Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding is so creamy with the perfect texture and sweetness. Only a handful of ingredients and a little patience are needed to make this old time favorite dessert.
This Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding tastes just like the KozyShack Rice Pudding I like to buy at the grocery store, only better since it is made from all natural ingredients. This is a stove-top version with just the right amount of sweetness. Only 1/2 cup of sugar is added and most of the sweetness comes from the milk cooking down.
It takes a minimum of 50 minutes to get the thickness and texture right. You’ll know it’s done when it’s about the consistency of yogurt. It will thicken up more as it cools, but you stir in a little more milk just before serving to loosen it up some.
No need to go out and buy a bag of short grain or medium grain rice. This Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding cooks prefectly with long grain rice.
Only 5 ingredients needed to make this amazing dessert: milk, sugar, salt, long grain rice, and vanilla extract.
The key to this rice pudding is a very high ratio of milk (a full 6 cups) to rice (just 1/2 cup). You may think when you start that there’s no way it will thicken up enough but it magically does.
This Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding has just the right amount of vanilla fllavor and you can sprinkle some cinnamon on top for extra flavor if you wish or add raisins if that’s your jam.
More Old-Fashioned Desserts
- Old-Fashioned Potato Candy
- Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cake
- Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Doughnuts
- Old-Fashioned Chocolate Meringue Pie
Watch the short video below to see how easy this recipe is to make.
Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 6 cups whole milk,, divided
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup long grain white rice,, I use a heaping half cup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon,, optional
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine 5 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Stir in rice and reduce heat to low. Be sure to adjust the heat so that it is at a gentle simmer.
- Stirring occasionally, cook for 50 to 60 minutes. Mixture should thicken up to consistency of yogurt.
- Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Let cool and then refrigerate. The last 1/2 cup milk is stirred in just before serving. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Source: Cook’s Country Magazine
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I think the recipe works better with pre-cooked rice. Then the rice is guaranteed to be soft. If you have leftover rice like I did, then use 1-1/3 cups of pre-cooked rice, and follow the recipe. I cut down on the sugar, but added some honey instead to get a bit of honey taste too.
You’re not supposed to use leftover rice – the rice needs to be dry uncooked to absorb the liquid.
Just finished cooking the rice pudding. Cooked for 50 minutes on simmer uncovered on induction stove. I increased the heat till 5 and stayed by the stove and stirred for about 15 minutes. Turned out great. Next time I’ll put less sugar in. Taste like my mom with a little of this and that. Thanks again
Tried it your way very good but too much sturring all that for an old lady with bad shoulders….no thanks. Try this….3/4 cup rice ( I mix Sushi and long grain ) use long grain if you want to be frugal, with 1/2 cup sugar and 8 cups milk I use 1% and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and pinch of salt. Stir and place in 350 degree preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours . Stir after 45 min. and continue baking . Comes out ,creamy and rice soft and cost pennies to make. Make this at least once a week lots of my friends love this version ….easy and cheep. Were all old.
Hi! I love rice pudding as a child my mom made on the stove. Loved your idea of in the oven as it is in now. I found a half gallon of Flaxseed milk for 99 cents. So I am trying for a healthy version. As I also cook and share with my 96 year old mother -in -law. She has kidney issues so decrease the fat and no posssium. Hoping it will turn out good for both of us. Thank you.
Hey,
Do you cover in oven? What type of pot do u use?
I agree too much darn stirring…
I have the best result with the small batch with 6 CUPS of milk.
The milk needs to be fresh that very day.
I’ve just wasted 12 cups of milk and 2 hours of stirring, in an effort to make the large batch.
I followed the recipe for 8 servings to a T.
I’m just glad that I have another gallon of fresh milk to make the small batch.
I have to REST my stirring arm first !
Same..Ugh wondering if you have to use store bought milk instead of farm fresh milk(raw milk.)
Read this comment after I was already half way through making this – and I made a double batch. I used (store-bought) milk that expired three days ago (but still smelled and tasted just fine – as you generally can use unopened milk 5-7 days beyond its expiration date).
Anyway, long story short, it came out absolutely deliciously with my recently expired milk! :)~
I just wanted to add (because I’m unable to edit my previous comment), that I decided to stir for a little longer to thicken up the mixture and the rice is now perfectly cooked now! Thank you
I don’t know how to get rice to cook without the steam from keeping the lid on. I used long grain white rice, I didn’t wash the rice, so there was starch for thickening. I added 3 cups of the milk and the salt, I stirred constantly. But once I brought the rice to the boil, I turned down to a simmer and put on the lid (the type with a vent hole). It took 28 minutes for my rice to cook. Although it was cooked, it’s grainy, not thick like sticky rice. I then added the rest of the ingredients and continued cooking and stirring. This worked, but the rice isn’t pudding like. But still delicious and rice pudding. I think if I was to do this differently, I’d cook the un-rinsed with water first and then once I have nice sticky rice, add the milk, sugar etc. In the recipe, I used freshly grated nutmeg instead of cinnamon, as I’ve only ever had rice pudding with nutmeg.
So you really didn’t follow the instructions?
Oh man, I really had trouble with this and I’m mind blown at how badly I screwed this up.
I used long grain brown rice instead of white, I followed the recipe and ingredients.
I was using a dutch over on the stove and maybe that’s where I went wrong.
After 60 minutes there was still quite a bit of liquid milk. I had it at a gentle simmer the entire time, following the rolling boil in the beginning.
I did cover it, then I uncovered it toward the end to evaporate some of the milk.
I took a bite out what I had cooked and the rice was not completely soft.
At 1.5 hours, I tried again and still had hard rice. I let it cool off the heat, left the lid off, hoping that would soften it up and that was after 45 mins. I have some soft rice and some hard. I stirred every 10 minutes.
I’m not sure what went wrong but it didn’t turn out quite like I had expected 🙁
Brown rice takes so much longer to cook, you’d need to find a specific recipe for it…I guess with more milk and perhaps water.
I had the same problem. Cooked white rice and still crunchy after 2.5 hours. I finally added an egg and 1.5 cups if rice i had cooked.
Tastes great if you like crunchy rice.
I would say white rice is better for rice pudding because of the starch in it. That helps thicken it.
Brown rice takes longer to cook. And also, you shouldn’t cover it. It should be uncovered the entire time. And not Dutch oven either. Just regular stove top in a pot.
I’ve finally found it!!!
This looks like the recipe my Mom had, although hers must have been a double batch because I distinctly remember 12 cups of milk. I made it once or twice many (25-30) years ago. Most of the other recipes I’ve seen call for cooked rice or eggs and they just aren’t the same.
This recipe was awesome. My rice pudding looks just like the photo and the taste is just delish. My hubby loves rice pudding and I’ve been looking for a simple recipe and voila!!!!
So thank you
So delicious and easy. Just had my first cup just off the stove as I write. I only used 1/8 cup sugar after reading previous reviews and I think the sweetness is just nice (May even further reduce). Note that you do have to keep standing at the stove and stir occasionally. But it only took 40 mins for me at my lowest stove setting (which is probably higher than most) to get quite a thick mixture. I just used the thai rice I had at home. FYI I am Chinese and find most Western recipes way too sweet. Will definitely do this again.