Easy cinnamon rice pudding: some dishes are not just recipes — they are edible memories. The cinnamon and vanilla that fills the kitchen, the creamy texture that coats the spoon, the caramelised skin everyone fights over. This guide gives you the perfect recipe and all the secrets for a truly creamy texture.

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 35-40 min  |  Difficulty: Ultra-easy  |  Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 150g short-grain rice (pudding rice or risotto rice — never long grain)
• 1 litre whole milk (non-negotiable for creaminess)
• 80g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, split and scraped (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
• 1 cinnamon stick + ½ tsp ground Madagascar cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 20g butter (added off the heat — the secret to a silky finish)
• Optional: zest of ½ unwaxed lemon

Step-by-Step Recipe

1. Infuse the milk first (5 min): In a heavy-based pan, heat milk with the vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, lemon zest and salt to a gentle simmer. Infuse 5 minutes. This pre-infuses the milk with deep flavour before the rice even starts cooking.
2. Rinse the rice briefly: 30 seconds under cold water removes excess surface starch (prevents sticking to base) but keeps internal starch (which creates the creaminess).
3. Add rice to hot milk: Stir immediately.
4. Cook gently (35-40 min): The very lowest simmer — barely a bubble. Stir every 3-4 minutes with a wooden spoon. This repeated stirring releases the internal starch into the milk, gradually building the characteristic creamy texture.
5. Sugar and finishing: Add sugar in the last 10 minutes (earlier slows rice cooking). Off the heat, stir in the butter. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.
6. Serve warm or cold. Chilled rice pudding in ramekins develops a denser, more concentrated flavour.

The Double Cinnamon Secret

A whole stick infused in the milk (woody, bark notes, slow release) + ground cinnamon stirred in at the end (immediate warm spiced notes) = a depth of cinnamon flavour impossible to achieve with either form alone.

The Butter Secret

20g of butter stirred in off the heat creates a final emulsion that gives a glossy, velvety finish. Without it, rice pudding is good. With it, it is silky.

The Brûlée Variation

Pour hot rice pudding into a dish, sprinkle with demerara sugar and grill 3 minutes until caramelised. Crème brûlée-style crunchy top on creamy rice pudding — the favourite of children and adults alike.