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
urbanvegan says
Looks and sounds delish, Dreena. And you look delish, too, I might add 😉 The camera loves you. TV show time!
Dreena says
omgosh, you are WAY too kind, Dynise… and I’ll take it! xo xo
Beth says
That looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it! I need to get out of my breakfast rut.
Dreena says
Great, hope it gives you some new food inspiration, Beth (I get in food ruts too)!
jodye @ chocolate and chou fleur says
This rice pudding sounds so delicious! I love that you added citrus zest. I sometimes feel like grain puddings weigh me down, but I’m sure the zest makes it nice and light. I can see this as a nice dessert, too!
Katie says
How long can rice be stored in fridge,I’ve heard it can become poisonous quite fast? That is why I am always reluctant to cook large batches of it!
Dreena says
Hi Katie, I haven’t heard that. I’d be more concerned about rice not being refrigerated properly… then food borne illness can come into play. I keep rice in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can also freeze portions if that is a better option for you. For this recipe, you would only have to cook less than 1 cup of extra rice, about 3/4 cup. Hope that helps.
Herbivore Triathlete says
Ooh, I love rice pudding! This looks great, thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes, it’s made my transition to veganism so much easier.
Dreena says
My pleasure Anna,thank you for the kind note… and hope you love this version too!
Dreena says
p.s. Great post on the veg broth!