Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Easiest Rice Pudding 4.0 (202) The secret to this creamy, ultra-easy dessert is arborio rice. Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 35 mins Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Servings: 8 Jump to recipe Our incredibly easy rice pudding recipe stars Arborio rice, the short-grained rice used for risotto. As it gently simmers in a mixture of milk and sugar, the grains absorb the liquid and take on a creamy texture—just like they do in the savory Italian dish. The only difference? You won’t need to stand over the stove stirring constantly for half an hour; instead, you’ll only stir it for about five minutes before transferring the pudding to a dish and chilling it in the refrigerator. Once it’s firmed up, you’ll finish the pudding with a touch of heavy cream—which adds an extra layer of richness—and give it a sprinkling of cinnamon. Creamy, tender, and just sweet enough, this easy rice pudding is sure to become a new dessert favorite in your household. 16 Make-Ahead Desserts for Entertaining (or Just Because) Credit: Grant Webster Ingredients for Our Easy Rice Pudding The rice: Arborio rice is a short-grain variety that originated in the town of Arborio, in Italy's Po valley. It contains a high amount of starch, which is released as the grains are gently simmered and stirred in liquid. Arborio rice is typically used for risotto, where it turns creamy and luscious without the need for any dairy (besides a touch of butter and Parmesan, perhaps), but is also the perfect fit for this easy rice pudding. The dairy: This recipe uses a combination of milk and heavy cream to create a creamy pudding that's not overly heavy or thick. You'll use milk (preferably whole) to cook the rice, then stir in heavy cream before serving to loosen things up while adding a final touch of velvety richness. To make this recipe dairy free, you can replace the milk and cream with an equal amount of unsweetened non-dairy milk. The sweetener: We use only one-half cup of sugar to sweeten up the entire rice pudding. The result is firmly in dessert territory but not tooth-achingly sweet, which should satisfy everyone at the table. We also add one-quarter teaspoon of fine salt (or one-half teaspoon of coarse salt) to further balance out the sweetness. The flavorings: A splash of good-quality vanilla extract and a sprinkling of cinnamon is all that's needed to flavor this simple recipe. If you wish to shake things up (raisins, anyone?), see the Variations section toward the bottom of this recipe. How Is Rice Pudding Typically Served? If you take a look through a few different rice pudding recipes, you may see the dessert served warm, cold, or at room temperature. This comes down to the preparation method, ingredients used, and personal preferences. For this recipe, we prefer to let the pudding chill in the refrigerator for one hour, which allows the pudding to thicken slightly and the texture to firm up just a bit. That being said, you can certainly serve it warm or room temperature, just let it cool for at least 15 minutes, then gradually stir in the heavy cream until you're happy with the consistency (you may not need all of it). Make This Dish Ahead You can prepare this rice pudding up to three days ahead of time. Keep it covered in the refrigerator and wait to add the heavy cream and cinnamon until you're ready to serve. Directions Credit: Grant Webster Simmer rice, sugar, salt, and most of milk: In a large saucepan, bring rice, sugar, salt, and 4 1/2 cups milk to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 25 minutes. Credit: Grant Webster Stir in remaining milk and cook until tender; stir in vanilla: Uncover and stir in remaining 1/4 cup milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until rice is tender and pudding is creamy, 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Credit: Grant Webster Transfer to serving dish and cover; refrigerate: Transfer to a serving dish and press plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days). Credit: Grant Webster Add cream and cinnamon before serving: To serve, stir in heavy cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. Credit: Grant Webster How to Store Leftover Rice Pudding If you find yourself with leftover rice pudding, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Stir in a bit of milk or heavy cream to loosen pudding before serving. Variations There are so many ways to make this rice pudding your own: If you're a fan of raisins, stir some in while the pudding is still warm, which will help them soften slightly. Instead of—or along with—the cinnamon, try adding a pinch of nutmeg or ground cardamom, both of which make a delightful addition to rice pudding. You can also add a few cardamom pods to the milk as the rice is cooking, just be sure to remove them before chilling. Try adding a touch of freshly grated orange zest (one teaspoon should work) when stirring in the heavy cream for a citrusy twist. Other Pudding Recipes to Try: Rice Pudding Rice Pudding With Sea-Salt Caramel Sauce Classic Vanilla Pudding Sticky Toffee Pudding With Toffee Sauce Lighter Chocolate Cinnamon Pudding Coconut-Raspberry Breakfast Pudding Vegan Chocolate Pudding Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.