Cinnamon Rice Pudding with Raisins
Medium-grain rice slowly cooked with whole milk, cinnamon and raisins, finished with a little butter. Six chilled dessert portions, with every addition and operation shown separately.
This stovetop rice pudding uses milk and the starch from medium-grain rice to build a creamy sauce around soft grains. Cinnamon colours the pudding a light beige, raisins become plump during the last simmer, and a measured piece of butter finishes the mixture. There are no eggs, cream or extra toppings.
The method is deliberately detailed: water, rice, milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, raisins and butter each have their own addition step. Preparing, stirring, cooking, portioning and chilling are also separated. Six shallow bowls help the rice cool quickly before it chills. Allow about 3 hours 25 minutes including cooling and refrigeration.
Why you’ll love this recipe
A short water simmer starts softening the rice before milk goes into the pan. Low heat and regular stirring prevent milk and sugar catching on the base. The pudding is left slightly loose while hot because it thickens during chilling. Adding raisins near the end lets them soften without disappearing into the sauce.
Before you start · Equipment
Kitchen scale, fine sieve, 3 litre heavy-bottomed stainless-steel saucepan with lid, wooden spoon, six wide shallow heatproof 300 ml dessert bowls, cooling tray, clean covers and refrigerator thermometer.
Everything you’ll need.
Get your ingredients ready, then follow the quantities in the recipe below.
See ingredient amounts
This guide describes the original 6 portions. Use the recipe card for amounts adjusted to your chosen yield.
A detailed stovetop dessert
Every measured addition has a separate instruction and image, with preparation and cooling operations also separated. The longer visual method is meant to make the sequence clear; it does not add extra ingredients or imply kitchen testing.
Choose the rice before starting
Medium-grain white rice gives a softer dessert texture than a firm long-grain rice dish. The rice finishes cooking in milk after a short water simmer. Follow the texture cues if the brand needs longer.
Keep the saucepan moving
Milk and sugar can catch on the base. Use a heavy saucepan, low heat and regular stirring, becoming more frequent as the pudding thickens. If it scorches, do not scrape burnt material into the pudding.
Stop before the pudding becomes dry
Hot pudding should still have some flowing sauce around the grains. Chilling thickens the mixture. The raisins soften during the final short simmer, and butter is stirred in only off the heat.
Use shallow bowls for quick cooling
Rice needs prompt cooling. Divide into six shallow portions, use a cold-water bath around the bowls and refrigerate ideally within an hour of cooking. Do not cool a deep saucepan of rice pudding for hours on the counter.
Keep chilled portions for one day
Keep at 40°F (4°C) or below and eat within 24 hours of cooking. This recipe is served chilled. If you choose to reheat a portion, heat until steaming hot throughout, stir to remove cold spots and reheat only once; time outside refrigeration is not reset by reheating.
About the ingredients
- Medium-grain rice
Use 160 g uncooked medium-grain white rice. Brown, instant and leftover cooked rice are not equivalent. Rinse briefly and drain; rinsing losses are not modeled in the nutrition estimate.
- Water and whole milk
The measured cooking water is 300 g, separate from discarded rinse water. All 1000 g pasteurized whole milk goes in after the short water simmer. Lower-fat or plant milk changes texture and nutrition.
- Sugar, salt and cinnamon
Each is added in a separate step: 80 g sugar, 1 g salt and 2 g cinnamon. All cinnamon goes into the pudding; there is no extra dusting in the served portions.
- Raisins
Use 60 g plain seedless raisins and add after the rice is tender. A short final simmer lets them soften. No extra raisins are scattered on top.
- Butter
Stir all 20 g unsalted butter into the pudding off the heat. This is the entire finish; no cream, egg or vanilla extract is in the formula.
How to make Cinnamon Rice Pudding with Raisins
Rinse and drain measured rice, add water and rice separately, then briefly simmer. Add milk, sugar, salt and cinnamon one at a time. Stir and gently cook, add raisins, finish with butter, divide into shallow bowls, cool promptly and refrigerate.
1. Weigh the dry rice
2. Rinse the rice
3. Drain the rinsed rice
4. Add the cooking water
5. Add the drained rice
6. Bring the rice water to a boil
7. Cover the saucepan
8. Simmer the rice in water
9. Add the whole milk
10. Add the granulated sugar
11. Add the measured salt
12. Add the ground cinnamon
13. Stir in the additions
14. Return to a gentle simmer
15. Cook slowly and keep stirring
16. Add the raisins
17. Simmer to soften the raisins
18. Take the pan off the heat
19. Add the butter
20. Stir until the butter melts
21. Portion into six shallow bowls
22. Cool the portions quickly
23. Cover the bowls
24. Refrigerate until chilled
25. Serve a chilled portionWatch How To Make It
chefzelish.com
Cinnamon Rice Pudding with Raisins
Medium-grain rice slowly cooked with whole milk, cinnamon and raisins, finished with a little butter. Six chilled dessert portions, with every addition and operation shown separately.
Ingredients
0 / 8 readyIngredient amounts for 6 portions
Rice and cooking liquid
Sweetening and finish
Let’s make it.
- Rice preparation
Weigh the dry rice
Weigh 160 g uncooked medium-grain white rice in a clean bowl. Measure the other listed ingredients separately before starting; keep the milk refrigerated until needed.
