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This Instant Pot Rice Pudding is a quick and easy dessert that cooks in just minutes using your electric pressure cooker. I love that it’s naturally gluten-free and how you only need 5 ingredients to get started!
How to Make Instant Pot Rice Pudding
Making rice pudding in your Instant Pot couldn’t be easier. I love how the pressure cooker makes cooking the rice 100% hands-off, and it’s relatively fast with just a 4 minute pressure cooking cycle.
After the rice is cooked, you simply stir in a can of coconut milk, which makes it extra-creamy without using eggs, and a dash of cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup for sweetness. (You can use any other sweetener you like, too!)
Can Milk Be Used in the Instant Pot?
Milk can curdle if you try to cook it under pressure, so it’s important that you follow the recipe directions closely. In this case, you cook the rice with water only, and then you can stir in the rest of the ingredients when it’s done cooking.
If you would prefer to use real milk instead of coconut milk, that’s totally fine– but be sure to wait until the rice is cooked first. (And heavy cream would be the most similar substitute for the coconut milk, if you want extra-creamy results.)
How Do You Make Thick Rice Pudding?
This rice pudding will thicken up on its own as it cools, but if you want even thicker results there are two things you can do to help it along:
- Use the sautĆ© setting. Once you stir in the rest of the ingredients, your rice pudding will look a little runny in texture. It will thicken up as it cools, but if you can make it thicker by pressing Cancel (to change cooking cycles), and then press the SautĆ© button. You’ll need to stir the pudding constantly to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom, but in 5 to 10 minutes some of the liquid will evaporate and it will be even thicker when it cools.
- Use an immersion blender. I do this trick when I make the brown rice pudding in The Fresh & Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook. If you pulse an immersion blender into the rice pudding, it will blend up some of the rice making it creamier, while still leaving plenty of texture. If you don’t have an immersion blender, try transfering a cup of the cooked rice pudding to a blender or food processor and blending it until smooth. Then stir it back into the rest of the rice pudding for a creamier result.
Keep in mind that this pudding is very thick when refrigerated, so you’ll want to warm it up slightly to loosen it up again. (Coconut milk is solid when chilled.) Or you can add a little water to help thin it out again and serve it chilled.
Which Rice is Best for Rice Pudding?
Almost any white rice will give you a creamy rice pudding, unless it’s instant rice or parboiled. For some reason, precooked rice doesn’t work as well for this type of recipe, so I recommend avoiding those. You can use long-grain or short-grain rice, including:
- Arborio
- Basmatti
- Jasmine
If you would like to make rice pudding with brown rice, you can use the method below, but then I recommend blending it to make it creamier, as I mentioned above.
Should You Rinse the Rice Before Making Rice Pudding?
In many cases, it’s a good idea to rinse your rice before cooking it, as that can remove some of the starch and prevent the grains from sticking together. However, in the case of rice pudding, I’ve found that it’s creamier when you don’t rinse the rice first.
How to make Instant Pot Rice Pudding ( 1-Minute Video):
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice (Arborio, Jasmine, or Basmatti all work!)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (or to taste)
Instructions
- Combine the rice and water in the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Move the steam release valve to "Sealing" and select the Manual or Pressure Cook button to cook at high pressure for 4 minutes.
- It will take the pot roughly 8 minutes to come to pressure before the cooking cycle begins. (In a 6 quart Instant Pot; a larger one will take longer.) When the cycle is complete, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes. The screen will read LO:10, and then you can move the steam release valve to "Venting" to release any remaining pressure.
- When the floating valve in the lid drops, it's safe to open the lid. (See the video in this recipe post if you need a demonstration.) Remove the lid and stir in the coconut milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup.
- Remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot to help the rice pudding cool down faster. Serve the pudding with cinnamon, fruit, and an extra drizzle of maple syrup, if desired.
- The leftover pudding can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. It will become very thick, and nearly solid, when chilled, so don't be surprised if you need to thin it out with water to serve it chilled, or you can warm it up (without adding liquid) so that the coconut milk will become runny again.
Video
Nutrition
Rice Pudding Nutrition (for roughly 3/4 cup): Calories: 164, Fat: 1g, Carbohyrdates: 37g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 2g
Recipe Notes:
- For a lower fat pudding that is less creamy, you can use regular milk, oat milk, or almond milk.
- If you would prefer to use a granulated sugar instead of maple syrup, I’d recommend stirring it in as directed and then bringing the mixture to a boil using the SautĆ© function. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved, then cool and allow it to thicken.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it! And if you make a substitution, I would love to hear about that, too. We can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: Have you made your own rice pudding before? What do you like to serve it with? I know it’s traditional to use raisins, but I think fresh fruit is prettier so I’ve been on a raspberry kick!
This was delicious and easy! I used arborio rice and added everything together in one pot at the same time and cooked for the instructed time. Simple. Turned out delicious! Thank you!
Any tips how to make without an Instant Pot?
Delicious! I did half coconut milk and half almond milk and it came out great. Thank you for sharing the recipe:)
This is SO good! My kids devoured it and it was only 1/6 cup maple syrup. Thanks for another delicious recipe!!