Easy Brown Rice Pudding

4.38 from 8 votes
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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.

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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

Do you serve rice pudding for breakfast or dessert?

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.

Is rice pudding gluten free?

Yes, this is a naturally gluten free (and dairy free/vegan) recipe!

How do you thin out rice pudding?

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.

4.38 from 8 votes

Easy Brown Rice Pudding

Warm and cozy brown rice pudding is delicious any time of day. Enjoy it for breakfast, a midday snack, or dessert!
By: Lee Hersh
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Servings: 4
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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

Serving: 1 /4, Calories: 224 kcal, Carbohydrates: 44 g, Protein: 4 g, Fat: 4 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 10 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Lee Funke

Lee is the founder of Fit Foodie Finds and based in Minneapolis, MN. She started this website in 2010 as a way to share her love for real food and wellness. The internet has changed so much since then and so has Fit Foodie Finds. Today we're a female-run recipe website publishing hundreds of tried and true recipes developed and tested by our team.

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Kelly
Kelly
June 24, 2024 5:16 pm

Hi! This sounds like a great meal prepoer! I just have a question, does the rice need to be precooked before making this? Or just straight uncooked brown rice? Thanks

Lori
Lori
July 3, 2023 9:46 pm

4 stars
I made this almost exactly as written, I use pea protein milkโ€ฆI cut the honey down and upped the cinnamon (absolutely LOVED IT) never thought to eat it for breakfast until now. I am wondering though
I bet vanilla and matcha powder would be a neat experiment

Emily Richter
July 10, 2023 2:12 pm
Reply to  Lori

Oooh vanilla matcha sounds like a yummy twist on this ๐Ÿ™‚ Let us know if you try it!

Ryan
Ryan
March 10, 2022 7:07 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
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.

Annie
Annie
November 15, 2020 11:49 am

Thanks much! This recipe was exactly what I was looking for — was totally craving rice pudding, but I generally try to avoid dairy and white rice. Made it at high altitude, and it was SO GOOD. For other mountain folk out there, as with most recipes you need to increase liquid (almond milk) and cook time to make it work. I live at 8300′, and added an extra cup of almond milk at the start, and probably another extra cup (as needed when it started to thicken too much) in the 2nd stage of cooking. I simmered it for an extra 30 min. House smelled wonderful and pudding turned out delicious ๐Ÿ™‚

Debra Drew
October 28, 2020 9:44 am
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
FYI – sugar comes from a plant.

Brian Bell
Brian Bell
December 28, 2020 12:22 am
Reply to  Debra Drew

but white rice is not VEGAN because its whitened using bone char, which is the bones of animals.

Mike
Mike
October 4, 2020 9:47 am

Does the recipe work with pudding rice vs brown rice? Thank you!

Anon
Anon
May 6, 2023 5:28 am
Reply to  Mike

Yes… to make it work reduce the cooking time by half as white rice softens faster and reduce the milk as there will be less evaporation. I would start with half the milk and add up to 3/4 if needed – better to be thick than a soupy muss!

elizabeth
elizabeth
August 14, 2020 2:15 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
im not a vegan but was looking for a healthy rice pudding recipe. i loved your’s. i used basmati because thats what i had so i shortened simmer time to 25-30 minutes. thank you for sharing. i am looking forward to trying some other healthy recipes from this site.

Savanna
Savanna
August 21, 2019 5:59 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
I wanted to make rice pudding with brown rice and almond milk and so spotted your website, I liked the ingredients as I had everything in my cupboard, so decided to make the Healthy Rice Pudding yesterday afternoon. It was so delicious and easy to make that I had to make some more today. Even my husband enjoyed it.
Thank you Lee, very much appreciated.

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