Recipes for Rice Pudding, How to Choose…..
When looking for a gluten free desert, rice pudding is a fantastic option. Nearly all recipes for rice pudding are gluten free and require no modification. Rice pudding is an interesting dessert as there are so many ways to cook it.
Beyond the numerous ways to cook rice pudding, there is a wide variety of cultural variations creating even more recipes for rice pudding.
How can a person choose which recipe to use to make rice pudding with all these options? To help you decide which way to cook your rice pudding, we have compared 4 recipes for rice pudding cooked in different ways.
Beyond selecting the method of how to cook rice pudding is the debate of if rice pudding should be eaten hot or cold. While a warm bowl of rice pudding can be a comforting indulgence. A bowl of cold leftover rice pudding makes an amazing breakfast treat.
An emotionally charged question is “Do raisins belong in rice pudding?” People tend to fall strongly on one side or the other. Rice pudding must have raisins or raisins absolutely do not belong in rice pudding! As a matter of personal preference, I would encourage you to try it both ways. Let us know in the comments if raisins should be included in rice pudding?
Cultural Recipes for Rice Pudding
Rice pudding varies greatly with the country or region of the world that you are in. It is fascinating to learn about the different cultural recipes for rice pudding that exist around the world. The wide variety of flavors that can be imparted on such a humble dish are truly astonishing. Rice pudding is a good choice of food to eat when you require a gluten free diet while traveling.
While rice may be the common ingredient, adding cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, orange, lemon, pistachio, or almonds makes different recipes for rice pudding unique to each region of the world.
The following recipes for rice pudding are what would be considered the North American style
Stovetop Rice Pudding
Rice pudding slowly cooked on the stovetop tends to have a creamy rich consistence with fully developed flavors. The extra love and labor to watch and stir the rice pudding as it cooks pays off in the development of the ultimate smooth texture. In many ways stove top rice pudding is like a dessert risotto, from using the same arborio rice and the slow simmering cook with stirring to develop a creamy rich sauce thickened with the starch delicately coaxed from the grains of rice.
Pros
- Ultimate rich creamy texture
Cons
- Time-consuming to prepare with constant attention required.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup uncooked arborio rice
- 3 ½ cups milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- ½ cup raisins (optional)
STEPS:
- Add rice, milk, sugar, and salt to a saucepan bring to a simmer while stirring continuously
- Cook at a low simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking and burning to the bottom and sides of the saucepan
- When the rice is tender add vanilla extract, butter and raisins if using, stir to combine
- Remove from heat to cool and set
- Serve hot or cold.
Baked rice pudding
Baked rice pudding is a great gluten free dessert to cook when you have other things on the go. A baked rice pudding is convenient to make as it is a set it and forget it type dessert. After the initial preparation and placing the ingredients into the baking dish you can use the baking time to do other things. The edges of a baked rice pudding bake into special crisp chewy bits. These add additional texture to the rice pudding. Placing the baking dish on top of a sheet pan when placing the rice pudding in the oven catches any drips should the rice pudding boil over the dish avoiding a burnt mess at the bottom of the oven.
Pros
- Crunchy chewy crust bits that develop on the top of the dish
Cons
- Time-consuming to prepare with planning ahead needed.
INGREDIENTS:
- Butter
- 130 g pudding rice (arborio) short grain ‘
- 70 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 800ml whole milk
- 170 ml double cream
- Nutmeg or cinnamon (garish)
STEPS:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C
- Use butted to grease the inside of a 1.5 liter baking dish
- Mix the rice, sugar, vanilla, milk, and cream in a bowl
- Pour and spread the rice mixture in the baking dish
- (Optional) sprinkle nutmeg or cinnamon over the top of the mixture in the baking dish
- Bake for 1 and a half hours or until the liquid has been absorbed and a golden skin has formed on the top of the baking dish
- Let cool slightly and scoop in to dishes to serve.
ALTERNATIVE: Use coconut milk and coconut cream to make the rice pudding dairy free, and margarine to grease the pan.
Rice Pudding with Instant Rice
There are times that you need to make a dessert and you do not have a lot of time. Rice pudding with instant rice is the perfect gluten free desert for times like that. The instant rice absorbs moisture much quicker than non-instant rice. However, although the rice pudding cooks quickly, some of the creaminess and rice flavor of the other recipes for rice pudding are lost.
Pros
- Quick to prepare
Cons
- Sacrifice on the rich flavor and creaminess of the pudding
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup white instant rice
- ¼ cup raisins (optional)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
STEPS:
- Combine milk, rice, raisins, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. On medium high heat bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium low, simmer for 6 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Beat eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl. Stir a small amount of the hot mixture into the eggs
- Stirring constantly slowly pour the egg mixture back into the hot mixture. Stirring constantly, cook on low heat for 1 minute, until thickened, do not boil.
- Remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes. Serve warm. Store any remaining pudding in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap.
Super Simple Rice Pudding (Leftover Rice)
When I was a child, my father would often make rice pudding from left over rice. Preparing rice pudding using leftover rice takes me back to fond memories my childhood. Beyond nostalgia, making rice from left over rice is a great way to use up leftover rice when you miscalculated how much rice you needed to feed a hungry group.
Pros
- Quick to prepare
- Great use for leftover rice
Cons
- Slightly less creamy pudding.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-½ cups cooked white rice
- 1-½ cups 2% or whole milk
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- Pinch of Salt
- ½ cup Raisins (optional)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon (optional garnish)
STEPS:
- Combine in a saucepan the rice, milk, salt, and sugar
- Bring to a low simmer stirring regularly until most of the milk has been absorbed and it begins to thicken.
- Add the raisins and vanilla, remove from heat
- Scoop out into small serving dishes and serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Leftovers should be covered and refrigerated
Final thoughts on Recipes for Rice Pudding
Rice pudding is a fantastic gluten-free dessert that can be made using numerous different methods. The cultural variations of rice pudding are immense with different styles in every corner of the world.
Which is your favorite of these four recipes for rice pudding?
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