Easy Brown Rice Pudding
Published 10/2/2018 • Updated 12/8/2023
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Instantly warm up chilly winter days with a bowl of cozy brown rice pudding. This naturally vegan recipe is delightfully cinnamon-spiced and comes together with just 6 wholesome ingredients.
Once the temps drop below freezing, it’s rice pudding season here in the midwest. If you aren’t familiar with traditional rice pudding, you’re in for a treat today! Homemade brown rice pudding is thick, slightly sweet, creamy, and warms you up from the inside out! It’s like a second cousin to oatmeal – especially when made with a whole grain like brown rice. Often enjoyed for dessert, we love rice pudding for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up, too.
This wholesome stovetop brown rice pudding is made in about an hour (lots of hands-off time) with simple ingredients and without any refined sugars. Here at Fit Foodie, we love cinnamon – if you do, too, we recommend increasing the amount to 2 teaspoons for even more warm, cozy flavor. Our naturally plant-based recipe is also gluten free, making this a versatile sweet that everyone loves!
Featured Comment
“Easy recipe to follow and we loved the results. We added a small handful of raisins at the 45 minute mark, and they added a nice texture and sweetness. We love cinnamon, and will increase the amount for the next batch.” – Ryan
What is in brown rice pudding?
All you need are just a few pantry staples to make this simple recipe:
- Brown rice (we used long grain)
- Almond milk
- Maple syrup
- Salt
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
Brown Rice Pudding Variations
Rice pudding is a very forgiving recipe and works well with any of these substitutions:
Rice: Use the same amount of white rice instead of brown rice.
Milk: Instead of almond milk, use any kind of plant-based or regular milk. Oat milk would add a delicious creaminess and sweetness.
Maple Syrup: Feel free to use honey instead, but the pudding would no longer be vegan.
Spices: Increase the amount of cinnamon or mix things up by adding homemade pumpkin pie spice or a chai spice mix.
FAQ
Rice pudding is typically a dessert, but this recipe could totally pass for breakfast! Top with berries or a sliced banana, nuts, and a drizzle of maple syrup for a wholesome breakfast.
Yes, this is a naturally gluten free (and dairy free/vegan) recipe!
Rice pudding is supposed to be pretty thick. Once cooked, if it’s too thick for your liking, add 1-2 tablespoons of additional milk at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It’s a great meal-prep snack or dessert to make on the weekend and enjoy all week long!
Freezing Brown Rice Pudding
Let the rice pudding cool to room temperature, transfer to freezer-safe containers (we like to freeze this in individual servings), and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and warm before enjoying – you may need to stir in a splash of almond milk to thin the pudding out a bit.
Serving Suggestions
Serve brown rice pudding hot with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and a splash of almond milk. If you’re eating this recipe for breakfast, I suggest swirling in a nut butter (like cashew butter or peanut butter) and adding a handful of raisins or nuts.
Easy Brown Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain brown rice
- 4 cups unsweetened almond milk, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup*
Instructions
- Place the brown rice, 3 cups of almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and maple syrup in a medium pot set over medium/high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. Let simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining cup of milk and simmer for another 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is soft and chewy.
- Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon and optional almond milk.
Tips & Notes
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing Instructions: Once cool, transfer rice pudding to freezer-safe containers, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and warm before enjoying – you may need to stir in a splash of almond milk to thin the pudding out a bit.
- Maple Syrup: Use 1-2 more tablespoons of maple syrup for sweeter rice pudding. Feel free to use honey instead, but the pudding would no longer be vegan.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This receipt gets a big wopping ZERO. I followed your recipe to a T. The mixture started sticking to the pot, but yet the recipe said nothing about using a teflon pan. If a teflon pan is necessary, then you need to state that in the recipe. I stirred occasionally, every few minutes. If that is not enough occasionally, the recipe needs to be more specific. At 20 minutes, it is burning. I have just wasted all of these ingredients and I am not a happy camper. I gave up my workout to make this rice pudding for my boyfriend. I am going to see if the microwave can salvage it.
Came here to see if anyone else had this issue too! Not impressed!
Vegetarian rice is simple and delicious.
Hey Lee-any chance you would give this recipe a go in the Instant Pot. I tried another recipe twice and it came out too dry. Thanks girl!
This was SO good. I doubled it and omitted a cup of the almond milk to make it a little thicker. Both my son and my husband eat oatmeal religiously and I couldn’t tell a difference between the two after it was prepared (honestly, I liked this one better due to the minimal sugar content). I don’t have a rice cooker, but my Instant Pot cooks brown rice (and pretty much everything else) to perfection, and this recipe was certainly no exception. It was AMAZING.
This was my first time making rice pudding and I’ll definitely make it again! I used honey instead of sugar, added a scoop of protein powder powder and put blueberries on top instead of raisins. It pretty much felt like a nice bowl of oatmeal. So good!
This is so easy to make and so delicious. I tend to leave out the cinnamon and opt to sprinkle it on top when serving it. I also love adding raisins right at the start (with the rice and almond milk) because then they plump up and just take on this delicious flavor/texture.
Thank you for the recipe! Both my mother and I have enjoyed it a lot. 🙂
Just as a note, I made this on the stove top in a saucepan. I do not have a rice cooker, nor do I like to use things like that because they don’t allow me to tend to what I’m cooking — which means there’s more room for error. I left the top slid to the side a bit to let some of the steam out so it wouldn’t overflow, and put the heat on low. I also went to the stove and stirred it periodically while it was cooking. Because of the method I used, it was fine for me to add all the almond milk at once. I just sat down, read or watched some videos on my computer in the kitchen, and periodically stirred until it had the right consistency. It came out really delicious, creamy, and perfect. So, to anyone having problems, perhaps try the method I used, as it turned out very well. Also, as a note, I used organic white jasmine rice.
So glad you loved it!
This just did not work for me. When the rice cooker finished, I found goopey almond milk all over my counter. I mixed in the last cup of almond milk, and it still came out as sugary wet rice. Maybe my rice cooker is too small. I should have known brown rice would behave differently. I just wouldn’t call this rice pudding.
Calling this healthy is far out… Rice is not even to be considered a food, the ironic thing, is Brown Rice is considered healthier than White rice, but Brown Rice contains Arsenic…
If you use sugar it’s not healthy.Leave it out and puree 2 bananas and add when rice is soft.Mix in and leave for a couple of minutes.Add yoghurt for a creamier taste.
This looks ace.. I don’t use a rice cooker but was wondering if anyone had thought to try this out in a slow cooker.??? Any results before I give it a go tomorrow?