Baked Rice Pudding

Rice pudding, rice and sweetened milk cooked until soft and thick, was a staple in my childhood home. Nestled in its designated white enamel pot with the red rim, cooling on the counter or sitting on the top shelf of the fridge, rice pudding was always a readily available snack. Spooned up late at night, while I talked and my father listened, or eaten in companionable silence, it provided comfort with each creamy vanilla-scented bite. However, finding a recipe that was as luscious as I remembered proved to be a challenge.

Baked Rice Pudding

This effortless recipe for rice pudding by pastry chef and cookbook author David Lebovitz, is not cooked on top of the stove but rather, is made in the oven. Decadent and creamy, it requires nothing more than combining milk, rice and sugar in an oven-safe dish, and baking them for just under two hours. I don’t recommend a nap while it’s cooking because it does need a gentle stir every 20 minutes or so. But when it’s done, you will have a mildly sweet, soul-soothing treat with an absolute minimal amount of effort.

I use short grain rice to make this pudding. Short grain has a high amylopectin content, resulting in a creamier texture when cooked. In Canada, short grain rice is also known as Italian rice and can be found in any supermarket. I also use full fat milk (3.25 %).  The combination of the rice starch and gently simmered milk produces a delectable, rich rice pudding.

Assemble your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 325 F.  In an oven safe casserole dish that is 2 quarts (liters) or larger, combine the milk, rice, sugar and salt. 

Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the oven. Bake the rice mixture uncovered, giving it a stir every 15-20 minutes or so. If the top begins to brown, simply stir it in to the pudding as it cooks. After baking for 1 hour and 45 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven. Don’t worry if the pudding looks a little soupy, the pudding will thicken as it cools. Add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the cooked pudding after removing it from the oven.  Allow it to cool for an hour before serving. The pudding is delicious served with fruit, granola or do as the French do and ladle on a generous dollop of caramel sauce.

Print Recipe

Baked Rice Pudding

Cookies, Cakes, Pies and Desserts

By David Lebovitz – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes – Total Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes

Luscious and creamy, vanilla-scented, oven-baked rice pudding.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (105 g) short-grain rice
• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups (1 l) whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 325 F.  In an oven safe casserole dish that is 2 quarts (liters) or larger, combine the milk, rice, sugar and salt. 

2

Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the oven. Bake the rice mixture giving it a stir every 15-20 minutes or so. If the top begins to brown, simply stir it in to the pudding as it cooks. After baking for 1 hour and 45 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven. Don't worry if the pudding looks a little soupy, the pudding will thicken as it cools.

3

Add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the pudding and allow it to cool for 1 hour before serving. The pudding is delicious served at room temperature or chilled.

Notes

You can serve the pudding with fruit, granola or do as the French do and ladle on a generous helping of caramel sauce.