Rice pudding had traditionally been a very polarizing treat in my family. There are those that simply can’t get enough of it, but there are also those (not naming names…Erik!) who have never cared for it. There’s just something about sweet rice that throws some people off. That was up until I used THIS particular recipe to make rice pudding. And let me tell you, it’s been a complete game-changer.
Those who assured me they didn’t care for rice pudding agreed to have a bite, and ended up coming back for second, third, and fourth bites! The common refrain became “Wow, I would love rice pudding if it all tasted like THIS!”
Related: Why You Should Always Rinse Your Rice
This rice pudding is a bowl of creamy heaven, with the perfect amount of sweetness. There is one small catch though – the process of making rice pudding is similar to making risotto, which means a lot of stirring for the cook. It really isn’t as bad as it sounds though. Crank some tunes or an audiobook, and you’ll have stirred your way to a creamy treat in no time! Trust me….it is worth the wait!
Vanilla Rice Pudding
from King Arthur Flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream, divided
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vanilla bean seeds*
- pinch of salt
*Note: Vanilla bean seeds are the black stuff inside a vanilla bean. To collect it, cut a vanilla bean open lengthwise, and use the point of a small knife to scrape out the contents. If you can’t find whole vanilla beans at the store, that’s fine! Just add an additional teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.
To a large pot, add the milk, 1 and 1/2 cups of the cream, sugar, rice, and vanilla extract, and place on the stove over medium heat.
Bring the pot to a simmer and cook the mixture, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes. It will be done cooking when the pudding is thick and the rice is firm, but not crunchy.
Remove the pot from heat and add the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, along with the teaspoon of vanilla bean crush (or vanilla extract,) and a pinch of salt. Stir well.
Serve the rice pudding warm, with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Alternately, you can cover and refrigerate it, and serve it chilled, depending on your tastes!
Prepare to turn rice pudding non-believers into believers!
Creamy Vanilla Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream divided
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vanilla bean seeds
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add milk, 1 and 1/2 cups of the cream, sugar, rice, and vanilla extract to a pot over medium heat.
- Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add remaining 1/2 cup of cream, vanilla bean seeds (or additional teaspoon of vanilla extract), and a pinch of salt.
- Serve warm, or chilled.
I don’t have arborio rice, so can I just use regular rice (Thai or Korean)? Or will the texture change?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Arborio rice is definitely used for its unique texture, but I’m sure it still works with other types of rice! It will probably just be a little less smooth :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My grandmother made this frequently, and now I make it frequently for my grandchildren. .. The only difference is we add raisins (that have been soaked in warm water) The flavor is heavenly, cinnamon, sugar, rice and raisins!!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Reading the recipe looks delicious.I’ll try to do it as soon as possible. Thanks.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee,
I cannot wait to try this recipe! It looks delicious.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Is there a possibility to make the recipes a little more ink and paper conscious? This recipe printed out to ten pages of pictures and print.
Thank you for all you share with us. Your efforts are truly appreciated.
There is a print friendly button at the bottom of the post, before the comments. If you click the green print friendly button, it brings up a preview where you can remove the images and any text that you want. It makes it easy to get any post down to a page! There’s also recipe card at the bottom of this post and you can print only that :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love rice pudding,but I’ve never attempted to make it. This looks scrumptious enough for me to try at least once! I’m curious about Kris’s comment regarding adding the sugar at the end, and wonder if it would still have time to dissolve. Also, I’m curious to know if the vanilla extract should be added at the end also, because the alcohol dissipates so quickly when hot. What do you think?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Mine definitely didn’t burn and had an amazing vanilla flavor, so I’ll keep making it this way :-) If you try adding the ingredients after taking it off the heat, let me know how it turns out! I’m sure it’s still delicious. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.is there an alternative for those of us who are diabetic and are also trying to loose weight in order to get the diabetes in check..?? can l use light milk and cream and instead of the half cup of sugar artificial sugar instead..?? thanks..Carol..
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Here’s a recipe you might want to try instead :-) http://www.food.com/recipe/diabetic-rice-pudding-for-two-215951
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi, looks delicious ! My mom taught me to make rice pudding, but with saffron, instead of vanilla. She also taught me to add the sugar at the end, after the rice pudding is cooked, to prevent burning. Sugar tends to burn it, so I add it only after I’ve taken it off the stove.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I have been wanting rice pudding and now I have a good recipe. Have a good day.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been making this for years it was my Mother’s favorite, but we use reg. milk and & add raisins.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We also, after we take it off the stove, mix in 2 eggs. Add some of the hot mixture a little at a time to
the eggs so the eggs down become scrambled. Put it back on the stove for 2 mins. so the egg mixture
is fully cooked.
This looks good. I would love to know if you can sub different kinds of milk. Looking at the picture it reminds me a lot of tapioca pudding. We used to have that frequently when I was a kid and my siblings were little.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What is Arborio rice?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arborio_rice
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yikes! Bring on the cholesterol meds! Sounds delicious but tons of artery clogging fat!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Research is showing the nutrition advice we’ve been getting from the USDA is garbage. In the ’80s, I bought into the low-fat, pasta, low-fat, pasta, low-fat, pasta mantra and promptly gained 25 pounds, where it stayed for the last 30 years. I’ve started to add back fat — all butter, heavy cream in my morning coffee, and cut way back on sugar and flour — and have lost about 15 pounds since Christmas.
The only thing in the above recipe that would set off my “still-hungry” meter would be the sugar; arborio rice isn’t on the high-glycemic charts. Cream, eggs and whole milk are not the culprits in the obesity, diabetes, high-cholesterol epidemic.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Sue, I don’t know about coconut milk but as I’m lactose intolerant I’ve made this with Goat’s milk and providing no one sees the carton even regular milk drinkers enjoy it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Recently I’ve tried it with Almond milk but I did need to reduce the sugar for this. Hope this helps :~)
Thank so much for this recipe! I am one of those people who can’t get enough rice pudding! My Dad would save left over rice and pour milk and sugar on it and give it to us for breakfast. Oh so good! You rock!
Thanks!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Donna B.
Does the empty vanilla pod have any uses, e.g. to stick in a jar of white sugar to flavour it?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That’s a great idea Janet! Here are a couple more ideas: http://food52.com/blog/11543-5-ways-to-use-a-spent-vanilla-bean-pod
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Anyway you can modify this with coconut milk? (for those of us that are lactose intolerant!)
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