The Creamiest Vegan Rice Pudding

This is the creamiest vegan rice pudding you can make. This easy vegan recipe is using aromatic jasmine rice cooked in a mix of almond milk and coconut milk. Served with a swirl of homemade cinnamon berry sauce. It is an absolutely delicious breakfast or dessert!

If you love rice pudding as much as we do, you’ll these creamy pudding-like desserts as well. Check out The Creamiest Vegan Panna Cotta (way better than with agar agar!) or our Vegan Tapioca Pudding with Strawberry Sauce or our Vegan Custard Tart or our Vegan Chocolate Pudding using sweet potato puree or our Overnight Chia Pudding.

⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our FREE e-book with a shopping list. 

What is a rice pudding?

It seems like almost every nation around the world has a variation for rice pudding. How many combinations can it be you ask if the main ingredients are rice and milk? Well, a lot. Some recipes add eggs or even butter, some don’t. Different recipes use different types of milk (from dairy to non-dairy from full-fat to thin). Recipes differ in terms of spices used (cardamon, nutmeg, cinnamon, anise, saffron, and so on) and flavors added (vanilla, chocolate, nuts, rose water, caramel, lemon, orange, and so on). Some recipes need baking, some are cooked on the stove-top.

So what can you expect from this vegan recipe pudding recipe? It is a simple rice pudding with a super creamy texture ever that you can top with whatever flavor you like.

Ingredients to make rice pudding vegan

Best rice for rice pudding

So the main ingredient is obviously rice, but which rice? You can choose between short-grain and long-grain rice. The most common or popular choices are these:

• Jasmine (long-grain) – I prefer using jasmine rice for 3 reasons: 1) it is easy to cook soft, 2) it is quite light and aromatic, and 3) it absorbs the liquid better than short grain rice. The resulting rice pudding will be creamy, not mushy or chewy at all.
• Arborio (short-grain) – We make Vegan Mushroom Risotto using Arborio because they are high in starch. It means that the starch that leaves the rice will thicken the veggie broth to a creamy consistency. However, this rice tends to absorb less liquid so it takes a long time to get them completely soft and they may still remain chewy.
• Sushi rice (short-grain) – While we love sushi rice to make these Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls, if you choose this type to make rice pudding you will end up with a quite sticky, mushy result.
• Basmati (long-grain) – I use basmati rice for sides. If I need to cook rice for this Chickpea Mushroom Curry, I chose basmati rice. It is fluffy and dry which is great for curry, but not so much for rice pudding.

What dairy-free milk should you use?

I use a combination of almond milk and full-fat canned coconut milk.

• Almond milk is great dairy-free milk with a not too strong nutty flavor, but with a quite creamy consistency. I also love using our Homemade Cashew Milk for the same reasons. I find other non-dairy milks to have more characteristic taste like oat milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. They are harder to push down especially if I am making a dessert that needs to be “vanilla flavored”.
• Canned coconut milk (full-fat or light, but not the one in the carton) is something you need a little bit from if you want the creamiest vegan rice pudding ever. I tried making rice pudding just heavy cream, which was a disaster. Too fatty and the rice cannot soften. I made rice pudding with just milk and it lacked that creaminess I wanted. So the combination was the perfect solution.

How to make Vegan Rice Pudding?

You would think that you make it by dropping a handful of rice into a pot of milk will do the trick. It won’t. It is super easy to make if you know my mom’s trick. For as long as I remember my mom has been making the creamiest rice pudding ever. She used dairy milk back then, but this little trick she used is still applicable if you want to make the creamiest dairy-free rice pudding. The trick is that you need to start with water! Not only to make it cheaper as you can spare 1 cup of milk, but the water softens the rice easier and faster so it will absorb the milk and the “heavy cream” easier as well.

