How To Make Rice Pudding Southern Style by Mama Reed
This is Mama Reed’s famous baked rice pudding recipe. It creates a rich comforting dessert that anyone who likes rice pudding will love!
Of course, Mama Reed was an amazing cook. Like the other matriarchs in my family, she was adept at making do with what ingredients were on hand and affordable, which made rice a regular ingredient for her cooking (even now, we all love a bowl of hot rice served with butter and sugar for breakfast). Most rice puddings are cooked in a pot on top of the stove, but our family has always baked rice pudding.
What is Rice Pudding?
Rice pudding is rice cooked in sweetened milk. As the rice cooks with the ingredients the starch in it creates a rich and creamy dish. You can start with uncooked rice or cooked rice. See information below for using both.
Why Bake Rice Pudding?
Baking this dish only requires stirring once or twice (depending on if you are using cooked or uncooked rice) versus frequent stirring if made on the stovetop. But what I love most of all about rice pudding when it is baked, is it develops a wonderful custard and transforms into a rich and comforting dessert. This pudding would be served at dinner for dessert and any leftovers could be re-served for breakfast. True comfort food. I’m sure Mama Reed would be proud to know we’re still loving it today.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- White Rice
- Eggs
- Milk
- Sugar
- Salt
- Raisins
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
Actual recipe is at the bottom of this page.
How to Make Baked Rice Pudding
First off… cook up your rice. It will be added later in the recipe.
Stir it up til it looks like this.
Bake at 300 degrees for 90 minutes.
After the first thirty minutes of baking, stir from the bottom.
Scoop and serve in fancy schmancy crystal glass wear or even better…regular cups or bowls will do!
Do I Have to Cook The Rice?
Ingredients
- 4 eggs beaten
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Cook up your rice. Beat eggs. Stir in sugar. Add other ingredients. Stir.
- Spray oven proof casserole dish with Pam. Pour mixture into dish.
- Set dish in pan of hot water and bake at 300 degrees for 90 minutes.
- After 30 minutes of cooking insert spoon at edge of pudding and stir from the bottom to distribute rice and raisins.
Christy~ I just ate a bowl of this rice pudding and it literally brought tears to my eyes! Finally, after almost 30 years of unsuccessfully trying to recreate my Nanny’s rice pudding I was eating it! My grandmother was a terrible cook with the exception of her rice pudding. I had watched her make it as a young girl so I had some idea of the “how” but was never quite able to get it right. She didn’t have it written down and by the time I had a real interest in trying to make it she was no longer able to tell me. When I read your recipe the other day I thought hmmm…this sounds like it might be similar to Nanny’s. Well, it wasn’t just similar it was right on. Our family is from New York, but I know that Nanny’s father was from Georgia. I’m guessing that’s where the recipe must have come from…maybe handed down. I’m just so glad I found your site and this recipe. I saw you on QVC and then looked up your site after the show! Thanks again. I will be making more of your recipes. ~Peggy
Oh Peggy! ~BIG HUGS~ Thank you so much for sharing this with me, it made my day.
I am so glad that I could share this recipe with you and that it brought back those wonderful memories.
And I am really thankful you found us, welcome to the family!!
Gratefully,
Christy
Love it!!! Wonderful with walnuts too! Love your cookbook and blog Christy!
my grandmother would make rice pudding for me. she didn’t bake it , it was cooked on the stove. She put in cinnamon,butter,egg, vanilla, and milk and cook it . I remember when she would then come and tell me to come to the table and that’s what I would find-I really miss those times –
Also, thanks (just like the others say)for helping us remember the past when times were easier(though we didn’t think so growing up at times)and would give for those times to come back-your stories make me go back and remember and love it.
ps. have tried several of your recipes and hubby loved them allespecially your crock pot beef roast and pork roast !
Made this rice pudding this week and it was soooo yummy. I posted a picture of it on my blog and have sent everyone over here to get your recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I love your stories about your family, brings back very sweet memories of my GrandMothers too. It reminds me that one of my GrandMothers always set a beautiful table, she said use your beautiful things don’t save them for “Special ” times, for what is more special than your family everyday. I also grew up eating rice, butter ,sugar and a little milk for breakfast. But always fixed in a pan on the stove, My hubby won’t eat rice , but I love it fixed in any way possaible, so I’m going to try baking your rice pudding, it sounds really good. And what beautiful pics at your Mothers,
Fantastic! I have looked for a rice pudding recipe I can trust; now I have found it! I have ‘winged-it’ a couple of times, but been left with an end product lacking some taste or another, or one so dry it begs not to be consumed, but to be trashed. Lol!
Love, love, love the pictures. They would have to threaten me with bodily harm to get me to come in off the back porch, if I had a view like that!
Christy,
Thanks so much for this recipe. My mom died when I was 6 yrs. old. She used to make rice pudding before she passed away and I loved it! I’m now grown with grandkids and ecstatic that you posted this recipe. I’ve not been able to find one that sounded similar to hers. I’m definitely going to make this…maybe tonight. Thanks so much!!!
BTW…I have your cookbook and then went back and bought a copy for my 3 daughters. I love the fact that you make your recipes so easy to follow and so do my daughters. I love down home recipes! Keep up what you are doing – we love it!!!!!