Instant Pot Rice Pudding is an easy and hassle-free recipe for this classic rice dessert. Raisins and star anise are added for extra flavor.
Pressure cooker rice pudding is a great dessert to make when you are stuck for time or need to make something quick!
It’s one of the Instant Pot drop-and-go recipes where you literally throw everything in, stir, close the lid, set the time and let the pot do its magic!
Another quick pressure cooker recipe is Instant Pot Baked Apples. This dessert is also ready in no time especially in comparison with the oven version.
What is the best rice to use for rice pudding?
Medium-grain or short-grain rice is the best as it absorbs the liquid better and is perfect for this Instant Pot rice pudding recipe. So you can use sushi rice, risotto rice, paella rice (these can be also used to make Instant Pot Chicken Risotto).
If you have long-grain rice on hand and looking for ways to use it, try making Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup. This soup is perfect for cold winter days!
Do you eat rice pudding cold or hot?
I’d say it depends on what you are used to and/or what you like. You can eat it either warm or cold.
Note: This Instant Pot rice pudding will thicken a lot when chilled so if you like eating it cold, I would suggest add more liquid when making it.
How to make rice pudding in instant pot
Place all the ingredients except for the butter in to the inner pot of your Instant Pot and stir. I like using a whisk to break any cinnamon lumps that tend to form on the surface of the milk.
Then close the lid. Make sure it is locked. Cook it on MANUAL (which is pressure cooking) on high pressure.
Once done and you have released the pressure (you can also wait until it drops naturally – it shouldn’t take long when using the amounts stated in the recipe), stir the butter in and you are done!
Tips for making Instant Pot rice pudding
- Toppings – there are endless options when it comes to toppings and it is entirely up to you what you like. You don’t need to use any and you and your guests will still enjoy this simple dessert. Berries, compote, chocolate shavings, ….
- For richer taste you can use 3 cups of milk instead of a combination of milk and water.
- The amount of sugar you add is entirely up to you. If you are trying to reduce your sugar intake, add about a half of the amount that is stated in this Instant Pot rice pudding recipe and taste it at the very end. If not sweet enough, you can either use your favorite fruits or honey/maple syrup to add the extra sweetness.
- This Instant Pot rice pudding is a basic recipe and can be adjusted to your needs and liking.
- The active cooking time can be somewhere between 3-6 minutes depending on how you like your rice pudding. If you like the rice little crunchy, then try cooking it for 3 minutes.
Want to see how to make Instant Pot Rice Pudding? Watch the video!
Instant Pot Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup Uncooked Rice (See note 1)
- 2 cups Milk
- 1 cup Water
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Star Anise , optional
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ cup Raisins
- A pinch of Salt
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
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Instructions
- In the inner pot of your Instant Pot pressure cooker combine the rice, milk, water, sugar, anise, cinnamon, raisins and salt.
- Mix well – make sure there are no large lumps of cinnamon.
- Close the lid, lock it into its position. Press MANUAL (pressure cooking) and adjust the time to 5 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle is finished, wait about 7 minutes before releasing the pressure manually.
- When the pin has dropped, open the lid and give it a good mix. Now stir in the butter. Taste it and add more sweetener, if needed.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Rice – the best is using short-grain rice or medium-grain rice. Any risotto rice (e.g. Arborio), paella rice or sushi rice will work just fine.
- You can reduce the amount of raisins to ¼ cup or increase if you prefer more. They can also be omitted but I recommend using them.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar to your liking.
- The rice pudding may appear liquid-y at first but will thicken once cooled.
- This recipe was developed for a 6-quart/6-liter instant pot pressure cooker. If you use a different brand or size, the recipe may turn out different.
- The overall time does not include time needed for the pot to come to its pressure (count with at least 10 minutes) nor the time that you wait for the pot to decrease its pressure (add extra 7-10 minutes).
- This is a basic recipe that can be easily adjusted to your liking. If you like your rice harder, you can cook it for 3 minutes only, if softer than what I made, then cook it for 8-10.
Juliette says
This was a big success with my children – I had to hide the pudding from the youngest one, after she asked for a third serving!
I really like the addition of star anise, I never thought about using it in rice puddings.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
:) I am so happy to hear that you and your little ones enjoyed this rice pudding. Thank you for you feedback!
Donna says
Brand new instant pot user, i made hard boiled eggs and now rice pudding. I put extra cinnamon in because i like It but It’s really good. Thank you for this simple recipe.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
You are welcome, Donna and thanks so much for your feedback!
Sharon says
Great, simple, fast recipe when we needed it. Hubby and i just wanted something sweet and this only took 15 minutes from start to finish. I added some butterscotch flavoring and it was delicious. Thanks! Will make again and again!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Mmm, butterscotch flavoring sounds like a great idea! Thanks so much for your feedback, Sharon. I am so happy to hear you will be making it again :)
Clare says
Best rice pudding for the instant pot on the internet!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Clare. It means a lot! :)
Kaia says
Worked out great! Thank you!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
You are welcome! :)
Kerry says
Love this recipe! New instant pot yesterday tried out this as my first bake. Omitted the spices and stirred through vanilla extract after cooking instead
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Yay! :) It’s so good to hear, Kerry!
Maggie says
I sprinkled it with nutmeg. It was just like my Grandma used to make! (although I used plant based milk),
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
That’s great to hear, Maggie :)!
Barbara Davidson says
I measured everything carefully and it came out very runny, but the taste was ok.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hello Barbara. Every rice brand can be different and some absorb liquid more than others (avoid using long grain rice!). Now, next time it if you feel it is runny, after you open the instant pot, let it cook off some of the liquid (using the SAUTE function) until you achieve the consistency you like. Also it thickens more as it cools.
pam says
perfect. I wanted something to cook fast for dessert. Everything in the pot. Excellent. I did halve the recipe. Worked out just right
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thank you for your feedback, Pam! Happy Instant Pot Cooking! :)
chris says
Just made this and it came out great. Omitted the raisins and added 1/2 of a vanilla bean pod, then split the pod and scraped the beans into the pudding. I let it sit for abut 15 mins after the cook, keep warm on. Was almost perfect at that point. Also used calrose rice.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Chris! Hope you try some other recipes from our blog. Happy Instant Pot Cooking! :)
Erika says
Not sure why but we got the burn notification very quickly so have had to run the cycle three times! I put all the right amount of liquid but it keeps sticking. I’m sure it tastes nice but not a great start.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Erika. That is strange. I wonder if it is not down to the rice – some might be more starchy than others and so the burn notice might come up? Another thing is that the new versions of IP are more sensitive and show the burn notice a lot which can be frustrating. I will try to test it again to see if adding more liquid will help.
Gina says
Looking for IP rice pudding recipe & tried out yours w/a few tweaks. I used medium grain rice. I didn’t have whole milk, so i used 1 cup evaporated milk + 2 1/2 cups water. Reduced sugar to 6 Tbs, because I had planned to add shredded coconut at the end. Replaced star anise w/ 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. High pressure for 10 min & 7 min NPR. i tempered 2 whisked eggs back into IP, added shredded coconut. After everything, the rice pudding was on the stiff side, so I added 1/2 cup coconut milk + 1/2 cup water. The end result was a creamy coconutty RP w/golden raisins. Thanks for your recipe. It’s a great base.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Gina. Thanks for your feedback and your version of the recipe! Happy Instant Pot Cooking! :)
Denise Haggerty says
I only have long grain and jasmine rice. Which one would work. I’m craving this terribly.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Denise. This recipe calls for short-grain rice which is the best. The options are in the recipe card. Using long grain rice may result in a different outcome (texture, cooking time…).