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.
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Recipe Source: Cook’s Country Magazine
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I have made this 4 times now in the past week! I follow the recipe exactly as it’s written and it turns out every time. The 1st time I doubled it I decided to do 2 batches in 2 different pans instead of using a larger pan. This is a new favorite in my family & I can’t thank you enough!
Loved this. Tasty and easy. Mine did not get super thick, but it was still delicious.
It was delicious I had some milk ready to expire and I used a whole gallon. My family and friends enjoyed it!
Very easy to follow, and super tasty
Made my first batch last week and it was great! It boiled over the pot – a bit of a mess. I measured what was left and added milk and continued cooking. The end result was good. Today I am making a double batch and I am not turning my head away from the stove! I am assuming the boil down will take more than 50 mins.
Thanks for this great recipe!
I was so disappointed the rice never got soft enough and I simmered it for over 2 hours
Did you bring the milk to a full boil and it must be on a good simmer and stirred?
If you’re reading this, could you please reply whether or not you soaked your rice, and if so, how would you describe the texture of the rice when completed and cooled?
Can I use 2% milk?
Add butter to 2% milk to make it whole ☺️
So easy to make and so delicious!
Cool with rice covered or uncovered?
After adding rice do you cover the pan when cooking for the next hour?
I did the uncovered, in a double boiler, as my mother used to & even after simmering for over an hour & thickening quite nicely, the rice was not completely soft! I repeated this today, with a tweak: I mixed 1/2 cup of rice with 1/2 of water, brought the mixture to just boiling, covered & immediately removed from heat. I then left the rice/water mixture sit covered for 20 minutes. I then proceeded with the recipe, lowering the milk to 5 cups. Then end result was then very soft and creamy.
Easy to make! Brilliant recipe!
Awesome recipe! Everyone loves it. I made 3 times and doubled the ingredients the last time. I like how fresh it tastes when it cold out of the fridge. It is a little time consuming but not hard at all.
Easy and delicious! Has anyone tried this recipe with brown rice?
The last time I made it I used long grain brown rice. It took a little bit longer but tasted great.
Update! I spoke too soon. After letting it chill in the refrigerator overnight. The brown rice did not soak up the milk like the white rice. I think because brown rice is more dense. My husband still likes it but I personally didn’t like it as much. After cooking for almost 3 hours the rice still tasted a little hard and the pudding almost tasted like health food. Note to self. Do not use brown rice for rice pudding lol
This recipe is AMAZING! We recently moved to a very remote area and sadly no Kozy Shack. I found your recipe and thought why not try. Not expecting too much (other recipes haven’t been close) but WOW! So easy to make and too delicious. Thank you, thank you and THANK YOU 👍
This was excellent my husband and son loved it. I used canned coconut milk instead of whole milk. This turned out amazing!
I don’t cook alot but figured o could pull this off. OMG This rice pudding is the best I’ve ever had.
Delicious Rice Pudding. I don’t need to look for another recipe now! I’m stuck on this one!❤️
I made the Frankenstein version of this rice pudding, I used brown sugar, milk substitute, and the leftovers from a basmati and white rice bag. Followed the directions it thickened up nicely and added the vanilla at the end as per instructions. It’s actually in the fridge chilling.
Very easy! And Extremely good!
Thank You!
The best rice pudding I’ve tasted since I was a child.
Made this for the family New Year’s dinner, with blackeyed peas, ham hocks, hot sauce and johnny cake. It was the perfect finish to the traditional southern celebration. I’ll use a tad less sugar next time 🙂
Has anyone tried putting it in the oven instead of on top of the stove? I have seen another recipe that puts it in the oven at 300, then checking it every 30 minutes or so for a little over an hour. Essentially the same ingredients just cooked in a low oven. I am getting ready to do this recipe & was curious about oven prep.