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
Richa says
The pudding looks awesome! I love love all your recipes and posts. oh and i agree, you look amazing in the video!
Dreena says
Gosh, thanks so much Richa!!
Tiffany says
Wow, Dreena! This looks great! I will definitely have to try it sometime soon.
I’ve been making so many of your recipes and they are all hits! I made your nutty veggie burger last week and my brother who loves meat tried it and was very impressed! He is now trying to switch to a more plant based diet 🙂
By the way, I read this article (linked below) yesterday and it was so disappointing to read that the authors tried to make it look as if cows milk is better than non-dairy milk because non-dairy milk has a lot of added sugar. But the authors didn’t even mention the unsweetened variety! In addition the authors made it look as if whole grains are not beneficial toward a weight loss diet. In my view whole grains are beneficial towards our health. They are packed with fiber, protein and lots of minerals. Its just sad to read this stuff and know that the average person is getting misinformed. (Sorry I just had to share with someone who would understand.)
http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/3-healthy-foods-really-arent-155000697.html
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!! xoxo
Dreena says
Oh, so fab to read that, Tiffany! Tell your brother I told him the food is better on this side. 😉 Yes, that article is disappointing, but not that surprising. They also neglect to mention the sugars in cow milk, and the cholesterol, and the saturated fat, and the hormones… I could go on… and the fact that this “much-needed” animal protein in cow’s milk ultimately depletes our bone mass. It’s so infuriating to know these messages keep getting pushed. Also, they should be comparing the flavored/sweetened non-dairy milks to the flavored/sweetened cow milks. Most vegans aren’t drinking volumes of strawberry soy milk, it’s just ridiculous! Moreover, that study about weight-loss and whole-grains was likely still including animal products – there’s the problem. And, weight loss is not the only indicator of improved health. In short, yes, I agree with you – whole grains are healthy. That article can suck it!
Jane says
Great looking recipe Dreena! My previous post has disappeared into the ether so I will just ask again can you grind chia seeds in a coffee grinder? My daughter hates the slimy texture of chia seeds, but I like to add them to puddings like this (and in your choc chia pudding the same issue) for extra goodness so I’m thinking how to disguise them! Many thanks for your blog – it’s so informative!
Dreena says
Hi Jane, I don’t have a coffe grinder, but I think it should work fine, since you can grind whole spices in one. You can also buy the seeds pre-ground in many stores. I grind them in my rambo blender (Blendtec) and then keep a container filled with it ground. They are also great to add to smoothies (if using a standard blender, add them ground or they won’t pulverize), that disguises them very well! Thanks for your kind words. 🙂
Rebecca Cody says
Jane, Yes, I grind chia seeds in my coffee grinder. After grinding I store them in the fridge, to protect their omega 3 oil, which is more fragile after grinding.
Your recipe sounds great. I’ll give it a try soon.
Amber says
Hi Jane,
I just blend all of the contents of the pudding containing chia in the blender and it comes out perfectly smooth. It works great if I want to sneak in some greens and dates instead of maple or sugar.
Debby Sunshine says
Great video. Now I know that I have been improperly using my immersion blender. Instead of tilting the pot, I have been moving my immersion blender up and down while splattering myself at the same time. Dr. Fuhrman loves cocoa powder as a health food. He was on Dr. Oz today. So I, personally, would opt for the cocoa powder in my rice pudding.
Btw, you look healthy and glowing. Absolutely no white pasty skin at all! It must be all those veggies. Keep up the videos.
Joy says
Yum!!! I love that this is not only vegan but not loaded with sugar. I live rice pudding (but haven’t had it in years due to the dairy and sugar) this is happening tonight
Dreena says
oh great! Glad you are excited to make it Joy – hope you love digging in!! 😀