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:
- 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.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the beaten egg, heavy cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg, set aside.
- Pour the sugar into the rice mixture and stir to combine.
- Stream in the heavy cream mixture, stirring constantly until combined.
- Add both varieties of raisins, and stir to combine. Continue to stir occasionally until thickened, about 5-8 minutes.
- When it is thickened, take the pot off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
- 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.
DANA’S TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Any rice is great for this, and we like white rice; just make sure that it is not flavored.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Double this recipe if you want to have more for later or will be serving a larger crowd.
- If your pudding is too thin, you can thicken it, use my ratios above.
- If you are not a fan of raisins, you can omit them or just use one or the other.
- Add more or less cinnamon and nutmeg to your flavor preference.
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 like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this RICE PUDDING WITH COOKED RICE let 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!
Rice Pudding with Cooked Rice
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup cooked white rice
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch ground nutmeg
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- ⅓ cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- 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.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the beaten egg, heavy cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg, set aside.
- Pour the sugar into the rice mixture and stir to combine.
- Stream in the heavy cream mixture, stirring constantly until combined.
- Add both varieties of raisins, and stir to combine. Continue to stir occasionally until thickened, about 5-8 minutes.
- When it is thickened, take the pot off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and serve.
Notes
- Any rice is great for this, we like white rice, just make sure that it is not flavored.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Double this recipe if you want to have more for later or will be serving a larger crowd.
- If you pudding is too thin you can thicken it, use my ratios above.
- If you are not a fan of raisins you can omit them or just use one or the other.
- Add more or less cinnamon and nutmeg to your flavor preference.
Comments & Reviews
Jean West says
I used oatmilk in this recipe. It turned out very yummy!
Heide says
Can you use brown rice to make this as well?
RG says
Very nice. Easy to follow instructions and a great outcome.
Pami says
Just great. I did not have vanilla and the pudding was wonderful. Thanks for a quick delicious dessert. Served it cold, yum yum.
Karen says
My new favorite recipe for creamy rice pudding!
Pat says
Looks and tastes delish! Nice and creamy too,,
Linda says
Tried and I love. Good use for left over rice. Would make again
Carl militi says
I read the whole article in making your Pre cooked rice pudding and I enjoyed it, and I read how to make in microwave too. I thought I was the only 1 wanting to make rice pudding using cooked rice.
Only problem I won’t be sharing my rice pudding lol. Instead of white sugar I m going to try with Maple Syrup and if that does not work I will try again with the white sugar.
So thank you for the recipe for pre cooked rice pudding. Happy Eating
Thank you
Carl
sylvia redmann says
I have been making rice pudding for a long time! This recipe is definitely one of my favorites! Lots of flavor and if you love raisins you will have to make it!
Sam says
This was so easy and delicious.. I used 2% milk and for the heavy cream I substituted coconut milk and chocolate almond milk left out the raisins and used allspice in place of the nutmeg. I could not believe this all worked!!!! I LOVE it…. you ate only limited by your imagination….. I will so make this again and maybe amp it up with some golden raisins next time since I didn’t have any this time…. wanted something sweet and had the leftover rice….. I do have some whipped cream which made it extra yummy
Willi says
This was so easy and delicious. I accidentally put in maple extract think it was vanilla. Still put the vanilla in, the maple gave it a rich taste. Love it will be a regular in my house. Next I’m trying oat, then brown rice.😊
Glenda says
A quick, easy, and delicious pudding. I usually have leftover rice when we order Chinese take-out, this is how I use it up! I rarely have whole milk so I use half skim milk and half 1/2 & 1/2. It thickens as it cools so don’t overcook it.
Shelley McCullough says
Just made some today. It was delicious. I put a tad more sugar, added a tablespoon of honey, used half and half because that’s what I had, and put 3 tablespoons of butter. It was soooooo good. Topped it with blueberries. Thank you for the recipe. Will make again. A friend had made some years ago. Not as good. Have a blessed day.
Jane says
I make the cooked rice pudding only I cook my raisin along with the dried crashing. It really good. The more the merrier.
Elizabeth Barrs says
Great recipe! I love how easy and quick this pudding came together! Very delicious!
AL MUSSELMAN says
I used leftover white rice from Chinese takeout. I doubled the recipe. I only made one change for personal preference and added a dash of ground ginger. I love how the flavor turned out. It has a bit more bite to it than I expected. I did follow the instructions and went by thickness since I doubled the recipe. It only took a few minutes longer than the recipe guidelines. I will be interested in how it is to eat cold since that is usually how I’ve eaten it previously.
Lori Rhoades says
It turned out amazing but I did add a can of sweetened condensed milk and more rice than recommended. Will definitely make again because I didn’t even get a bowl. My family tore it up on this snowy day. I was asked to put this on my snow food list.
Dana DeVolk says
Sorry you didn’t get any but glad they all loved it!
Jen says
Me too. It is delicious.
Jen says
It is delicious when it is warm.