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Homemade rice pudding is the most comforting dessert recipe. Uncooked short-grain rice is cooked in a sweet mixture of milk and cream with vanilla soaked raisins. This stove top recipe is easy to make.
Why this recipe is so great:
Our family loves homemade rice pudding. It’s just a rich, creamy, comforting, decadent dessert that’s really easy to make.
- Vanilla soaked raisins: Most people just add dried raisins to their rice pudding. I started soaking my raisins when I made classic bread pudding. Not only do the soft hydrating raisins add a more pleasant texture, but they completely absorb the vanilla flavor.
- Uncooked rice: So many rice pudding recipes call for cooked rice. I much prefer to start with uncooked rice so that it absorbs the creamy milk mixture as opposed to water.
- Easy to make: The trickiest part is tempering the egg, but as long as you follow the directions, you won’t have any issues.
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
- Milk and cream: This recipe uses a mixture of 5 parts whole milk to 1 part heavy whipping cream. I find this combination gives the best creamy consistency.
- Sugar: Equal parts of golden brown sugar and granulated sugar give the most perfectly sweet results.
- Uncooked short grain rice: You can use other kinds of rice, but the short grain will give you a nice chewy texture without getting mushy.
- Raisins and vanilla extract: Soak the raisins so that they get nice and soft.
- Pumpkin pie spice and salt: You can use cinnamon instead of the pumpkin pie spice, if preferred.
How to make Classic Rice Pudding
Prior to starting the recipe, you’ll want to soak the raisins in the vanilla for at least an hour.
- In a bowl, combine the eggs and sugars.
- Whisk well to combine until light and fluffy.
- In a sauce pan, you’re going to heat the milk with the cream along with the rice and salt. This mixture is heated until it starts to boil and then the heat is reduced to maintain a gentle simmer. This gets cooked until the rice gets tender. The hot milk gets slowly added to the egg mixture to warm and temper the egg.
- The tempered egg and sugar mixture gets added back to the pan with the hot milk and rice.
- The pudding is cooked until thickened.
- The vanilla soaked raisins get stirred in at the end.
combine eggs and sugar whisk together temper egg with hot milk add tempered egg to pan stir until thickened add vanilla soaked raisins
Cooking tips for perfect results:
- Raisins: The longer they soak in the vanilla, the better they will taste. If you don’t like raisins, you can leave them out, but even folks who don’t like raisins find that they are wonderful when rehydrated in vanilla.
- Cooking temperature: This is the kind of recipe you want to be gentle with. Always use a heat that is high enough to maintain a simmer but nothing more. You don’t want to cook too hot or too fast.
- Thickness: Keep in mind that the pudding will thicken even more after it cools.
Other pudding recipes:
Love to make homemade pudding? Well, you are sure to love these favorites.
- Homemade {Dairy Free} Coconut Pudding
- Homemade Vanilla Pudding
- Classic Banana Pudding
- Chocolate Pudding
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Homemade rice pudding is the most comforting dessert recipe. Rice is cooked in a sweet mixture of milk and cream with vanilla soaked raisins. This stove top recipe is easy to make.
Equipment
Ingredients
Soak raisins ahead of time:
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Rice Pudding:
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice short grain works best
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or use cinnamon
- soaked raisins with vanilla
Instructions
- At least one hour prior to making rice pudding, soak 1/4 cup raisins in 2 tablespoons vanilla extract. A longer soak of over 24 hours is optimal.
- In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the 2 1/2 cups whole milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup uncooked white rice, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt to a boil over high heat. As soon as it starts to simmer around the edge of the pan, reduce heat to the lowest temperature where you can maintain a simmer, partially covered, until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Taste the rice to ensure it is done. You want it tender but still firm.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Add a ladle of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, whisking while pouring it in a very slow steady stream. Your goal is to bring the temperature of the egg up without curdling the egg.
- Continue to add more of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, whisking continually, until the egg mixture is warm.
- Add tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan of rice and milk and stir over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened. This rice pudding can go from thin to too thick rather quickly, so don't leave it unattended. Also keep in mind that it will thicken even more as it cools. A temperature of 160°F will ensure the eggs are cooked all the way through.
- When done, remove from heat and stir in the 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and soaked raisins with vanilla.
- Serve warm or cold.
Notes
- Raisins: The longer they soak in the vanilla, the better they will taste. If you don’t like raisins, you can leave them out, but even folks who don’t like raisins find that they are wonderful when rehydrated in vanilla.
- Cooking temperature: This is the kind of recipe you want to be gentle with. Always use a heat that is high enough to maintain a simmer but nothing more. You don’t want to cook too hot or too fast.
- Thickness: Keep in mind that the pudding will thicken even more after it cools.
Nutrition
Calories: 307kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 92mg, Sodium: 175mg, Potassium: 255mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 535IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 150mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave me a comment below
Easy to make. I am disabled and I was able to measure everything out do everything came out perfect thank you
Question. What are your thoughts about using Vanilla Sugar in place of white sugar?
I haven’t tried it, but I love all things vanilla. If you try it, will you let me know how it turns out?
It was my first time making rice pudding. I tripled the amount, it was delicious 😋. It’s a keeper. Thank you 😊
I just made this and it turned out SO good! The perfect consistency. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thank you!
I Am planning on trying your recipe but I need to know how much vanilla to use.
All ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This recipe uses 2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract. Enjoy!
I soak my raisins in Amaretto. Have to soften more. They’re so good to snack on.
I need English measurements please.
Thank you
Hi Sheryl, First I have to say that I LOVE your email address. I’m a goat owner/lover myself. Second, I don’t have the option to convert ingredients to metric but I’ll look into adding that feature to my site. Thanks!
My mom used to make growing up! I hadn`t had it for a long time. I made it and it was great! Thanks