This Baked Rice Pudding is an old-fashioned recipe from mom's card file. This thick, creamy custard top dessert recipe is easy to make. It has a sweet dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg (or both!) and optional addition of raisins.
Nothing says comfort more than a warm, cinnamon custard aroma wafting from Mom's kitchen. As a child, I would love a bowl of this rice pudding straight from the oven. A layer of custard on top with a sweet and creamy rice bottom is the ultimate comfort food of my past!
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Cooked Versus Raw Rice
I remember watching my mom make baked rice pudding. She would make it several different ways. My memories of rice pudding is a layer of rice on the bottom of the pan with a rich custard like top that was sprinkled with sweet and chewy raisins.
When Mom and I made this pudding recipe to share here on my website, we tried two different ways. We cooked the rice first for one, and left it raw for the second. The final versions were both very different.
Mom and I prefered the version with cooked rice. My Dad and members of Mom's church, who were her other taste testers, mainly preferred the version made with the raw rice! Be sure to check the notes in the recipe card for alternate baking methods.
🥘 Ingredients
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Long grain rice, we used jasmine rice.
Whole milk
Granulated sugar
Salt
Vanilla extract
Large eggs
Raisins
Ground nutmeg
🍽 Equipment
Recommended: Blender
Saucepan to boil the rice in (if boiling rice).
Mesh strainer for rinsing the rice.
1-½ to 2 quart casserole dish, one similar to this one works well.
🔪 Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for convection).
- Cook the rice according to package instructions.
- Add the following ingredients to blender: cup sugar, teaspoon salt, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs.
- Blend egg mixture in blender until well combined.
- Spray baking dish with cooking spray.
- Add egg mixture to cooked rice and add to baking dish.
- Place in oven hot water bath and bake 2½ hours, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
- Store any leftover pudding in refrigerator.
💭 Top Tips
- Be sure to rinse the raw rice before using it. This will rinse any excess starch from the rice.
- If pre-cooking the rice, add it to the water after it has come to a boil.
- While cooking the rice, stir occasionally to separate the rice and watch for doneness.
- Using a blender to mix the custard ingredients ensures a well mixed egg mixture.
- Spray the baking dishes thoroughly with cooking spray.
FAQs
I don't recommend this. Minute rice is quick cooking rice and will break down and become mushy with a lengthy cooking time. I recommend long grain rice, either white or whole grain.
Rinsing the rice before cooking will rinse off any debris and remove the surface starch that causes rice to stick and clump together.
On a side by side taste test, I felt there was a very big difference. The raw rice seemed to almost be overcooked to me. I felt the pudding with the pre-cooked rice had more texture, even though we baked them both the same length of time.
📖 Variations
- Use cinnamon in place of nutmeg for dusting the top of the rice pudding.
- Dried cranberries can be used in place of raisins or the raisins can be left out entirely.
- Substitute brown sugar for white sugar for a deeper caramel like flavor.
I first wrote this post in May of 2010. Justin and Christopher (my two sons) both love Old Fashioned Baked Rice pudding and Classic Rhubarb Pie. However, Justin really loves rice pudding! The creamier, thicker, the better are the words he used to describe the way he liked it. This pudding is exactly what Justin ordered in an Old Fashioned Baked Rice Pudding Recipe. I hope you will enjoy it!
If you made this recipe, please take a moment to give it a star rating!
📖 Recipe
Mom's Old Fashioned Baked Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- ½ cup well washed rice cooked according to instructions
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup raisins optional
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for convection).
- Cook the rice according to package instructions
- Add following ingredients to a blender: ½ cup sugar, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 1 quart whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 3 eggs and blend until well combined.
- Spray baking dish with cooking spray.
- Add egg mixture to cooked rice and transfer to the baking dish.
- Place the rice pudding in the oven in a hot water bath and bake 2½ hours, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
- Store any leftover pudding in refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
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Sally Hanslits
I cook the rice in milk rather than water to make it even more healthy,I add a cup of sweetened coconut, and only 1/2 cup of sugar, 3 eggs rather than 2. We like it for breakfast also so try to
get more calcium & protein in it. Our family love it.