Rice Pudding

By Mark Bittman

Rice Pudding
Michael Kraus for The New York Times
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
4(805)
Comments
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In this country, before there was flan, crème brûlée, panna cotta, even vanilla pudding, there was rice pudding. Each of those desserts has the same goal: take lots of milk or cream, sweeten it and, through heat and a thickening agent, make it custardy. Flan and crème brûlée use eggs, panna cotta uses gelatin and vanilla pudding and similar custards use eggs, cornstarch or flour.

Rice pudding is both the most rustic and most elegant of those desserts, using only rice, milk and sugar. It may take some practice, but once you master it, it is among the easiest and most foolproof of desserts. And it is simply amazing how many people drool when they see it.

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; How to Be a Pudding Head

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Ingredients

Yield:4 or more servings
  • ¼ to ⅓cup rice
  • ½cup sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • 4cups milk
  • Pinch saffron, optional
  • Cinnamon stick or other flavoring, optional
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

299 calories; 8 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 49 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 37 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 142 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a 3- or 4-quart casserole or an ovenproof saucepan, stir a couple times, and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then stir. Bake 30 minutes more, then stir; at this point the milk will have developed a bubbly tan surface (stir this back into the liquid), and rice will have begun to swell.

  2. Step 2

    Cook for 30 more minutes. The surface will have redeveloped, darker this time, and kernels of rice will begin to predominate in mixture. Return mixture to oven and begin to check pudding every 10 minutes, stirring gently each time you check.

  3. Step 3

    Remove pudding from oven when rice kernels are very swollen and mixture is still quite fluid. As it cools, it will thicken considerably. If you remove custard when mixture is thick, it will harden when it cools (though it will still be quite good to eat). Serve pudding warm, at room temperature or cold, alone or with whipped cream.

Ratings

4 out of 5
805 user ratings
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Comments

Maria

What type of rice do you recommend for this recipe, Arborio, regular, or uncle Ben's?

Bill Hettig

I like to use coconut cream for milk, 1/4 tsp. crushed cardamom seeds, a vanilla pod, and two tsp. lemon or lime zest to take it on a little joy ride.

Rob

Use 1/4 c sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla.
Was ready after 90 minutes in the oven, stir after each 30 min.
Watery when taken out but thickens up as it cools.
No cinnamon

Steve

My first attempt was quite a failure. I ended up with rice soup even after having it in the oven for close to two hours. There was no color change at all. I still looks like milk with a skin and rice that didn't really fully cook. Not sure exactly where I went wrong ... It tastes fine, but that's about it.

Rita S

I like the addition of saffron. My family likes it when i go all out and add some crushed cardamom seeds, ground cinnamon, and a couple of pinches of ground nutmeg. We like spice. For this amount of pudding--1 heaping teaspoon cardamom, 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Kelly A

Well, as someone who never ever says things are “too sweet”, I have to admit that this is, in fact, too sweet. I used unsweetened nut milk (because I am dairy free), and arborio rice, with a little cinnamon and vanilla. Baked in a wide corning ware casserole dish. It took over 2.5 hours and never really set. I don’t see the appeal of running the oven this long for a pudding. I will go back to making rice pudding on the stove, it will take less time and have better results.

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