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Easy Rice Pudding using leftover cooked rice is so comforting and homey, and it’s the perfect way to use up that leftover rice.
This classic dessert is so popular again. It’s easy to make, comforting, delicious, and budget friendly! Looking for another delicious dessert, check out my Coconut Guava Cake, and you’ll be helping animals from the 2025 LA wildfires; take a look for more info.
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Using leftover cooked rice
I LOVE the combination of cooked rice and milk that makes up a yummy rice pudding. This rice pudding with leftover rice will quickly become a favorite in your house too!
It’s super creamy and delicious. And really easy to make.
Simply add the cooked rice, the milk, and a little bit of sugar to a pot. I also added a little pinch of salt for flavor and a tiny bit of butter for extra richness.
Cook that, stirring for about 20 minutes until it’s a thick, rich pudding and you have yourself a great comfort food dessert.
What kind of milk should I use?
I’ve made this rice pudding with almost every kind of milk out there.
It’s super rich and creamy with half & half. I regularly make it with whole milk, which is my favorite. It’ll save a few calories if you use 2% or skim milk, and it’s still creamy and great!
Lactose intolerant or vegan? No worries! This rice pudding is so easy and classic it takes to any milk. I’ve made it with soy milk, oat milk, coconut milk. It’s great with almond milk or macadamia nut milk.
So go with your favorite. Or, make it for a special holiday dessert for the ones you love with their favorite milk.
Chocolate version
I decided I needed to try a Dark Chocolate rice pudding.
I found some dark chocolate oatmilk at the store. And let me tell you, it’s amazing!
Dark, chocolaty, rich, creamy, and super easy to make.
To make the chocolate version, follow the recipe card below, using 2 cups Dark Chocolate milk instead of plain milk and 1 teaspoon espresso powder (added while cooking the rice). I also bumped up the chocolatey-ness by tossing ½ cup chocolate chips in, after allowing the rice pudding to cool a bit (so they stay as chips rather than totally melting into the pudding).
Leftover rice
When I make rice for dinner, say maybe I’m making stir fry, I always make additional rice for leftovers.
Leftover rice is great for tomorrow’s lunch or as a side dish for the next dinner. Or, most importantly, for rice pudding!
For this rice pudding recipe, any kind of rice will work nicely. I typically make a mixture of half brown rice and half white rice. It keeps both my husband and me happy. (I love brown rice while he prefers white rice).
For the rice pudding you see in the pictures I used all white rice, and a short grain white rice at that.
Our house prefers short and medium grain rice in general, so, that’s what I’ve used.
And, like I said, any rice will be great in this Easy Rice Pudding.
If you use all brown rice, it may require a bit more cooking time, as brown rice is a little denser. Brown rice is a whole grain, and good for you. Want more good for you treats? Check out my High Protein Desserts.
Super easy to make, and the perfect comfort food dessert, your family will love this Easy Rice Pudding.
Rice is great for a dessert treat. Another way to use it is in these Loaded Rice Crispy Treats.
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Recipe
Easy Rice Pudding Using Leftover Cooked Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 2 cups milk use your favorite dairy or plant-based
- 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter optional
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan heat the rice, milk, sugar, salt, and butter over medium heat. Stir until the milk begins to simmer, with small bubbles around the edges.2 cups cooked rice, 2 cups milk, 1/3 cup granulated white sugar, Pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Reduce the heat to low and continue to stir.
- Cook until the rice pudding is thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Serve the rice pudding warm or transfer it to the refrigerator. It will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for several days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Angela
I love this for so many reasons! I haven’t had rice pudding in forever plus I’ve been trying to cut down on dairy and this is a GREAT option!
Michaela Kenkel
My Mom always made us rice pudding when we were kids, and but raisins in it. I always loved it!!
Sandra Shaffer
We enjoy non-dairy foods and my husband is a rice pudding fanatic and I love all things chocolate! Dark chocolate oatmilk is on my grocery list!
Jennifer Stewart
Reminds me of my childhood. Looks creamy and delicious.
Kaimen Oquendo
can I cook the rice and then use it right after? hot and all? also, does sticky rice work?
Debi
Kaimen, yes you can cook the rice and use it right away. I do prefer leftover rice as it’s a bit drier and will absorb more milk, but hot fresh rice also works. I’ve never used sticky rice, actually I’ve never made it either, so I’m not sure of the difference. If it’s simply rice made with less moisture, certainly you can use that. You may have to adjust the liquid amounts. If you try the sticky rice, please let me know how it works.
Julie Menghini
This is amazing! I haven’t had rice pudding for years but loved it then. I made mine with a sprinkle of brown sugar!
Carol Mackey
Oat milk tastes chalky to me, but I will make the rice pudding from rice left over from take-out Chinese and half and half.
Amy
This is the recipe I was looking for. Simple…for real. I used whole milk since that is what I had and I was out of vanilla so I used maple syrup. Great recipe. Good texture and flavor. Looking forward to trying other toppings besides cinnamon and raisins.
Linda Chandler
Just the recipe I was looking for, simple and delicious!!
Heather
Particular question.
Have you tried making this with lactaid milk?
Pudding cannot be made with it.
Debi
Heather, no, I have not made this with Lactaid milk. I have made it with plant based milks and dairy milks. The thickening from this rice pudding comes from the rice rather than the milk. Much like congee is made with water. My guess would be that it would work with Lactaid. Let me know if you try it.
R
Love the simplicity! Much too sweet for us though! personal preference — I used half the amount of sugar.
Melissa Lopez
I made it with Lactaid milk, and it came out excellent.
Heather
I made this last night with some leftover rice (I used lactose-free 1% milk), and YUM!!! We ate it for breakfast this morning, along with some ham slices warmed in the skillet. There wasn’t a morsel left…thank you for this easy and delicious recipe!
Sue
OK! So it is about 22 and threatening snow. So I made the rice pudding with my leftover rice. And it is truly so close to what my Grandmother used to make when I was kiddo! BTW I am 61 yrs young. So it’s been a minute or two since I’ve had it.
However, I put my own twist to it. And instead of vanilla. I used Cook’s cinnamon extract. My family LOVE, LOVE, LOVED IT.
Sue