As a child, I was never enamoured with rice pudding. In our house, it was something that my mom made rarely and when she did, she made it for my dad. It seemed like a big production to my young eyes. It was boiled in a large pot, whisked often and then baked in a hot oven. Too much work for something that I didn’t think should have even been a dessert in the first place. Much later, as an adult, I made rice pudding a few times to excellent results, and always choosing recipes that didn’t call for baking the pudding in the oven. Baking pudding in an oven? Why bother!
Even though, I don’t hold fond childhood memories of eating rice pudding, it still somehow reminds me of home. It must be a comfort thing. No cares, no worries. Just pudding.
This is an easy pudding to make. Really. It doesn’t take much whisking or watching over. It’s also pretty low in sugar (though it does taste quite sweet) and fat. Like I said, no cares, no worries. Just pudding!
rice pudding with dried cranberries
1 c water
1/4 t salt
1/2 c arborio rice
3 c skim milk
1/3 c sugar
1 large stick of canela (Mexican cinnamon stick), broken in half (or into 3 pieces)
4 cardamon pods
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 handfuls of dried cranberries1. In a medium-large saucepot, bring water and salt to a boil. Add rice and turn down heat to low. Cover and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
2. Stir in milk and sugar and add in the canela and the cardamon pods. Cook over low heat, covered, and mixing occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 1 hour.
3. Whisk together eggs and vanilla. Whisk about 1 cup hot rice mixture into the egg and then stir into remaining rice. Cook over low heat for a minute or so, until the mixture is nice and thick. Remove from heat and stir in dried cranberries.
4. Transfer into a serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap touching the top of the pudding. This helps to prevent a skin forming. Cool slightly and eat warm or cold.
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Oh boy, I can just taste this one!
Cardamommmmmm. Vanillaaaaa. Canelaaaaaa. (cinnamon is also called ‘canela’ in Greek).
My mom always made rice pudding with lemon zest, which I wasn’t too crazy about as a child…it reminded me of soup!
I have never tried made rice pudding myself because of the ‘conceived’ labour-intensive aspect, but…
given my rice-based diet lately, I am definitely going to try making rice pudding – sans eggs…for now.
Thanks for the recipe..very considerate! saw the great pic on flickr.
I didn’t like rice pudding as a kid either, but I certainly do now. I still haven’t developed much of a liking for bread pudding though.
Hi. Great blog. How many servings do you get from the rice pudding?
thanks cazzer65 for stopping by!
mmm, i think lemon zest would go nice in rice pudding, joanne!
brilynn, no, i’m not a fan of bread pudding either (tho i haven’t had that since i was a kid, so maybe my tastes will have changed).
hag, this is a simple and good recipe! yum.
krakelspektakel, we got about 5 generous servings, though it could make 6 normal sized servings.
I never had rice pudding (we were bread pudding people)until I went to Athens, Greece when i was 19 and had it, for the first time there….I loved it! I have never made it, but I might just try your recipe…thanks.
Mmmmmmmm, sounds delicious! I will definately have to try this recipe soon. I love the idea of using cranberries as opposed to rasins.
Cheers!
Ooooo, wow. I’d been contemplating how to use up the dried cranberries in my cupboard, thinking wistfully of lovely Greek rice pudding… and there’s several bags of rice in my kitchen. Thanks for the inspiration!
eva, cranberries or dried cherries work wonderfully in rice pudding! yum.
meg, the inspiration is all yours! enjoy your rice puddingy goodness 🙂
Mmmm…this looks so good and comforting! Happy Halloween!
well, I ‘just love this pudding!’ 😉
I’ve never made pudding before – I’d rather have some coffee and maybe a little piece of chocolate, or a cookie or…let’s stop here! for dessert. -But this is looking good! (and easy!) I think it’s time for a change…
Thanks Nicole!
Julia, you’ll have to give this a try. It’s a nice change from cookies 🙂
Great recipe. Cranberries were a good idea and help me avoid the whole debate on whether to make rice pudding with or without raisins. My wife hates raisins in the pudding but could handle the dried cranberries.
I love rice pudding! I was wondering can you store this in the fridge and do you know how long it lasts for??