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French Rice Pudding (Riz au lait)

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French rice pudding (or 'riz au lait') is a traditional French dessert, sweet, incredibly creamy and infused with vanilla bean.
  • Author: Delphine Fortin
  • Prep Time: 2 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 2 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
  • Category: Desserts
  • Cuisine: French

Here’s the ultimate French rice pudding recipe, sweet and incredibly creamy! Rice pudding (or ‘riz au lait’) is a traditional French dessert, prepared with short-grain rice, milk and infused with vanilla bean.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 180g (6.3 ounces) white short-grain rice (arborio rice)
  • 1.5 L (6 ½ cups) whole milk
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 90g (½ cup) granulated sugar

Disclaimer: I highly recommend using the measurements in grams & ml/L for more accuracy and better results.

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, bring a large volume of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Add the rice, and pre-cook the rice for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
  2. Pour the milk into the same saucepan. Cut open the vanilla bean lengthwise, then use a knife to scrape out the tiny black seeds inside. Add them to the pan together with the bean itself, and heat on low-medium heat. When it simmers, add the pre-cooked rice, and stir. Cook on low, stirring often, until the pudding mixture resembles very loose oatmeal. The rice should become tender and much of the milk is absorbed, (but not creamy yet, i.e. there’s still some liquid left). This will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  3. Add sugar, stir, and allow to cook for a few more minutes. The rice pudding is ready when the grains appear at the surface and the texture is just about creamy. The rice pudding will thicken as it cools, so keep it loose – it’s key to a perfectly creamy rice pudding! Remove the vanilla pod, and let cool slightly.* Enjoy warm or lukewarm.

Notes

* If you want to distribute the French rice pudding into ramekins, ladle the pudding while still hot.

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