1. Take a saucepan and add ½ cup jasmine rice (100g) with 1 cup lukewarm water (2,3dl) in it. Heat it on medium heat to simmer and bubble a bit, but not boiling (see below picture). You will need approx. 5 minutes for the rice to absorb the water. If you draw a line with your spatula, the rice sticks together (see below picture).
2. Add 1 cup of almond milk (room temperature) (2,3dl). Still heat it on medium heat to simmer and bubble a bit, but not boiling. You need this time 10 minutes for the rice to absorb the milk. If you draw a line with your spatula, the rice sticks together (see below picture).
3. Add ½ cup full-fat coconut milk (shaken, at room temperature) (1,2dl), ¼ cup sugar (50g), and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Still on medium heat, bring to boil. Then cover it with a lid and take it off the stove. Leave it covered for 15 minutes! Enjoy the creamiest non dairy rice pudding ever. Serve it with a quick berry sauce (I show you how below) or add your favorite topping.

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Let’s make a quick berry sauce!

It is really quick even if you made it with fresh or frozen fruit.

1. Take a saucepan and add 2 cups of mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries, red currant, black current).
2. Add ½ cup water and ½ cup coconut sugar. Bring it to boil.
3. When the berries are soft, use an immersion blender to blend it to a sauce. (If the berries were frozen, they will soften even quicker.)
4. Finally, add cinnamon and cornstarch and bring it to boil to activate the starch. It will thicken to a slow-flowing sauce that is perfect to top your rice pudding. It took me approx. 10 minutes.

What to serve with a creamy rice pudding?

Can you eat a creamy vegan rice pudding cold? Absolutely. Here are 3 toppings you can serve your pudding with, may it be cold or warm:

Berry Sauce – The number ONE topping is without doubt a berry sauce. Whatever berry you have: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and a combination of these. Follow the directions in this recipe to make a Mixed Berries Sauce, or check out our quick Strawberry Sauce recipe.

Cinnamon – You can go wrong with a classic. Sprinkle the top with some cinnamon. It is delicious. Add a handful of raisins or other dried fruits if you like them.

Cocoa powder – You can easily turn this vegan rice pudding recipe into a chocolate rice pudding. In step 3 instead of vanilla extract add 2 Tbsp cocoa powder. Mix well and continue with the instructions. I love to top it with fresh banana, mangoes, or berries. If you forgot it, you can always add as a topping like cinnamon and mix well then.

FAQs and substitutions

When can you eat rice pudding?

You can serve warm right after it is ready or wait for it to be cold. It keeps in the fridge well for approx. 3 days. Never lasted longer in my household. The longer you keep it though, the less creamy it will be. The rice will keep absorbing the liquid until it is mushy and dry. You can eat it as a dessert or as a breakfast just like our Vegan Tapioca Pudding with Strawberry Sauce or our Blueberry Millet Porridge, or our Healthy Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, or our Overnight Chia Pudding.

What kind of dairy-free milk can I use?

We recommend almond milk or cashew milk (here is our Homemade Cashew Milk recipe). If you use other nut milk, the nutty flavor may come across. The same is true for oat milk and soy milk, as they are too characteristic. Coconut milk (light) and the full-fat coconut cream together will take rice pudding in a very coconut-y direction. If you like a hint of coconut, that it is perfect then. If you’re not, try choosing another alternative.

Can I use other fruits for the sauce?

Absolutely, whatever berry you have: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and a combination of these. You can absolutely use frozen fruit as well. No need to thaw them, just add it to the pot. Here is our quick Strawberry Puree recipe that we love with this rice pudding recipe as well as with tips, FAQs, and instructions.

Can I use other sweeteners?

Sure you can, although I only tested this recipe with white sugar. I usually use coconut sugar, cane sugar, or maple syrup, but I really wanted a white rice pudding. Any brown sweetener would alter that color too much. I am not familiar with the measurements for other sweeteners like stevia or erythritol. If you do, please let us know in the comments.

This Rice Pudding recipe is vegan, so dairy-free, and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegetarian, soy-free, and gluten-free diets. It is not WFPB-friendly (whole foods, plant-based) as white sugar is not compliant. You can change to date sugar or maple syrup but that will turn your pudding more brown than white.

⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our FREE e-book with a shopping list. 

More vegan pudding recipes

You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dessert Recipes or check out

• The Creamiest Vegan Panna Cotta (way better than with agar agar!)
• Vegan Tapioca Pudding with Strawberry Sauce
• Vegan Custard Tart
• Overnight Chia Pudding
• Vegan Chocolate Pudding using sweet potato puree