Crock Pot Rice Pudding (+Video)
Crock Pot Rice Pudding is super flavorful with sweetened tender rice and lightly flavored with delicious brown sugar and cinnamon!
AN OLD-FASHIONED DESSERT
Let me start by saying that this ain’t your Grandma’s rice pudding. I feel rice pudding gets a bad rap. It’s kinda like fruit cake. We’re bringing rice pudding back. And if you like this one, make sure you check out my Crock Pot Coconut Rice Pudding!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Quick cooking rice is best for this particular recipe. The reason being is we are really trying to get this to cook down to be very creamy. Much of the starch has already been removed (but not all) from quick cooking rice (Minute Rice). This helps to keep it creamy rather than gummy. But if you are absolutely against quick cooking rice – then by all means – try long grain rice. I have not tested uncooked long grain rice with this recipe so I cannot give you cooking times or cooking recommendations.
Absolutely. It is a perfectly safe way to cook rice and the heat is so low that you don’t have to worry about burning.
It is similar in texture to tapioca but better. It is a creamy pudding with just the slightest texture added by the rice. The best rice pudding is smooth and creamy with tender bits of rice.
It’s a combination of factors. It is the starch released from the rice as well as the absorption of the liquid by the rice.
Not when using quick cooking rice (Minute Rice). It is not necessary since much of the starch has already been removed. Rinsing rice helps to remove some of the starch coating. When cooking with long grain rice, you will always want to rinse the rice beforehand.
Leftover rice pudding must be stored in a covered container in he refrigerator. It will keep for up to 3 days. Warm in the microwave to reheat. I do not recommended freezing leftover rice pudding.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- butter – you can use unsalted or salted butter here. I always have salted butter on hand so that is what I usually use.
- whole or 2% milk – no skim milk – it’s too watery. Also, some recipes use evaporated milk and I honestly think that ruins the overall flavor so stick with regular milk.
- Minute® White Rice – it has to be instant rice to work with this particular recipe. You would have to make adjustments with other rice and I have not tested any other rice.
- sugar – real sugar here. I have not tested this with any sugar substitutes.
- cinnamon – use your favorite ground cinnamon. I like the Saigon cinnamon (you can buy this at the regular grocery store, see my ingredient image below).
- brown sugar – I think this adds such a nice depth of flavor so don’t skip it! If you like a deeper molasses flavor then use dark brown sugar.
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT RICE PUDDING:
Grease the inside of a 4 quart slow cooker with butter. Be sure to get the sides too. Set aside the butter for use again in just a minute. Note: You can use a round, oval or casserole-shaped slow cooker.Cooking times may vary slightly when using different shaped slow cookers.
Add the milk, Minute Rice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract and brown sugar into the crock pot.
Give it all a gentle stir. Then dot the top with the remaining butter.
Cover and cook on low for about 3-4 hours.
When the rice is tender, it is ready. Stir well, then top with a sprinkling of cinnamon. This dish will thicken as it cools. If it isn’t thick enough for your tastes, just let it hang out for about 30 minutes and it will get thicker. Alternatively, if you want to thin it, just add a bit of milk until you reach the desired consistency.
Cook’s Notes: This dish is traditionally made with raisins added. My family just doesn’t care for raisins in this. But if you want to add them, stir about a cup of raisins in during the last hour of cooking. Also, to change it up a bit, you could used dried cranberries as well.
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Originally published: November 2015
Updated and republished: December 2021
Crock Pot Rice Pudding (+Video)
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 6 cups whole or 2% milk (no skim milk – it's too watery)
- 2 cups Minute® White Rice, uncooked INSTANT RICE ONLY
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Grease the inside of a 4-quart slow cooker with butter. Be sure to get the sides too. Set aside the remaining butter for use again in just a minute.
- Add the milk, Minute Rice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract and brown sugar into the crock pot. Give it a gentle stir.
- Then dot the top with the remaining butter.
- Cover and cook on low for about 3-4 hours (stirring occasionally while cooking.)
- When the rice is tender, it is ready.
- Stir well, then top with a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Video
Notes
- NOTE: it has to be instant rice to work with this particular recipe. You would have to make adjustments with other rice and I have not tested any other rice.
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- You can use a round, oval or casserole-shaped slow cooker. Cooking times may vary slightly when using different shaped slow cookers.
- This dish will thicken as it cools. If it isn’t thick enough for your tastes, just let it hang out for about 30 minutes and it will get thicker. Alternatively, if you want to thin it, just add a bit of milk until you reach the desired consistency.
- This dish is traditionally made with raisins added. If you want to add them, stir about a cup of raisins in during the last hour of cooking. Also, to change it up a bit, you could used dried cranberries as well.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Used to make rice pudding in oven with cinnamon and golden raisins but we also added eggs which gave it a custard consistency on top, used minute rice.
This is awesome! It is so easy! My entire extended family now uses this recipe!
Thank you!
I wonder how this would work if you doubled it for a pot luck?
Hi! Would this keep well as leftovers? If so would it be good cold straight out of the fridge?
I made this last year for Thanksgiving and it was DELICIOUS!!! But….I had marked on my recipe that I added sweetened condensed milk. I thought I saw a comment on here that someone added it and it turned out great but I can find the comment…..did anyone add a can of sweetened condensed milk too??
