Vegan Rice Pudding

It is nice to end a meal with something sweet. Sometimes a simple dessert like rice pudding is precisely the thing to do just that. Most rice puddings rely on whole dairy milk to achieve the thick consistency, so I use thick (unsweetened) and generally awesome almond milk. I like the flavor of almond milk more than most non-dairy milks, but this recipe would work fine with soy milk too. Be sure to use vegan sugar. Look for the vegan sugar label on the package - they also sell clearly labeled "Vegan Sugar" at Whole Foods in the baking aisle. (Any sugar not labeled vegan is probably ground with bone char, which actually makes it neither vegan or vegetarian.) 


As with many of my recipes, Mark Bittman served as my go to and this recipe is based off of his simple recipe.


1/3 cup white rice

1/3 cup white vegan sugar (or more if you like it really sweet!)
pinch salt
4 cups almond milk
ground cinnamon


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the rice, sugar, salt, and milk in a 3 or 4 quart oven proof casserole dish (with a lid). Stir a couple of times, cover, and put in the oven. Cook for 1.5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.


After 1.5 hours, (and three stirring sets), check the pudding every 10 minutes, stirring gently. The pudding is done when the rice kernels are very swollen and the pudding is thick but still pourable (it will thicken much more once out of the oven).


Allow to cool for a few minutes before placing the pudding in the fridge. Allow it to chill completely, or enjoy it once it is not quite so hot. Sprinkle each serving with some ground cinnamon for a little decoration (awesomeness).