Creamy Vegan Rice Pudding is easy & delicious. Enjoy as a snack, breakfast, or sweetened for dessert! Dairy-free, vegan, oil-free gluten-free, nut-free.
Have you ever made vegan rice pudding?
I used to love snack pack puddings as a kid. Anyone remember those rice and tapioca puddings with the pull tabs, kind of like this?
Gosh I loved those! Even as a teen I loved eating them, the rice and tapioca were my favorites, but I enjoyed all sorts of puddings.
Fast forward to raising my own kids – no commercial vegan rice pudding to be found. That’s okay, it’s easy to make at home!
This BREAKFAST VEGAN RICE PUDDING is now in Plant-Powered Families. But, a few years ago, I showed how to make it in a “Dreena and Daughters” video!
Sidenote: please be forgiving of video production… one weegan is eating cereal and clinking her spoon on the bowl , and the videographer weegan got adjustment-happy with the tripod. 😆
The key to this rice pudding recipe is batch-cooking rice.
Whenever I cook rice, I make more than I need. It keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days. Then, it can be reused for other meals, such as this breakfast rice pudding!
You can make the version with the pureed banana for natural sweetness, or add some other healthier sweetener options to taste.
Chocolate lovers hang tight, I have a cocoa-infused version for you too, see the recipe notes.
Hope you enjoy this one, guys!
x Dreena
Creamy Breakfast Vegan Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 cups precooked brown rice loosely packed (reserve 1/2 cup)
- 3/4 – 1 cup non-dairy milk your choice, see note
- 1 ripe banana about 1/2 – 3/4 cup, sliced (optional, see note) OR 1-2 tbsp pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, or chopped dried fruits
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- few pinches nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- grated orange or lemon zest optional
- optional: 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder see note
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add 1 1/2 cups of the cooked rice (rough measure), and the remaining ingredients starting with 3/4 cup of milk (omit banana if you prefer, see note – and except the zest). Puree the mixture using a handblender (alternatively, you can puree in a blender before adding to the saucepan, but I find the handblender is quicker and easier for clean-up)! Add the remaining 1/2 cup of rice, and turn heat to medium-low. Let the mixture thicken and warm for several minutes. Add the remaining milk if desired to thin. Taste, and adjust with sweetener and orange/lemon zest if desired, and stirring through add-in’s if you like! Serve.
Notes
- Banana and Sweetener Note: The banana adds natural sweetness, and so if using it, you may not need the maple syrup or coconut sugar- it’s up to you. However, also note that if adding the banana, the mixture will turn a darker color with the banana oxidizing and being cooked – so it’s best to eat straight away rather than save leftovers. If you don’t use the banana, try adding a touch of pure maple syrup or coconut sugar. Or, you can add chopped dates or other dried fruits to sweeten.
- Milk note: If using a vanilla non-dairy milk, you may not need any additional sweetener. If using an unsweetened variety, you will probably want to bump up the sweetness with the pureed banana or other options.
- Chocolate version: Make this pudding chocolate-y with the addition of 1-2 tbsp of cocoa powder. You will need extra sweetener to balance the bitterness of the cocoa, so adjust to taste.
- Add-in’s: To add some variety and extra nutrition to this pudding, try adding in a few tablespoons of hemp seeds, a tablespoon of ground chia, 1-2 tablespoons of nut or seed butter (ex: cashew, almond, pistachio, sunflower), 2-3 tablespoons almond meal, a sprinkle of dried fruit (ex: chopped dates, goji berries, raisins, dried blueberries, etc), or some fresh fruit (ex: chopped apples/pears in the winter, fresh berries in spring/summer).
How do you enjoy rice pudding? For breakfast or a snack? Chocolate or not?!
images credit: Nicole Axworthy
James @ Lifestyle Therapy says
I must admit rice pudding has never really appealed to me, it seems like one of those things that divides people! But this recipe is certainly making me think again. I might have to give it a try!
Dawn says
This was scrumptious! For my taste, the only ingredient missing was vanilla. I added this to my bowl for the absolute perfect breakfast!
Thank you very much for sharing this super simple and delicious recipe!
Jamie says
Awesome, I made the chocolate version, no banana, and added a generous dash of chili powder to keep it interesting. It is delish. Thank you so much.
Dreena says
Nice! Thanks Jamie
Bridget K. Brisk says
Am I mis-reading – or do you blend the rice in the beginning? For thickness, perhaps?
Dreena says
Yes, you blend the rice to thicken the pudding. 🙂
Megan says
My son is horrible at eating breakfast, but rice is one of his safe grains. Going to have to try this!
Vittoria says
Loved this recipe! It is easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand too. I didn’t have almond milk on hand, so I just made my own non-dairy milk by blending 1 c. water. 1/4 c shredded coconut, 1 TBS hemp seeds and 2 tsp chia seeds. I was going to just use coconut to make “coconut milk” but decided to add the seeds for extra nutrition for my 1-year old daughter (and myself!). I then blended the “milk” with 10 small Sayer dates, cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt. I then added the rice – arborio, in my case (I didn’t have brown). I added it back to the saucepan with the remaining cooked rice, added about 3/4 c. more water (my rice needed a bit more water, plus the chia seeds) and simmered according to the recipe. It is honestly so good! I like that it is not too sweet for my daughter, but that adults can always add more sweetness if they want. I also love how quick and easy it was – the blender ingredients came together super quickly while the rice cooked. It honestly took me about 20 minutes to make from start to finish – and now I have some quick, go-to meals/snacks for myself and my daughter that will last a few days! This is a lifesaver, thank you!