This creamy Rice Pudding is flavored with cinnamon and vanilla and made on the stovetop. A classic recipe with a few twists!
Say hello to winter comfort food: the creamiest, most delicious Rice Pudding! If you’re looking to live your best life you’re going to make and eat this as soon as possible. Even people who *think* they don’t like rice pudding, love this recipe!
This recipe was heavily adapted from my grandma’s rice pudding recipe. I made a couple of small tweaks to make it extra creamy. This recipe is incredibly easy, made in one pot, and it can be adapted to suit your tastes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Ease: Everything simmers on the stovetop, and aside from stirring it’s mostly hands-off time.
- One-pot: No need to dirty a bunch of dishes; this rice pudding comes together in one pot.
- Basic ingredients: Milk, rice, sugar, butter, and flavorings.
- Texture: Super creamy with just a hint of chewiness from the rice.
- Flavor: This rice pudding is flavored with cinnamon and vanilla. You can also add raisins or another dried fruit.
- Versatility: This rice pudding can be served warm or chilled. It can be served as-is or topped with ice cream, fruit compote, or whipped cream.
Recipe tips
Use white rice: Long grain or short grain uncooked white rice is best for this recipe.
Simmer, don’t boil: A simmer is cooking below the boiling point. There should be gentle bubbling in the pot, and your heat should be somewhere between low and medium.
Stir frequently: Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan when you stir so that the rice doesn’t stick.
Adjust consistency as desired: If you want your rice pudding on the thinner side you can thin it out with some extra milk or cream. If you like it thick you can allow it to cool and it will thicken quite a bit.
Toppings for rice pudding
You can absolutely serve this rice pudding on its own, but here are some topping ideas if you want to take it up a notch:
Cinnamon: Use a fine mesh sieve to dust the top with ground cinnamon.
Vanilla ice cream: This is my favorite way to enjoy rice pudding. I serve it warm and top it with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. The combination of cold ice cream and warm pudding, plus the extra richness of vanilla ice cream takes this over the top.
Whipped cream: Homemade whipped cream or store bought whipped cream both go great on this rice pudding.
Fruit: Add fresh fruit, dried fruit, or fruit compote to the topping. Try my Blueberry Sauce or Roasted Strawberries. For the cherry topping you see pictured above: thaw frozen cherries and combine with cherry jam.
Related recipes
Homemade Vanilla Pudding
Chocolate Pudding Cake
Banana Pudding
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Chocolate Mousse
Creamy Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 3½ cups milk, plus more, if needed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup uncooked white rice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins, optional
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine milk, butter, sugar, rice, salt, and cinnamon.
- Bring to a simmer and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, for 30-40 minutes, until rice is tender. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan when you stir it. If the mixture appears to dry out during cook time you can add a few splashes of milk. During the last few minutes of cook time, add the vanilla, raisins, and heavy cream and simmer for a couple more minutes. Serve warm or chill. The rice pudding will thicken up after chilling; you can stir in a splash of milk to thin it out again.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Debra
After a lot of research on this dish I decided to try this one and I’m very pleased that I did. I am a cook for an organization that hosts Bingo weekly and I wanted to bring them something different yet familiar and comforting. This was the recipe! It was super easy and very delicious and turned out exactly as pictured. I was VERY nervous serving this because I have several rice pudding experts in that bingo hall. Lol 😂Thanks for a huge hit!
Allison
You’re very welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Carole Irvine
Very much like my mom’s recipe except she added whipped eggs whites at the end. Made it really creamy.
Thanks for posting. Do not like baked rice pudding.
Barbara
So delicious added a splash of rum for adults and raves.It is a keeper.
Barbara
So easy to make.Put in a splash of rum for adults.Came out sòoo delicious. IT is a keeper.
Allison
Yum! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
kylie wright
so freaking yummy i made this in my dorm and I upped the cinnamon cause that’s just how I like it and it turned out perfect, tasted just like home thank you for the recipe
Allison
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Marge
I thought this recipe was supposed to use sweetened condensed milk???
Allison
No, it doesn’t. Where did you see that?
Heather
I read through the recipe a few times but couldn’t find the answer to my question so here I am and I do apologize if it’s there and I missed it! Just out of curiosity what type of milk do you recommend? We have 3 types in our house – whole, almond, and 1%, and I’m not sure which would be best. Help! Look forward to making this!!
Allison
Hi, Heather. You can use any of those milk options. I would lean towards whole because it’s more rich and luxurious but the others should work just fine. Just note, if the almond milk is sweetened you might want to reduce the added sugar a bit. Adjust to suit your taste. Enjoy! 🙂
Kris
This was delicious. I always hate to make food with dairy replacements, but my husband doesn’t do milk, so I tried this out with some oat milk. It turned out amazing. It was super creamy, and the perfect texture. I used a little honey to give it some extra sweetness, and omitted the cream at the end. Topped it with fresh peaches and even the kids thought it was divine. Thank you for this recipe!
Allison
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Lorraine
Very good & as creamy as You like it Iike
I used one egg yolk in it lots of cinnamon
Caren Kelly
Nearly halfway through cooking and the milk hasn’t started to cook down yet. I was very concerned that maybe I read the amount of rice wrong? It smells amazing and I’m very much hoping it turns out!