- Rice preparation
Rinse the rice
Tip the rice into a fine sieve and briefly rinse under cool running drinking water, moving the grains gently. This rinsing water is separate from the measured 300 g cooking water.
- Rice preparation
Drain the rinsed rice
Let the sieve drain thoroughly for about 1 minute. Keep all the measured rice; discard the rinse water.
- Rice preparation
Add the cooking water
Pour all 300 g measured water into the empty 3 litre saucepan. Do not add milk yet.
- Rice preparation
Add the drained rice
Tip all the drained rice into the water. Spread it across the bottom with the spoon.
- Rice preparation
Bring the rice water to a boil
Put the pan over medium heat and bring the rice and water to a boil. Watch the pan rather than leaving it unattended.
- Rice preparation
Cover the saucepan
Reduce the heat to low and fit the lid over the saucepan.
- Rice preparation
Simmer the rice in water
Keep the covered pan over low heat for about 12–15 minutes until most water is absorbed and the grains have started to soften. The rice will finish cooking in milk. If it starts catching, lower the heat; do not let the pan scorch.
- Milk and flavour
Add the whole milk
Remove the lid and pour all 1000 g cold pasteurized whole milk into the rice. Keep the pan over low heat.
- Milk and flavour
Add the granulated sugar
Add all 80 g granulated sugar to the milk and rice.
- Milk and flavour
Add the measured salt
Add the measured 1 g fine salt. This is the entire salt allowance; do not season again at the end.
- Milk and flavour
Add the ground cinnamon
Sprinkle all 2 g ground cinnamon over the milk mixture. There is no additional cinnamon garnish later.
- Milk and flavour
Stir in the additions
Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar and salt and spread the cinnamon evenly. Scrape gently along the bottom of the pan.
- Milk and flavour
Return to a gentle simmer
Over low to medium-low heat, return the mixture to a gentle simmer with small occasional bubbles. Keep the lid off and avoid a vigorous rolling boil.
- Milk and flavour
Cook slowly and keep stirring
Simmer uncovered for about 25–35 minutes. Stir often, scraping the base; near the end, stir nearly continuously. The rice should become completely tender and the liquid should lightly coat the spoon. Keep the hot pudding looser than the texture you want cold. Timing depends on the rice and heat; continue gently if the grains are still hard.
- Milk and flavour
Add the raisins
Add all 60 g seedless raisins to the tender rice pudding.
- Milk and flavour
Simmer to soften the raisins
Stir the raisins through and simmer gently for another 5 minutes, stirring, until they have softened and the pudding is still creamy rather than dry.
- Milk and flavour
Take the pan off the heat
Turn off the hob and move the saucepan to a heatproof trivet.
- Finish and portion
Add the butter
Add all 20 g unsalted butter pieces to the hot pudding.
- Finish and portion
Stir until the butter melts
Stir gently until the butter has melted completely and no yellow pieces remain. Scrape in every bit from the sides; do not add cream or extra milk.
- Finish and portion
Portion into six shallow bowls
Immediately divide all pudding between six wide shallow heatproof bowls, spreading it no deeper than about 4 cm. Distribute the raisins evenly. Do not leave the whole batch cooling in its deep saucepan.
- Cooling and serving
Cool the portions quickly
Stand the bowls in a tray of cold water for about 15 minutes to cool faster. Keep water below the bowl rims and out of the pudding; refresh the water if it warms. Refrigerate promptly once strong steam has subsided and ideally within 1 hour of finishing cooking. Do not wait hours for the bowls to cool on the counter.
- Cooling and serving
Cover the bowls
Put clean covers on each cooled bowl. Keep the covers out of the pudding and leave room around the bowls when arranging them for refrigeration.
- Cooling and serving
Refrigerate until chilled
Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below for about 2 hours, or until chilled throughout. Store cold and eat within 24 hours of cooking. Label the containers with the preparation time. The cooling interval is a limit, not a reason to leave warm bowls out.
- Cooling and serving
Serve a chilled portion
Take out one portion and serve chilled. The grains should be soft with a creamy sauce; the pudding thickens as it cools. No extra cinnamon, raisins, cream or toppings are included. Return the other portions to cold storage immediately.
Nutrition per serving
1 of 6 equal rice pudding portions; all raisins and butter included. Estimates may vary with ingredients and brands.
- Calories
- 304 kcal
- Protein
- 7.4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 50.7 g
- Fat
- 8.3 g
- Saturated fat
- 4.8 g
- Fiber
- 0.9 g
- Sodium
- 140 mg
Checked 10/14/2026. Values are per the serving described above, regardless of recipe yield.
Notes from the kitchen.
Helpful tips
About 15 minutes preparation,55 minutes cooking and 135 minutes cooling/chilling. Rice tenderness and cold temperature matter more than timers. Every addition and operation is separately illustrated.
Make it your own
The formula uses medium-grain white rice and whole dairy milk. Instant rice, brown rice, plant milk or cream changes timing, texture and nutrition.
Storage & freezing
Cool shallow portions quickly, ideally within 1 hour, then keep at 4°C or below and eat within 24 hours. If reheating, heat until steaming throughout and do so only once.
At the table
Six equal portions include all rice, milk, sugar, raisins,20 g butter,2 g cinnamon and 1 g salt. Extra toppings excluded; no measured cooked serving weight claimed.
A little something delicious.
Keep this recipe close for the next time the craving strikes.
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