Vegan Rice Pudding is a delicious, creamy, dairy free dessert! Naturally gluten free and easy to make, this healthy rice pudding is the perfect treat! This post is sponsored by my friends at Oatly.
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Vegan Rice Pudding!! Yes, you can still totally enjoy rich, decadent rice pudding without the dairy and loads of sugar. This healthy rice pudding recipe is super simple to make, and tastes just like the real thing!
My Gram is known for being an awesome cook, especially when it comes to desserts. To this day – one of my favorite things that she makes is rice pudding.
As a kid, I can remember enjoying it piled high with whipped cream + sprinkles- and although I prefer it plain now – it’s still just as delicious.
As much as I love my Gram’s rice pudding and occasionally will indulge in it, it doesn’t love me back. Over the years I’ve found that heavy cream just doesn’t agree with my stomach.
Unfortunately, it’s the base of her recipe, but with some tweaks – I made it equally as delicious sans the dairy… thanks to my new favorite pantry staple – Oatly’s Barista Edition Oatmilk!
If you haven’t tried Oatly I promise you are going to LOVE it. I’ve tried a few different brands of oatmilk that just tasted kind of watery and meh.
Their oatmilk actually tastes creamy like you’re drinking dairy milk! It’s free of gums and thickeners, yet is creamy enough that you can sub it in pretty much any recipe with a 1:1 ratio wherever you’d use whole dairy milk.
It gives this dairy free rice pudding the rich and creamy texture I was looking for, but I’ve also used it in overnight oats and my favorite ginger turmeric latte and it was perfect!
Ingredients for Vegan Rice Pudding:
Vegan rice pudding is super simple to make, you only need a few ingredients! You’ll need:
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
What kind of rice should you use for rice pudding?
You can use any kind of rice in rice pudding, but I used brown rice in this recipe because it has the best nutritional value. My gram uses white rice in her recipe, and some people use arborio!
How to make Vegan Rice Pudding:
- Add your rice, vanilla, spices, and some of your oat milk to the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring consistently
- The rice pudding should start to thicken. Add remaining oat milk to the pan and maple syrup.
- Return to low heat until most of the milk has been absorbed and rice is creamy but cooked
Substitutions for this healthy rice pudding:
Sweetener– You can sub maple syrup for equal amounts of honey, but it will no longer be vegan. You may also be able to sub in agave nectar or regular sugar, but I haven’t tried either!
Spices – You can stir in more or less of the spices if you like. I like warm spices like cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg but feel free to cut back if you don’t!
Rice – I tested this recipe with brown and white rice and both came out great!
Optional add ins: Some people like their rice pudding with fresh fruit, raisins, or nuts. Feel free to stir in/top this healthy rice pudding with whatever you like!
Other delicious healthy dessert recipes:
Vegan Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice
- 4 cups Oatly Oatmilk Barista Edition
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Rinse and drain your rice in a strainer (this helps to avoid it from getting gummy!)
- Add rinsed rice + 3 cups of oat milk, vanilla, and spices in a pan over the stove. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
- Once mixture has thickened, stir in maple syrup and final cup of oat milk. Stir until combined and cook over medium heat until most of the milk has absorbed (about 10 more minutes)
- Serve warm or chilled with extra cinnamon on top if desired!
Notes
- Sweetener– You can sub maple syrup for equal amounts of honey, but it will no longer be vegan. You may also be able to sub in agave nectar or regular sugar, but I haven’t tried either!
- Spices – You can stir in more or less of the spices if you like. I like warm spices like cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg but feel free to cut back if you don’t!
- Rice – I tested this recipe with brown and white rice and both came out great!
- Optional add ins: Some people like their rice pudding with fresh fruit, raisins, or nuts. Feel free to stir in/top this healthy rice pudding with whatever you like!
Linda says
This is so yummy! I love rice pudding but my daughter can’t have dairy – this was the perfect treat. I made it with the regular oatmlik because i couldn’t find the barista one. very yummy
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’m glad it worked for you and your family, Linda!!
Joan says
Delish! I have made this several times with soy milk and date syrup. Hubby was snacking on yogurt all the time, but now that he has some kidney issues, we are minimizing animal proteins which are linked to further damage. He is happy to snack on this pudding, and he has eliminated 5 g of dairy protein per serving. BTW, I add raisins, dried cherries, goji berries, and dried cranberries for extra color, flavor, texture, and nutrients. All good!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad you enjoyed it, Joan! Love those additions!
Trudi says
WOW ! i really love you r add ons
Lynette says
I used Trader Joe’s coconut milk (boxed) and did not add cinnamon just in case my brother wanted to eat. It is not very sweet; took close to an hour to cook (for the liquid to absorb) which I am fine with. I think it needs a little salt just to enhance the flavors. It did turn out creamy. I added raising while it was cooking.. next time I make it, I will add larger amount of spices. I appreciate this recipe because I can make adjustments based on my tastes and what I have on hand.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Lynette- It probably tastes like it needs more spices because you left out the cinnamon… that’s one of the most important ingredients. Glad you liked it otherwise though!
Trudi says
Someone does s NOT like cinnamon ! That is sad . I eat even more!
Emily says
I’m not sure what went wrong, I followed the instructions and my rice was still uncooked by the time it was supposed to be done. What did I do wrong?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Emily – Did you use brown rice? If you used a different type of rice or milk it may have affected the cook time. Try adding a little more milk and continue cooking.
Vegan News Blog says
Thank you for information!
Trudi says
My sister in law added raisns and I love id it
Rina says
I loved the texture, but three tablespoons of honey was way too sweet for me. Could do with 2 or 1.5. Maybe it’ tastes different with maple syrup, but that is rather hard to come by in NL. Used sushi rice and it worked perfectly!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad you liked it. Everyones taste buds are different