Old-Fashioned Baked Rice Pudding

A proper old-school baked rice pudding: pudding rice gently cooked in sweetened milk until thick and creamy, topped with a burnished golden skin. It needs almost no effort beyond stirring it together and letting the oven work its magic over a couple of hours.

There is nothing clever about baked rice pudding, and that is exactly the point. You stir pudding rice, milk and sugar into a dish, dot it with butter, dust it with nutmeg and let a low oven do everything else. Two slow hours later you get a creamy, comforting pud with the prized golden skin on top.

Ingredients

• 100 g pudding rice
• 600 ml whole milk
• 150 ml single cream — or use extra whole milk
• 50 g caster sugar
• 25 g unsalted butter — plus extra for the dish
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 strip lemon zest — optional, pared with a peeler
• 0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg — or ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch fine salt

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150C fan / 170C / gas 3. Lightly butter a 1.2 litre ovenproof dish.
2. Tip the pudding rice, caster sugar and a pinch of salt into the dish and stir to combine.
3. Pour in the milk and cream, add the vanilla and tuck in the strip of lemon zest if using. Give it a good stir so the rice settles evenly.
4. Dot the surface with small pieces of butter and grate the nutmeg generously over the top.
5. Bake, uncovered, for about 2 hours. Around the 45-minute mark, gently stir the skin back in once to build extra creaminess, then leave it undisturbed so a fresh golden skin can form.
6. The pudding is ready when the top is deep golden and freckled and the rice underneath is soft and creamy, still with a slight wobble. Fish out the lemon zest.
7. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving; it thickens as it cools. Serve warm, skin and all.

Serve it with

• A spoonful of raspberry or strawberry jam
• Warmed golden syrup drizzled over
• Stewed rhubarb or plums
• Fresh berries and a dusting of cinnamon
• A splash of cold cream poured round the edge

Why this works

A long, low bake gives the starch in the pudding rice time to swell slowly and thicken the milk into something silky, while the exposed surface caramelises into the classic golden skin. Whole milk and a little cream stop it turning claggy.

Common swaps

• Swap the cream for extra whole milk for a lighter, everyday version.
• Use light muscovado sugar instead of caster for a fudgier, toffee note.
• Stir in a handful of sultanas soaked in a little orange juice before baking.
• For dairy-free, use full-fat oat or coconut milk and dairy-free spread.
• Add a cinnamon stick or a few cardamom pods in place of the lemon zest.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using easy-cook or long-grain rice instead of pudding rice, which never turns properly creamy.
• Baking too hot, which curdles the milk and dries out the rice before it softens.
• Skipping the butter and nutmeg on top, so you lose the signature golden skin.
• Serving it straight from the oven; a short rest lets it thicken to the right consistency.

Storage, freezing & reheating

Storage: Cover and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. It will set firm when chilled.

Freezing: Freezes reasonably for up to 1 month, though the texture softens slightly. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Reheating: Reheat gently in a saucepan or the microwave with a good splash of milk, stirring until loosened and hot through.

Allergen notes: contains Milk. Always check individual product labels.

Estimated nutrition

Per serving, estimated from typical ingredient values — not a substitute for precise dietary calculation.