The Best Dairy Free Rice Pudding

This is the best dairy free rice pudding recipe. It's so rich and creamy and can be made on the stovetop, in the Instant Pot, or in a slow cooker. This pudding is also gluten-free and vegan and makes a healthy breakfast or dessert.

Table of Contents

• Why you will love this recipe:
• Ingredients and substitutions:
• How to make (step-by-step):
• Top tips:
• Variations and add ins:
• How to serve:
• How to store:
• Frequently asked questions:
• Other recipes you will love:
• Recipe

Why you will love this recipe:

• The taste! This rice pudding is so rich and creamy and has the perfect sweet flavour with hints of cinnamon.
• It's easy and simple to make and is made in just one pot so the clean up is super simple!
• This creamy rice pudding can be made on the stovetop, in a slow cooker or in an Instant Pot of pressure cooker.
• Besides being dairy free this pudding recipe is also gluten-free, vegan and refined sugar free.
• This homemade rice pudding can be eaten for breakfast, as a dessert or snack.
• It stores well so is a great option for meal prep.  

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. 
• Vanilla extract - this helps enhance all the amazing flavours of this pudding.
• Raisins – to help give more natural sweetness to this rice pudding recipe. 
• Cinnamon – ground cinnamon gives this healthy pudding the perfect fall flavour.
• Sea salt - a pinch is all you need to help contrast the sweet taste of the pudding.

How to make (step-by-step):

To make on the stovetop:

Step one:

First, add the ingredients to a medium sized saucepan or 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:

Let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pudding reaches the consistency you prefer.

Step four:

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

To make in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker:

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.

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 and lock it into 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:

Once 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!

To make in a slow cooker or Crockpot:

Step one:

First, add all the ingredients to your slow cooker or 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!

Top tips:

• I recommend using full fat coconut milk for this pudding - 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. Just note that if you do this the pudding will no longer be refined sugar free.
• 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.
• Instead of coconut milk you can use unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk. I do not recommend oat milk as it's too sweet.
• 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 ground nutmeg or cardamon.
• To make this pudding higher in protein add some collagen peptides.

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 such as almond butter, cashew butter, macadamia nut butter, peanut butter, pumpkin seed butter etc.
• Chopped nuts.
• Chocolate chips or cacao nibs.

How to store:

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

You can also freeze this pudding in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

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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