The Best Dairy Free Rice Pudding

This is the best dairy free rice pudding recipe. So creamy and delicious it's also vegan and gluten free. It's made with coconut milk and can be made on the stovetop, in the Instant Pot or in a slow cooker. Easy to make, this vegan pudding is a healthy breakfast or dessert.

Why you will love this recipe:

• This rice pudding recipe is so rich and creamy.
• It's easy and simple to make on the stovetop, and is made in just one pot so the clean up is super simple!
• You can also make this non dairy rice pudding in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
• It's made with coconut milk so it's vegan and also gluten free but you could easily use almond milk or oat milk too.
• Besides being dairy free this rice pudding is also gluten free, egg free, plant based and vegan. 
• This lactose free rice pudding is the perfect pantry staple recipe and doesn't require any hard to find ingredients (I bet you already have them in your house).
• It's kid friendly and is great for picky eaters. 
• It's refined sugar free.
• It's a healthy recipe that can be eaten for breakfast, as a dessert or snack. 

Taste and texture:

This rice pudding is rich, thick and so so creamy. It's sweet, but not too sweet, and has hints of cinnamon. This pudding has a texture similar to cooked oatmeal. The coconut milk adds a delicious sweet and smooth flavour and makes this recipe even creamier.

Key ingredients and substitutions:

• Basmati rice – basmati rice is my favourite white rice for making rice pudding. 
• Coconut milk – to give this pudding the most creamy and rich texture. I recommend using full fat coconut milk rather than light coconut milk (it's too watery). You could use another dairy free milk such as cashew milk, almond milk or oat milk too. 
• Coconut sugar – my favourite natural granulated sugar. You could easily swap this for brown sugar if you don't have coconut sugar. 
• Raisins – to help give more natural sweetness to this rice pudding. 
• Cinnamon – this spice gives this nice pudding the perfect comforting taste. 

How to make this recipe:

How to make on the stovetop:

Step one:

First, add the ingredients to a medium sized pot and place it on the stove on medium heat.

Step two:

Now bring the ingredients to a boil and turn down the heat to low.

Step three:

Now let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until it reaches the consistency you like.

Step four:

Then turn off the burner and put the lid on the pot and let it stand for ~10 minutes (this will soften the rice even more).

How to make this recipe in the Instant Pot:

Yes you can make rice pudding in the Instant Pot! However, instead of using 5 cups of coconut milk I recommend using 3 cups instead. If you do want to use the Instant Pot here is what to do:

Step one:

In the inner pot of your Instant Pot combine all the ingredients and stir well (ensure there are no large cinnamon clumps).

Step two:

Then close the lid, lock it into its position. Press Manual (pressure cooking) and adjust the time to 5 minutes.

Step three:

When the cooking cycle is finished, wait 7-8 minutes before releasing the pressure manually.

Step four:

The when the pin has dropped, open the lid and stir well. Depending on what consistency you like, feel free to add more coconut milk. Then serve and enjoy!

How to make this recipe in the slow cooker or Crockpot:

If you don't want to make this on the stovetop you can use your slow cooker or Crockpot instead. To make it in the slow cooker or Crockpot:

Step one:

First, add all the ingredients to your slow cooker/Crockpot and stir well to combine.

Step two:

Then cook on low heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally (alternatively you can cook it on high heat for ~2 hours).

Step three:

Serve and enjoy!

Chef's tips:

• I recommend using full fat coconut milk for this recipe - if you use low fat it will not turn out very well (the low fat coconut milk has too much water added).
• When you re-heat the pudding you may want to add some additional coconut milk or nut milk as it will thicken in the fridge.
• This rice pudding also tastes really good when it's cold so feel free to either serve it warm or cold.

Variations and add ins:

• If you don't have coconut sugar you can substitute brown sugar instead.
• If you don't like raisins simply omit them from the recipe.
• To make it less sweet you can decrease the amount of sugar you use or use fewer raisins.
• If you don't have basmati rice feel free to use another type of white rice.
• Instead of coconut milk you can use almond milk to make dairy free rice pudding almond milk. 
• Instead of coconut milk you can use oat milk to make oat milk rice pudding. 
• If you like a thinner texture add an extra cup of coconut milk or water to the recipe.
• You could add other spices such as nutmeg or cardamon.

How to serve:

Rice pudding is delicious served as is, but you could also give it even more flavour and texture by adding toppings such as:

• Dried fruit such as raisins, apricots or dates.
• Fresh fruit such as berries, banana, apricots, or apple.
• Any kind of nut butter.
• Chopped nuts.
• Chocolate or cacao nibs.
• You can also stir in some collagen peptides when serving it to give it a boost of protein as well as extra vitamins and minerals.

How to store:

Store this rice pudding in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. 

Frequently asked questions:

Other recipes you will love:

• Vegan Pumpkin Risotto
• Chicken Risotto with Leeks and Peas
• Vegan Cookie Dough
• Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
• Gluten Free Waffles
• Gluten Free Caramel Apple Oatmeal
• Paleo Blueberry Oatmeal
• Dairy Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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