Stovetop Rice Pudding

By
Stephanie Gallagher
Stephanie Gallagher
Stephanie Gallagher is a journalist and food writer who has authored multiple cookbooks.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 09/23/21
Medically reviewed by Elizabeth Ward, MS, RDN
Stovetop Rice Pudding

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 30 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 1 bowl

If you've got leftover rice, sure, you can make a fried rice for dinner with any and all ingredients that you have at hand. But leftover rice can also be used to make either a lightly sweet dessert or a breakfast rice pudding. Depending on how you serve it and the additional toppings you offer, the dish can be one or the other.

Rice is often overlooked as an ingredient for sweets, as home cooks most commonly use it in savory dishes. But most cuisines have some form of rice pudding, from Portuguese arroz doce to Greek rizogalo to German milchreis. And there's a bonus to making dessert with rice: It packs essential nutrients. Just one cup of enriched cooked white rice contains 4 grams of protein along with iron and several B vitamins, including folic acid. While the fiber content of brown rice is significantly higher (3.5 grams versus .6 grams in white rice), brown rice is usually not enriched with vitamins and minerals, but provides several nutrients, including magnesium, thiamin, and niacin.

Although rice pudding can be baked into a casserole form, it's faster to cook it on top of the stove, or if you're pressed for time even the Instant Pot can make a great pudding. Experiment with add-ins for your rice pudding, such as golden or regular raisins, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, crystallized ginger, pepitas, or granola. If using raisins, you can soak them overnight in brandy or bourbon for a little extra kick. Try out different sauces for the rice pudding, such as a salted caramel sauce, raspberry jam sauce, or fudgy chocolate sauce. Or eat it with fresh fruit on top, as you'd eat a bowl of cooked oatmeal.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Stovetop Rice Pudding ingredients

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Place 1 1/2 cups of the milk in a medium (3-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Warm the milk until bubbles start to form around the edges, but don't let it boil.

    milke in saucepan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the cooked rice and sugar. Let the mixture simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes.

    add rice and sugar to the milk in the saucepan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Stir in the remaining milk, egg, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and raisins. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until the rice pudding thickens.

    Stir the remaining milk, egg, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and raisins into the rice mixture

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  5. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon and serve immediately, or let cool and refrigerate until needed.

    Stovetop Rice Pudding in a bowl

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Make Ahead or Bake in the Oven

Here are your options when preparing the pudding ahead of time or choosing to bake it instead:

  • The rice continues soaking up liquids as it sits. Therefore, if you're making it ahead of time, add another 1/2 cup of milk before transferring the pudding to the fridge.
  • If baking, preheat the oven to 325 F and grease a 9-inch baking dish. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and then spoon it into the prepared baking dish. Add 2 cups of water to the pan and bake for 90 minutes until the mixture is set. Cool and cut into squares to serve.

Additions and Substitutions

Choose from these additions and substitutions to change the flavor profile of the pudding:

  • To make an Indian-inspired kheer, use long-grain rice, such as Basmati, and eliminate the egg and vanilla extract. Replace the whole milk with the equivalent amount of coconut milk and add 1/4 cup raisins, 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom, 1/2 teaspoons rose water, and 1/4 cup chopped pistachios.
  • For a Thai version, use Thai sweet rice and eliminate the egg and butter. Replace the milk with 2 cups of coconut milk and increase the sugar to 3/4 cup. Add 1/4 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and ground cloves, as well as crushed peanuts and toasted coconut flakes for garnish.
  • For a decadent cheesecake rice pudding, add 6 ounces of cream cheese and 2 more tablespoons of sugar to the mixture.
  • To make a chocolate rice pudding, add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1 additional tablespoon of sugar. For extra chocolate flavor, stir in 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips.
  • For a vegan version, skip the egg and replace the milk and butter with plant-based options. If you'd like a thicker pudding, mix 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch with the last 1/2 cup of plant-based milk. The cornstarch will thicken the pudding without the need for eggs.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
346 Calories
11g Fat
55g Carbs
8g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 346
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g 14%
Saturated Fat 6g 32%
Cholesterol 74mg 25%
Sodium 219mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 55g 20%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 34g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 0mg 2%
Calcium 166mg 13%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 349mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Article Sources
The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. White Rice. Fooddata Central, United States Department of Agrigulture

  2. Brown Rice. Fooddata Central, United States Department of Agriculture