Everything that grandma made was always fantastic and I loved this comforting dessert as a child and still today.
Nothing was measured back in the 1960s when I was growing up.
She was taught to make everything from scratch and even the milk was fresh on the farm she grew up on.
When she made this it reminded her of her childhood and her mom and I am so proud to be able to make this almost as good as her.
This rice pudding is so creamy and the flavors are unforgettable, as she was.
Her cakes, bread pudding, and cookies were always made with such pride and she loved to cook.
It's comforting to cook the recipes I adapted from my childhood to keep her memory alive.
It's a great delicious custard with rice dessert with a hint of cinnamon just scroll down to the bottom for this printable recipe.
Old Fashioned Rice Pudding
A little patience goes a long way when making homemade rice pudding from scratch.
I have tried baking, instant pot version but I always come back to this old fashioned stovetop rice pudding.
I try to use exactly what grandma used in hers but sometimes I improvise using ground cinnamon instead of the sticks.
The biggest difference will be stronger cinnamon flavor using the ground style and a whiter looking rice pudding using the cinnamon stick with just a hint of flavor.
Adaptions
I loved watching her make this rice pudding as a child especially since I got to lick the spoon and clean out the rest of the pudding left in the pan.
The custard should be thick and rich, sweet but with a subtle hint of cinnamon.
You can adjust the taste by what you add, if you love plain vanilla add some extra but always use pure vanilla, don't ruin the custard by using cheaper ingredients.
Butter is a must, not margarine.
You can adjust both to taste as I have in the past.
Use less sugar to reduce sweetness, no raisins if you're not a fan, more milk for a less thick custard.
Tools You Will Need For Making Rice Pudding
- Whisk for the egg
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons
- Small dish to prepare ingredients you will use IE butter and vanilla to stir in at the end
- One small and one medium-sized saucepan to boil the rice and then to cook the custard
- Dessert cups
- Spoons for stirring the custard
- A timer to make sure you have cooked this look enough
The rice I like to use that works great every time!
The best rice to use is arborio rice.
Arborio rice is the only kind of rice I have been accustomed to in making this rice and that's what grandma used.
I am sure you can use regular long-grain, but I have never tried that.
If you use cinnamon instead of the cinnamon stick the rice while boiling looks like the photo above.
The photo below is one with just cinnamon sticks used and not ground cinnamon.
Tips
- Boil the rice in a separate pan and using a clean one because of the thick film that's created.
- For best results use arborio rice.
- The rice will be darker in color when using ground cinnamon the sticks give it just a hint of flavor.
- Slowly cooking makes this super-rich and creamy like custard, do not try and rush this.
- You can substitute whole milk with evaporated milk.
- If you have milk that's about to spoil this is the perfect way to use it up.
- Add more milk at the end of this is way too thick.
- Fruits of choice to add are raisins dark or light, craisins, figs cut up or dates cut up.
Plain or with Fruit?
One other thing, if the kids hate raisins, don't add them.
Grandma uses to chop up maraschino cherries for just the top when I was a kid and I loved it that way.
Perfect Decorated For A Holiday
I just garnish the top for a festive look during the Holiday and also some green candied cherries too!
The bottom photo is using cinnamon not a cinnamon stick, the pudding is thick and adding vanilla and butter at the end.
Ingredients You Will Need To Make Grandma's Italian Style Rice Pudding
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for exact measurements
- sugar
- whole milk or half and half
- extra milk for the end
- salt
- Italian Arborio rice
- water to boil the rice
- cinnamon stick ( ingredient to make it over the top great!) or use regular cinnamon in the water 1 teaspoon
- egg beaten
- butter
- pure vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon for garnishing
- optional fruit 1/4 cup raisins, figs or dates chopped
Grandma's Italian Style Rice Pudding Pin for later
More Recipes We Love
Pumpkin Custard Tart
Grandma's Baked Custard
Old Fashioned Bread Pudding
It's worth the time it takes!
Grandma's Italian Style Rice Pudding takes a little patience and time but well worth it.
This creamy rice pudding is one of those that you will make time and time again after one bite.
Grandma's Italian Style Rice Pudding
Yield: 10
prep time: 15 Mcook time: 45 Mtotal time: 60 M
Grandma's Rice Pudding a creamy dessert with rice and rich cinnamon spiced pudding with raisins. This is a rich and creamy dessert. Slow stirred and old fashioned goodness and over 100 years old all made with simple pantry ingredients on the stovetop.
ingredients:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups whole milk or half and half
- 3/4 cup extra milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup Italian Arborio rice
- 1- 3/4 cups water to boil the rice
- 1 cinnamon stick or use 1 teaspoon regular cinnamon or more to taste
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- Garnish:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon-sugar mixture for garnish or freshly ground nutmeg
- optional fruit 1/4 cup raisins, figs or dates chopped
instructions:
How to cook Grandma's Italian Style Rice Pudding
- In a small saucepan add 1- 3/4 cups water, 1 cinnamon stick (or use 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon ground) and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add the rice to the pot on a low simmer.
- Cover and cook for 12 minutes or until soft.
- Grab another clean medium-size saucepan and add the cooked rice.
- Stir in 2 cups milk with the cinnamon stick or use regular cinnamon to taste and 3/4 cup sugar.
- Cook for around 30 to 35 minutes or until creamy and thick like a pudding and not watery looking (stirring occasionally on low heat.
- Stir in the last 3/4 cup of milk, the beaten egg and raisins if using and keep stirring on medium heat stirring constantly around another 2 minutes.
- Remove cinnamon stick and take off from the heat.
- Stir in the butter and vanilla and mix evenly.
- Garnish the top with cinnamon sugar mixture, plain cinnamon or freshly ground nutmeg.
- This takes around 40 to 45 minutes total in stirring time depending on the heat your simmering on the stovetop
Calories
222
222
Fat (grams)
14
14
Sat. Fat (grams)
6
6
Carbs (grams)
20
20
Net carbs
11
11
Sugar (grams)
27
27
Grandma's Italian Style Rice Pudding Pin for later
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Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2013. It was edited and re-published in 2020.
