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What could be a better dessert than some rice pudding with cooked rice? Sweet, sticky, and rich, this rice pudding is a great after-dinner treat, as well as being a wonderful way to use up leftover rice. This is, of course, my FAVORITE way to use up leftover rice – make it into a dessert!
If you prefer a long and slow version, why not try a Baked Rice Pudding? Or, for something a little bit easier, make some Instant Pot Rice Pudding instead?
Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice
Rice pudding is definitely one of the most comforting desserts out there, offering up both sweetness and a hard hit of carbs thanks to rice! While you can make this with dedicated dessert rice, it is just as good with any rice you happen to have, especially leftover rice from a previous dinner. So if you are me, you make MORE rice than you need for dinner and then whoops, guess I have to make rice pudding!
Ingredients for Rice Pudding
- Cooked Rice (this is a great way to use up leftovers from another recipe)
- Milk
- Salt
- Raisins
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg
How To Make Rice Pudding
- Mix together the rice, milk, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat
- Cook, stirring frequently until thickened.
- Add in raisins and sugar until the raisins are nice and plump. Make sure the milk doesn’t burn!
- Add a ¼ cup of the cooked rice mixture to your eggs, whisking quickly to stop them from scrambling.
- Add your now tempered eggs to the rice mixture, cooking it slowly while stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat, stir in your butter and vanilla extract, and season it as you like.
- Eat it hot or cold!
How to Store Your Rice Pudding
Rice pudding can be served either hot or cold, so storing it in the fridge is not a problem at all. If you plan to eat it in the next few days, covering it with some plastic wrap and eating it cold is perfectly fine. In fact, some people say that this lets the flavor improve and taste even more intense and delicious. Let’s be honest though, it won’t ever make it past one day in the fridge IF it even makes it to the fridge at all!
Make sure you do cover it while storing it, though. Otherwise you might find a greasy layer of scum settle on the top of your rice pudding if you store it uncovered.
How to Re-Heat Your Rice Pudding
If you, for some reason, really hate cold rice pudding, you can reheat it pretty easily after storing it with no problems.
The easiest method would be to heat it in a microwave on medium-low setting in 30 second increments, stirring occasionally, until it is heated through. You can also just reheat it on the stovetop, keeping it nice and low and making sure it doesn’t bubble.
If you prefer a method that doesn’t require any effort, put it in a small covered casserole dish and heat it in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit. The rice pudding will gently steam in the pot, as well as slightly caramelizing around the edges, resulting in a rice pudding that is somehow completely delicious in a whole new way.
Tips & Tricks for Rice Pudding
- Any rice will do when making this rice pudding, but make sure you aren’t using flavored rice! If you are using rice from takeout, make sure they haven’t added any lime or other seasonings in, as it could ruin your rice pudding.
- One of the most annoying things when adding eggs to any hot dish is when they accidentally scramble with the high heat. To avoid this, when you get ready to add your eggs to the mixture, take a little bit of the hot mixture and add it to the already-beaten eggs in a bowl. Add it gradually, whisking constantly, and your eggs won’t scramble! This brings the temperature of your eggs up without scrambling them with too much direct heat. This lets you add this whole mixture to your rice pudding without having any clumps of slightly sweet scrambled eggs getting in the way of the texture.
- A great tip for reheating rice pudding to add a little extra flavor to it and wake it up is to add a little bit more fat. Once your rice pudding gets hot enough to serve, stir in a little bit of butter at the very end. This gives it that extra touch of richness and makes it even more comforting and delicious but always use salted butter for that little extra salty goodness! (you know me and salted butter….)
Happy cooking!
Karlynn
Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 3 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups raisins
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine the cooked rice, milk, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Cook the mixture, stirring to prevent burning until it starts to thicken, around 15-20 minutes. The milk will reduce a bit, leaving a creamier sauce at this point.
- Add in the raisins and sugar, and cook until the raisins are plumped up. Continue stirring the entire time, ensuring that the milk doesn't burn and the rice doesn't stick to the bottom.
- Take the beaten eggs and whisk 1/4 cup of the hot mixture into them (tempering the eggs). Rapidly whisk the tempered eggs into the pudding. Cook for a few minutes more while it thickens, stirring constantly.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat; stir the butter and vanilla extract into the pudding. Season with the nutmeg and cinnamon to taste.
- Serve warm or cold.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Linda says
Way too much sugar for my taste. And I would have appreciated more precise directions re times. Also, it did not specify what type of rice. I used jasmine and it tastes fine, but it is much too mealy for this recipe.