Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice (2024)

Want the perfect old-fashioned recipe? This Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice lets you use up any rice you have leftover and elevate it into a delicious and addictive breakfast or dessert.

You will be surprised at how easy this recipe is to make as well as the colorful appearance when you use golden raisins with regular raisins.

The best part is that this Rice Pudding can be served warm or cold. I know that everyone has their own preference for recipes, and this one can go either way!

We have been making this Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice since I was a little girl. It is so much simpler when you have your already-cooked rice.

But you can also cook some just to use for this recipe, no problem! Not everyone has leftover rice, but it is a great recipe for when you do. We always seem to, or I cook just a little bit more so I can make this.

This is such a classic dessert, and you either love it or hate it; I’ve never met anyone who was in-between. I absolutely am addicted to this, so obviously, you know what side I’m on!

Some of our favorite dessert recipes we have on our site that are rice-based or pudding-based include: Magnolia Banana Pudding, Chocolate Rice Pudding and Caramel Apple Pudding Cups.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

• Using already-cooked rice helps this come together quickly.
• We love using golden and regular raisins for a delicious contrast.
• You can double this recipe to serve more people.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR THE FULL RECIPE):

• Cooked white rice
• Whole milk
• Kosher salt
• Egg
• Heavy cream
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Granulated sugar
• Golden raisins
• Raisins
• Unsalted butter
• Vanilla extract

HOW TO MAKE RICE PUDDING WITH COOKED RICE:

1. Place the cooked rice along with the milk, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until thickened, about 10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the beaten egg, heavy cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg, set aside.
3. Pour the sugar into the rice mixture and stir to combine.
4. Stream in the heavy cream mixture, stirring constantly until combined.
5. Add both varieties of raisins, and stir to combine. Continue to stir occasionally until thickened, about 5-8 minutes.
6. When it is thickened, take the pot off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
7. Let cool for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and serve.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS RECIPE:

CAN I MAKE THIS IN THE MICROWAVE?

While I don’t generally enjoy using a microwave to make rice pudding and feel like it is much better on the stovetop, it is possible.

If you want to use the microwave, you’ll simply place the milk, eggs, sugar, and salt into a 2-quart microwaveable bowl.

Stir in your heavy cream, cooked rice, raisins, golden raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. Cook this on high for 8-10 minutes, stirring every 1-2 minutes.

HOW TO THICKEN RICE PUDDING:

If your Rice Pudding Recipe didn’t thicken as much as you would have liked, it was not cooked long enough.

My favorite way to thicken items is with a cornstarch and water mixture.

Mix about 1 Tbs cornstarch and 1 Tbs of water together and pour it into the pudding and stir over heat, and it should thicken right up.

WHAT IS THE BEST RICE TO USE?

Any rice will work fine with this recipe, medium grain, long grain, risotto, and minute rice.

Since it will be cooked, what you are looking for is the amount of rice, not the variety.

You just want to make sure that the rice you are using is not a flavored rice, so do not use any of those packets that might be flavored and used bags or boxes of plain rice.

WHAT ARE SOME SUBSTITUTIONS I CAN USE?

Other than the types of rice as listed above, you can substitute some other ingredients.

• In place of heavy cream, use a coffee creamer of any kind; this will make it sweet, so cut back on the sugar slightly.
• Pumpkin Spice in place of the cinnamon and nutmeg
• Dried cranberries, chopped dates, or chopped apricots switched out for the raisins

HOW TO STORE:

Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container where it will last for up to one week.

This can also be frozen; place your cooled pudding in a freezer container or smaller containers if you want to portion out your servings.

Place in the freezer, and it should keep for up to 3 months. Let defrost in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.

If you want to reheat this (it is great served cold), you can pop it in the microwave or in a saucepan until heated through.

Want a classic but super easy recipe that can be devoured any time of day? Then you need this Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice!

If you’ve tried this RICE PUDDING WITH COOKED RICElet me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!