If you love homemade Rice Pudding then you’ll love this easy stovetop rice pudding recipe – it’s a great way to use up leftover cooked rice!
Okay ladies (and gents, too) today I am sharing with you the most frugal dessert recipe you will ever find. This homemade rice pudding is as easy as it is delicious. We do our budget monthly, and it seems like almost every month by the last week I am completely out of money and we are eating out of the pantry. When this happens, sometimes on the weekend or date night or whatever, I will try to make a treat to liven up the party!
Easy Rice Pudding
I love this recipe because I can almost guarantee that I will always have everything I need on hand, and the whole family loves it – even our pickiest kids! If you need a quick and easy rice pudding recipe, look no further, I guarantee you can’t beat this one!
If you like this recipe you might also like our easy Chocolate Rice Pudding, or our four ingredient Saltine Toffee. In the summer, our Homemade Blackberry Ice Cream cannot be beaten. Or you can find all our yummy dessert recipes here!
Rice Pudding Recipe
To tell you the truth, I like this recipe way better than store bought or restaurant varieties! Let’s jump right in by answering some of your most frequently asked questions!
How to Make Rice Pudding
Making rice pudding from home is so easy! All you need is fifteen minutes and a few ingredients! Oh, and did I mention only one pan?!
Top Left – If you aren’t using leftover rice, cook your rice and add it to a medium sized pot.
Top Right – Add in your milk, sugar, butter, vanilla and cinnamon and stir to combine.
Bottom Left – Bring to a soft boil and stir constantly (to prevent burning). Cook for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until mixture is thickened.
Bottom Right – Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Sprinkle with more cinnamon, if desired.
It’s that easy!
Can you make this recipe with cooked rice?
I have been shocked how many people have asked me if you can make rice pudding with cooked rice, and the answer is an absolute YES! Using cooked rice eliminates waste by utilizing leftovers and eliminates valuable time you would spend slaving over a hot stove!
We typically make this with rice leftover from a previous dinner that week, like our slow cooker Tikka Masala or our Homemade Fried Rice.
Which kind of rice is best?
I typically use regular long grain white rice because that is what I usually have on hand. That being said I have also used basmati, jasmine, arborio, and sushi rice and they all work super well! The only kind I use that I don’t prefer for this recipe is brown rice or wild rice.
Do you eat rice pudding warm or cold?
It is honestly delicious served warm or cold! Right after we make it, we eat some warm. Then, the next day, we eat the leftovers straight from the fridge!
If you try this recipe and like it, we would love for you to leave us a positive rating and review! They mean so much to us!

Easy Rice Pudding With Cooked Rice
Video
Ingredients
Instructions
- Dump all of your ingredients into a sauce pan and mix together over medium low heat.
- Bring to a soft boil and stir constantly (to prevent burning). Cook for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until mixture is thickened. Let rice pudding cool a bit before serving.
Notes
Can you make rice pudding with cooked rice?
I have been shocked how many people have asked me if you can make rice pudding with cooked rice, and the answer is an absolute YES! Using cooked rice eliminates waste by utilizing leftovers and eliminates valuable time you would spend slaving over a hot stove! We typically make this with rice leftover from a previous dinner that week, like our slow cooker Tikka Masala or our Homemade Fried Rice.Which kind of rice is best for rice pudding?
I typically use regular long grain white rice because that is what I usually have on hand. That being said I have also used basmati, jasmine, arborio, and sushi rice and they all work super well! The only kind I use that I don't prefer for this recipe is brown rice or wild rice.Do you eat rice pudding warm or cold?
It is honestly delicious served warm or cold! Right after we make it, we eat some warm. Then, the next day, we eat the leftovers straight from the fridge!Nutrition


I made this receipe for my grandson he lives in new york and I live in Hamilton new jersey it was so delicious that I made it two days in a row thanks so much for the simple receipe
I am so glad you loved it! Thanks Kathleen.
Delicious recipe, thank you! I couldn’t find this the other day when I made it (have it bookmarked now!) and all of the other recipes I found include an egg or two. Does it make a difference? Thank you 😊
We prefer ours how it is :). So glad you found it again, thanks Nikki!
This was delicious! I do have one question though. After putting in the fridge, we ended up digging in before it was fully cooked because we just couldn’t wait. Amazing! However, the next day when we ate the cold pudding the rice was a little harder. Is there any way to fix that or just eat it warm or slightly cooked? Definitely our go to!!
Sorry, I meant fully cooled, not fully cooked! Lol
You can reheat the cold rice pudding if you prefer it a little warmer or softer! I’m so glad you loved it :).
Hi Jessica. Can I use rice milk to make this recipe?
Quick and Easy to make with your left over white rice. I like raisins in mine so I added some raisins. By letting it sooner for a while it reduces the liquid resulting in a thicker creamer consistency. I didn’t know what to do with my leftover white rice I almost put it in the garbage disposal!
I had a perfect 2 cups of leftover rice to make this recipe. Just don’t try to rush it let it simmer on low and periodically mix it don’t walk away
I’ve recently started a web site, the information you offer on this site has helped me tremendously. Thanks for all of your time & work.
Mine has been boiling over 20 minutes and it’s not getting thicker, any ideas why?
Do you measure the cooked rice for this recipe
Yes, it uses two cups of cooked rice!
Can minute rice be used? Thank you
Yes, you can, but your rice pudding will be a little bit mushier in texture. It will work best with minute rice if it has already been cooked and refrigerated (aka: leftover minute rice). Hope this helps!
I subbed with half and half instead of milk as that’s all I had, still came out great! This was my first time making rice pudding and this was easy and delicious! My two teens ate the whole pan and requested to make it again!
So delicious 😋
Thank you so much!
Absolutely love it! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I’m so glad! Thanks Mari :)
Super easy and delicious!
I had leftover rice from Chinese food so I decided to make rice pudding. I followed your ingredient list, but instead of cinnamon, I added the zest of one large navel orange and 1/8 tsp of orange oil. Fantastic!
Will definitely make this again
This Recipe is so easy.
I altered it by adding 1/3 cup of Brown Sugar along with the White Sugar and Rasins.
I like it on the Sweeter side.
It was Delicious!
Absolutely delicious! Better than store bought.
Thanks so much!
Made this with leftover rice from last night. It was easy and oh so good. Hubby really liked it too. Thanks for the recipe! 👍
Yay I am so glad you both enjoyed! Thanks for letting us know!
Yummy!!
I had a lot of leftover rice, so i made a double batch. Two add-in ingredients: 1 c. white raisins and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg. (Measurements here for double recipe. Did I say “YUMMMM!”
So glad you liked it!!!
Super easy recipe. And very delicious. Thank you