins…You can add 1 cup of raisins while the mixture cooks. Note that the raisins will absorb some liquid, so you may need to add more milk. Alternatively, soak 1 cup raisins in rum or bourbon overnight, then add them to the finished pudding for a grown up treat.
Store rice pudding in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you make this Old Fashioned Rice Pudding recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.
Old Fashioned Rice Pudding Recipe
Here's the Old Fashioned Rice Pudding Recipe you've been searching for. This dreamy stovetop pudding tastes like creamy vanilla clouds and hugs from Grandma. Make it with staple pantry ingredients and a bit of old school elbow grease.
Ingredients
- 6 cups milk
- 3/4 cup Jasmine Rice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Stir together the milk, rice, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large heavy bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, and then turn the heat down to low simmer so it doesn’t boil over.
- Cook (uncovered) until the pudding is thick and creamy, stirring frequently, about 30 to 35 minutes. Be sure to stir constantly during the last 5 to 10 minutes so the pudding doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Notes
Note that the pudding will thicken as it cools so stopped cooking a bit before you have reached your desired thickness. Thin the pudding out with a bit of milk if it becomes too thick.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 263Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 244mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 0gSugar: 35gProtein: 10g
Nutritional calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator.
Had a pint of heavy cream I needed to use up so cut it 1:1 with water for 4 cups of milk, whole milk for the rest. Sweetened with monkfruit. Added raisins also. Cooked over a flame tamer so no worries about scorching. Lovely recipe!
So great to hear Nancy. Yes, I often mix cream with water and alter the dairy proportions in this recipe. Great idea to cook over a flame tamer!
Do you cook the rice beforehand?
No. You cook the rice in the milk with the cinnamon.
If I use cream is it whipping cream?
Hi Taryn, there is no cream in the recipe, only 2 % milk. However, you could add cream (whipping cream if that’s what you have) for a small portion of the liquid. no more than 1 cup I think.
This is just like my mom made it. I just made a batch and it smelled like growing up. It’s absolutely fantastic and I’ll be teaching my kids to make this to carry on these amazing old fashioned recipes, which are the absolute best. Thank you so much!
I love this so much! Thank you for sharing your food memory with me and I’m so glad to help you carry on this food tradition with your kids.
Old classic recipes are great and this old fashioned rice pudding recipe sounds so great! Addition of cinnamon lends warmth to the dessert. Can’t wait try.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Such a bowl of comfort!
One of my favorite desserts of all time! Cozy, comforting and so easy to make.
So true. You can’t beat the classics. Thanks for stopping by Brianna.
This is great! I’ve always thought of doing a rice pudding but never got around to it. I’ll try mine with coconut milk or even cashew milk or cream. Thanks for your recipe.
Oh, I think that would be lovely. Especially with the Jasmine rice.
This pudding came out so good! It was so rich and creamy and full of sweet vanilla flavor. Will definitely make this again!
So great to hear Amanda! I hope you shared 🙂
The cinnamon and vanilla really make this recipe! It was so delicious and made the perfect comforting dessert for my family!
They are classic flavours that everyone loves. Glad your family enjoyed them Jamie.
We used to eat rice pudding all the time when we were growing up. Your recipe brought back so many fond memories. Thanks for the recipe because I can make it all the time now.
Aw, I love hearing about food memories! Glad I could take you for a trip down memory lane.
I love rice pudding and I am so glad I came across this recipe! This looks super delicious and I can’t wait to make this, Thank you for sharing!
OH it’s so good!! I hope you give it a try Ramona.
That is one of my favorite recipes from my grandma, it’s delicious and easy.
I will make this for everyone, thank you!
You are very welcome, Amy!
This recipe made me think of my childhood when we used to ask for rice pudding, we would eat it for breakfast and for dessert!
I could never get sick of it either! Glad I could bring back those memories, isn’t that the best thing about food?
Yes, this is like my grandma’s rice pudding and I am so excited to find your recipe. I need a good bowl of old-fashioned comfort food.
Excellent! We’ll be making another batch this weekend. I can’t get enough!
So creamy comforting and absolutely delicious!
Old school comfort food is amazing!
It’s getting cold here (and I live in a particularly warm climate), so having this rice pudding for a nice snack or dessert is great! Sometimes I’ll have this instead of oatmeal for breakfast 😉
Great idea!! It would be awesome for breakfast.
this recipe totally brings back childhood vibes of my next door neighbours mom’s cooking.
It really is a comforting old school dessert!
I can’t wait to try this Old Fashioned Rice Pudding Recipe!:) Looks so comforting and easy to prepare. Thanks!:)
All it takes is a few pantry staples and a bit of elbow grease!