This wonderful homemade rice pudding is so easy to make! Combine cooked rice with a few pantry staples to make this delightful pudding. It's a wonderful, rich, and creamy, single serving dessert.

There's something purely comforting about rice pudding. My mother made it often when I was a kid. She used to tell me that it was a wonderful way to use up leftover rice.
Why This Recipe Works
One of the things I love about this rice pudding recipe is that you can use just about any kind of cooked rice; white, brown, long-grain, or short-grain. The same is true for the milk you use. Using whole milk will give you a richer rice pudding but you can also use lower fat milks such as 2%, skim, coconut milk, or almond milk.
RELATED: 15 Easy Dessert Recipes For One
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Egg: 1 large egg helps to create a custard-style rice pudding.
- Milk: I prefer using whole milk for a richer rice pudding, but you could use any percentage of cow's milk, coconut milk, or almond milk.
- Salt and vanilla extract: For flavor.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon and nutmeg are perfect in this recipe.
- Sugar: 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar add the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Rice: 1 cup of cooked rice is all you need to make this rice pudding.
- Whipped cream: Optional, but delicious.
- Butter or oil spray: For greasing the baking dish.
How To Make This Recipe
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, salt, spices, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the cooked rice and pour into a lightly buttered 5-inch baking dish.
- Boil a kettle of water to make a water bath. Place baking dish with rice pudding into a larger 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the rice pudding dish. Place in a 325 degree F (165 degree C) preheated oven and bake for 55 minutes or until lightly browned and set.
- Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
Expert Tips
- I use a 5-inch baking dish which holds 1.5 cups of liquid (approx. 350 ml). For best results, use a dish of similar size. See our FAQ page for more information on the baking dishes we recommend.
- Rice pudding is pure comfort food. It's sweet and creamy and absolutely delicious. You might like to consider any of these rice pudding add-ins:
- Add raisins to your rice pudding. I'd recommend using about ¼ cup or less since this is a single serving rice pudding recipe. I don't soak the raisins ahead of time to soften them because there's plenty of liquid in the rice pudding already and it takes almost an hour to bake. The raisins soften perfectly this way.
- Use half and half instead of milk for a creamier rice pudding.
- Sprinkle the top of the rice pudding with a teaspoon of brown sugar as soon as you take it out of the oven.
- Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.Try a chocolate rice pudding recipe - it's heavenly!
Frequently Asked Questions
Rice pudding is a rice-based dessert cooked in milk or sometimes water along with other ingredients. Sugar is added for sweetness.
A water bath, or a bain-marie, is a dish of water used to bake recipes requiring gentle, even heat. It insulates the dish so that it doesn't overcook. All you need is a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the custard dish. The walls of the pan should not touch.
For this single serving rice pudding recipe, I use a 5-inch baking dish or a 6.5x4.9-inch dish. For best results use a dish of similar size.
If you would like additional information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this rice pudding recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Eggs: Cheesy Baked Eggs, Two Ingredient Chocolate Cake, Coconut Cream Pie
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon Rolls, Apple Cinnamon Scones, Snickerdoodles
- Nutmeg: Alfredo Sauce, Apple Galette, Mini Spice Cake
Rice: Fried Rice, Pork Stir Fry, Peaches and Cream Rice Pudding - RELATED: 20 Breakfast Recipes Worth Waking Up For
If you’ve tried this rice pudding recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Rice Pudding For One
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ tablespoon salted butter , for greasing baking dish
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cooked rice
- whipped cream (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly butter a 5-inch baking dish.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, salt, spices, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the rice and pour into baking dish.
- Boil a kettle of water to make a water bath. Place baking dish with rice pudding into a larger 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the rice pudding dish.
- Place in the oven and bake for 55 minutes or until lightly browned and set.
- Serve warm with whipped cream, if desired.
Notes
- I use a 5-inch baking dish which holds 1.5 cups of liquid (approx. 350 ml). For best results, use a dish of similar size. See our FAQ page for more information on the baking dishes we recommend.
- Rice pudding is pure comfort food. It's sweet and creamy and absolutely delicious. You might like to consider any of these rice pudding add-ins:
- Add raisins to your rice pudding. I'd recommend using about ¼ cup or less since this is a single serving rice pudding recipe. I don't soak the raisins ahead of time to soften them because there's plenty of liquid in the rice pudding already and it takes almost an hour to bake. The raisins soften perfectly this way.
- Use half and half instead of milk for a creamier rice pudding.
- Sprinkle the top of the rice pudding with a teaspoon of brown sugar as soon as you take it out of the oven.
- Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.Try a chocolate rice pudding recipe - it's heavenly!
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Tracy Hansen says
Delicious! So nice. What a lovely light custard.
Barbara says
I made your rice pudding recipe last night. I only had heavy cream and added raisins. It’s super easy to make and I ate about 1/4 of it last night so can look forward to more today! Delicious!
Nancy says
Hello Joanie: I have 2% milk and heavy cream. Would one or the other or a blend be my option for success. I love rice pudding. I used to make a Norwegian version Riskrem but makes way too much for just me these days. Thank you!
Joanie Zisk says
Hi Nancy, you could use either or a blend. The higher the fat content of the milk you use, the richer your rice pudding will be. Enjoy!
Clara says
Can i make this recipe without the egg?
Joanie Zisk says
I recommend using an egg in this recipe. Since this is a baked custard style rice pudding, the egg is necessary. If you'd like to make a rice pudding without using an egg, you might like to try this chocolate rice pudding recipe - https://onedishkitchen.com/chocolate-rice-pudding-recipe-for-one/
Nancy says
I’ve made this about 3 times now - works perfectly....I use full fat coconut milk and add raisins as well....very very tasty!!
Joanie Zisk says
Nancy,
I'm so happy you enjoy the recipe and it's great to know that full fat coconut milk works well too. Thank you for letting me know! Have a wonderful weekend.