I MAKE RICE PUDDING ALOT …ADD ZEST OF 1 LEMON AND 1/2 TSP NUTMEG TO THIS WHILE COOKING…RAISINS ARE A MUST AND LOVE THE CINNAMON ON TOP….RAVES OVER THIS RECIPE ALL THE TIME….EVERYONE THAT TRIES IT CHANGES TO MY RECIPE….TRY IT IF YOU’VE NEVER USED LEMON AND NUTMEG…..
I have a question. When you have left overs do you rewarm the pudding or do you serve it cold?
I made a half recipe using my smaller crock pot. I added raisins and had to sub half 1% milk and evaporated milk. It was quite thin so I did the same thing as another commenter – tempered an egg and added it. The pudding thickened up nicely. Since it was late, it went straight into the fridge. The flavor is great. This one will be a recipe I make often.
I made this just as recipe stated except I used skim milk since it’s all I had. I took the lid off last 30 minutes and it turned out perfect. I did switch crock pot to high and watched it. Amazing. I will make this again.
I never made rice pudding before until I came across this recipe. I decided to make it yesterday and I followed this recipe exactly. It came out perfect!! I’m so amazed at how easy this recipe was to follow, especially since I’m not much of a cook at all! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. This was the BEST rice pudding I have ever had.
What can I use that is dairy free instead of milk that would be thick enough?
Can this be made with regular rice instead of minute rice?
How long do you suggest cooking it if the recipe has been cut in half? Same amount of time or half the time? I am the only one in my house that likes rice pudding and I’m currently 8 months pregnant and this looks DELISH!!! I want to make it for breakfast in the morning! (I know-super healthy! ha!)
Can I use Coconut milk in place of whole milk? Am dairy-sensitive.
I have a lot of coconut milk in the house right now – I’m going to try it and will let you know – I’m also going to use arborio rice instead of minute
I have been searching for a rice pudding recipe like my grandmother made for years. This isn’t how she made it, but boy does it taste just like hers! Thank you for bringing back some childhood memories by sharing this recipe! After reading comments, I added some more rice because I used 2% milk, but it soaked up all the liquid and I had to add more milk. It is delicious!!
This makes my heart so happy to read!! Thank you Candice!
I just made this and it turned out wonderfully! I even forgot about it for an extra hour and wound up cooking it 5 hours but it was still just fine, only a little bit of rice stuck to the side of the crock. Thank you sharing your recipe! Big hit here, I’ve already been asked to make it again. C=
I didn’t rate this recipe because I haven’t made it yet. I just wanted to say that my mom made the best rice pudding when I was a child. I always add a pinch of nutmeg to my rice pudding. But then I like nutmeg. I look forward to trying this recipe!
This is my husband’s favorite dish. Never made it in the crock pot and I always used raw rice according to his mother’s recipe. And in her recipe you use nutmeg instead of cinnamon. I wonder if you could use raw rice and cook it double the time like 8-10 hours on low in the crock pot?
Anyone know if you can freeze this ??
Thanks!
Thank you for my NEW FAVORITE Rice Pudding Recipe!
Easy is an understatement. I also would like to commend you for keeping your cool when asked the same question over and over and over, and a few of the questions made me laugh so hard I had to go get some kleenex…No offense to anyone at all, as it’s all in fun, but maybe some of you shouldn’t be allowed to use anything that gets plugged into the wall anyway? Just sayin…….
Thank you again Saint Brandie!
You win for comment of the day!! Ha!! Thank you for making me snort!! Lol
If I use a 6 qt. slow cooker do I have to make any adjustments?
Made this recipe last night. I used whole milk. At 3 hours rice was cooked but consistency was dry. I added more milk to make it creamy. After I transferred the rice pudding to a serving bowl and let it cool, I put it in the refrigerator. To my surprise the rice pudding solidified. It was no longer like pudding, it was like cutting into a bread and it was very dry. It still tasted good but the consistency was awful! What did I do wrong????
I’m going to make this exactly as the recipe calls, but my question is about the shape of the crock pot. You mentioned that different shapes might vary the cooking time. Mine is 4 qts and round. Will my cooking time be affected by this shape? Unfortunately I won’t be able to stick around and babysit the pot the whole time so I was hoping for some suggestions so I can time it out better. Thanks in advance!! ????
Made it today. It was so easy and delicious! Mine got done quicker than the 3-4 hours and started to dry out a bit, but was still delicious! Just had to add more milk at the end.
Bought all the ingredients and now I can’t find my crock pot. Any suggestions????
You could try baking it in a slow oven covered for about half the cooking time. I am not sure for how long. I used to make a custard rice pudding at a restaurant but have lost the recipe. I am thinking of modifying this one at a later date. Our recipe called for cooked rice and was baked for about an hour.
I made it in a saucepan on top of the stove. Put all ingredients in pan except rice. Heat over low-medium heat till hot but not boiling. Add rice, stir and cover. Heat until mixture just starts bubbling, then turn down heat to where it’s barely bubbling constantly (kind of like in a crockpot). Cook till rice has absorbed liquid and cooked to desired texture. I did find I had to add more rice to thicken properly. Experiment with the rice-milk proportions to get your desired consistency.
Hi Nori! Thanks so much for your feedback on making it on the stovetop! I appreciate your tips!
Maybe someone on here will have one. I have only tested this recipe in a slow cooker. 🙂