This easy vegan oat milk rice pudding is the perfect warm and comforting dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth. It has that classic rice pudding texture and flavor without any dairy products! Plus, this easy vegan dessert is made in just one pot.
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You Will Love This Recipe
- It's super simple. Using a few high-quality ingredients makes for a rich vegan rice pudding full of delicately balanced flavor.
- It's the perfect creamy texture. You won't believe how luscious this dairy-free pudding turns out, thanks to arborio rice and oat milk!
- It's plant-based. This vegan recipe swaps out ingredients like heavy cream and cow's milk for oat milk, making for a rich rice pudding with less environmental impact.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Oat milk: The star of the show for extra creamy rice pudding. Though, you can use almond milk or any other plant-based milk of your choice for a slightly less creamy result.
- Arborio rice: I recommend using arborio rice for the perfect texture, but you can also use long-grain rice, basmati rice, or jasmine rice for a softer texture. I do not recommend using brown rice.
- Sugar: For light sweetness. You can also use an alternative sweetener, such as agave nectar or coconut sugar.
- Ceylon cinnamon: Adds warmth and complex flavor to the pudding. A regular (cassia) cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon will also work, though if you can get your hands on ceylon, it is amazing!
- Vegan "butter": Increases the fat content to mimic the richness of whole milk-based rice pudding. Feel free to omit this.
- Vanilla paste: Adds delicate floral and warm notes to the pudding. Fresh vanilla bean or vanilla extract also works well here.
- Golden raisins: Slightly sweeter and fruitier than regular raisins, they complement the other delicate flavors built here. Of course, regular or no raisins will still make for a great rice pudding!
Why Oat Milk?
Oat milk is my top pick for this recipe for several reasons:
- It's naturally creamy, thanks to beta-glucan and some plant-based fat.
- Oat milk's natural sweetness complements the pudding.
- It's readily available in most grocery stores.
Of course, you can use your favorite plant-based milk. I'd recommend milk with around 4-6 grams of fat per cup, such as:
- Coconut milk (from a carton, not a can)
- Soy milk
- Hemp milk
Best Rice for Rice Pudding
Arborio rice is my top pick due to its unique ability to thicken the rice pudding nicely with plenty of amylopectin starch while maintaining a nice al dente bite. If you have different rice varieties on hand, these will also make a creamy vegan rice pudding:
- Long-grain or medium-grain white rice
- Basmati rice
- Jasmine rice (will add more floral flavor)
I do not recommend these types of rice in this recipe because the rice is likely to either break down too much or too little:
- Sushi rice
- Sticky or glutinous rice
- Instant rice
- Wild rice
- Brown rice
Instructions
1. In a large pot, combine your oat milk, water, rice, sugar, and vegan butter. Add the cinnamon stick and stir well with a non-scratch spoon.
2. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
3. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes or until the mixture has started to appear thicker.
4. Add the vanilla and raisins. Simmer the pudding for another 5-10 minutes or until the mixture is about 80% of your preferred thickness.
5. Turn off the heat and continue stirring the pudding for 3-5 minutes until it has cooled slightly. Remove the cinnamon stick.
6. Serve warm with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and a few extra raisins, or place it into an airtight container to cool. This pudding is delicious, warm or cold!
Variations
Get creative with the toppings! Rice pudding is delicious topped with:
- Orange zest
- Fresh berries
- Maple syrup
- Crushed nuts, such as almonds or pistachios
- sliced or chopped fresh fruit
Storage
Make-ahead: Make the pudding 3-4 days in advance and serve chilled or reheated.
Store: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat: Reheat on the stovetop over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. You may need to add more oat milk to thin the pudding to a creamy texture.
Tips
- The exact cooking time may vary depending on the kind of rice and milk you choose. The key is to stop cooking when the rice is about 80% of your desired thickness for warm pudding and 60 to 70% of the way there for chilled pudding.
- Be patient and stir your pudding regularly while it cooks to get that perfect creamy texture.
- This pudding is luscious and rich, which I love! If you are looking for something on the lighter side, though, try my oat milk chia pudding!
FAQ
Arborio rice is my top pick, but you can also use jasmine, basmati, or regular white rice if you prefer a softer texture. Just don't use instant rice, brown rice, or wild rice for this recipe.
So long as you use certified gluten-free oat milk (and double-check your other ingredients such as the vanilla paste), this recipe is gluten-free!
I have made rice pudding with both Oatly brand and ALDI's friendly farms oat milk. They have both turned out wonderfully!
Yes, you can! Use two cups of cooked rice, omit the water, and reduce the milk by half.
Recipe
Easy Vegan Oat Milk Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 4½ cups oat milk (or preferred milk)
- 1½ cups water
- 1 Tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 stick ceylon cinnamon (or regular cinnamon, or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 cup arborio rice (or preferred rice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or vanilla extract, or ½ a vanilla bean)
- ½ cup golden raisins (optional)
Optional garnish (per bowl)
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon golden raisins
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine the oat milk, water, rice, sugar, and vegan butter. Add the cinnamon stick and stir well with a wooden spoon.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken. Add the vanilla and raisins.
- Simmer the pudding for another 5-10 minutes or until the mixture is about 80% of your preferred thickness, or 70% if you intend to enjoy it chilled. Remove from the heat and continue stirring the pudding for about 5 minutes until it has cooled slightly.
- Remove the cinnamon stick. Serve warm with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, or place into an airtight container and into the fridge to chill.
- Store leftover pudding in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Brad
No mention of the water in the Instructions. Does it go in with the milk? Seems to defeat the process of thickening. Or was that water for cooking the rice?
Tori Vasko, RD
OMG Brad thanks so much for catching this! The water is added at the same time as the milk. It helps the rice to become tender without the pudding getting too thick. I have updated the recipe to call for the water in the instructions too! Thanks!