Eggnog Rice Pudding Recipe (2024)

This post will teach you how to make a delicious and easy dessert: Eggnog Rice Pudding. This dessert is perfect for the holidays and winter season because it’s warm, rich, and creamy with the best flavors of eggnog. It can be eaten as a a cold-weather breakfast, or an after dinner dessert!

Rice is simmered in a pot with milk, eggnog, sugar, and spices and cooked over low heat until tender, and creamy. This stovetop rice pudding contains no additional eggs, and features Hood Golden Eggnog.

Welcome to the holiday season! This time of year is all about feeling cozy and warm, which is why I’m sharing this delicious eggnog rice pudding recipe with you. Rice pudding is one of those dishes that people either love or hate, but it’s a great dessert option if you’re looking for something different than pumpkin pie. The best part? You can make this dish ahead and let it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it – perfect for when guests come over unexpectedly. If you want to feel like a gourmet chef, drizzle some melted chocolate on top as well!

Ready to get cooking? Let’s explore everything you’ll need to know to make this delicious rice dessert that uses leftover eggnog.

The Best Rice for Eggnog Rice Pudding

Are you looking for the best rice to cook your favorite pudding recipe? Rice pudding is one of my personal favorites, but I many are unsure what kind of rice tastes best. The texture and taste are very important when it comes to cooking this dish. The best rice for rice pudding is arborio. Arborio is a short-grain Italian rice that makes the perfect creamy, rich and luxurious consistency!

However, you can use any uncooked long grain or short grain rice, but I would advise against using brown rice which absorbs more liquid. My personal preference is to use Jasmine rice which I frequently use in my Portuguese Rice Pudding dish.

Eggnog Rice Pudding Ingredients

As mentioned, this rice pudding is made on the stovetop in a thick walled stockpot, and contains no additional eggs. Besides the rice, you’ll also need whole milk, eggnog (I prefer Hood Golden Eggnog), granulated sugar, raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. This recipe really does use fairly common pantry staples with the exception of the eggnog. I do recommend sticking with the whole milk, and ingredients as is for best results.

Cooking Rice Pudding on the Stovetop

This rice pudding is easily made on the stovetop and does not need to be baked. I recommend using a quality, thick-walled stock pot that is at least 5 quarts so it is easy to stir. This recipe is cooked for low heat for 25 minutes and requires constant attention to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. I used a wooden spoon and was stirred every few minutes. As the rice cooks the liquid will be absorbed and get thicker. For this particular recipe, the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and raisins are stirred in last.

Recipe FAQS

Texture: This rice pudding has a medium creaminess, but that can be increased by adding one additional cup of milk for 5 cups of liquid total. Additionally, if you feel like your pudding is too dry after storing in the fridge (the rice absorbs liquid) you can liven it up with a 1/2 cup of eggnog stirred directly into the already cooked rice.

Substitutions: You can use ANY flavor or brand of eggnog you prefer. My rice pudding is yellow because the eggnog is golden variety.

At this time, I have not used quick-cook rice for this recipe so I am unsure how it would turn out. I also recommend using full-fat ingredients for a creamier rice.

If you do not like raisins, feel free to skip them, but I like the “rum raisin” flavor they give this pudding.

In fact, if you really want to amplify the flavor of this pudding, consider soaking the raisins in 2 tablespoons of dark rum for 30 minutes before adding them to the pudding.

Serving

This rice pudding is so versatile and can be served warm or chilled. It tastes so delicious with a dollop of whipped cream or topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Around the holidays, I like to scoop mine in small plastic cups and add a swirl of Cool-Whip and cinnamon. I then cover them for for dessert table. They do really well as individual desserts.

Storing

This rice pudding can be frozen in thick bags or airtight containers for up to 3 months. To enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator the night before.

To store leftovers in the fridge, place cooled pudding in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days. If you plan on eating this later in the day, be sure to refrigerate it since it contains a lot of dairy.

Love Eggnog? Try this delicious Eggnog Latte or Eggnog Bundt cake.