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.
I love making my own pudding recipes like raspberry chia pudding because they taste so good and are so easy to make, which is why I am so excited to share another delicious pudding with you today!
Table of Contents
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 so easy to make and is made in just one pot so the clean up is super simple, just like vegan pumpkin risotto!
- This creamy rice pudding can be made on the stovetop, in a slow cooker or in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
- Besides being dairy free this healthy rice pudding recipe is also gluten-free, lactose free, vegan and refined sugar free.
- This homemade rice pudding can be eaten for breakfast, as a dessert, or snack. It's a fun alternative to oatmeal for breakfast.
- It stores well so is a great option for meal prep.
- Kids love it!
If you love rice pudding you will also want to try my dairy free orange chocolate overnight oats, dairy free cherry crisp and dairy free chocolate caramel brownies.
Ingredients and substitutions:
- Basmati rice – basmati rice is my favourite white rice for making rice pudding. If you don't have basmati rice you can use another medium grain white rice instead.
- Coconut milk – to give this pudding the most rich and creamy 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 soy milk.
- Coconut sugar – my favourite natural granulated sugar to sweeten this pudding while keeping it refined sugar free.
- Vanilla extract - this helps enhance all the 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.
Recipe variations and add ins:
- To make this pudding higher in protein add some collagen peptides.
- 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.
- 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.
- For a different flavour add a tablespoon of orange zest.
How to make dairy free rice pudding:
Step 1
First, add the ingredients to a medium sized saucepan or pot and place it on the stove on medium heat. Allow the ingredients to come to a boil.
Step 2
Once the ingredients have come to a boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pudding reaches the consistency you prefer.
Step 3
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!
Alternative cooking methods
To make in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker:
To make this dairy free rice pudding in an Instant pot, instead of using 5 cups of coconut milk use 3 cups instead. In the inner pot of your Instant Pot combine all the ingredients and stir well. Then close the lid and lock it into position. Press Manual (pressure cooking) and adjust the time to 5 minutes. When the cooking cycle is finished, wait 7-8 minutes before releasing the pressure manually. 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:
First, add all the ingredients to your slow cooker or Crockpot and stir well to combine. Then cook on low heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally (alternatively you can cook it on high heat for ~2 hours). Then 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 serve it warm or cold.
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 slices, 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 dairy free rice pudding in the fridge for up to 7 days in an airtight container.
You can also freeze this pudding in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Dairy free rice pudding FAQs:
Yes! Usually rice pudding is made with cows milk, but this recipe uses coconut milk instead so it is dairy free and safe for vegans and vegetarians. Some rice pudding recipes also call for eggs, but this one is egg-free.
Most rice pudding recipes do contain dairy as they are usually made with milk or cream.
Making rice pudding with brown rice is generally not recommended. Brown rice doesn’t get as soft and creamy as white rice does so it’s not a good fit for making creamy rice or creamed rice.
I have not tested this recipe with cooked rice and am not sure it would work out.
Other dairy free recipes you will love:
Recipe
Dairy Free Rice Pudding
Equipment
- Pot or saucepan
Ingredients
- 5 cups full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup white basmati rice
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a medium sized pot and place on the stove on medium heat.
- Bring the ingredients to a boil and turn down the heat to low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until it reaches the consistency you desire.
- Turn off the burner and place the lid on the pot and let stand for 10 minutes (this will soften the rice even more).
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I only recommend using full fat coconut milk for this recipe.
- Store this rice pudding in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container.
- Nutritional values are an estimate and will vary depending on the exact ingredients used and the serving size.
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