This festive and easy Gingerbread Cranberry Rice Pudding is a simple and economical dessert that can be made in under 15 minutes, with leftover cooked rice and no egg! And the cranberry and gingerbread flavors completely elevate this pudding to an entirely new level, while giving it that comforting holiday flair.
This Christmas Rice Pudding is popular around the holidays and in the winter months. It pairs well with any holiday meal or busy weeknight meal such as this Turkey Tetrazzini with Mushroom Soup.
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I love leftovers! And I always have rice leftovers... Like leftover potatoes and spaghetti noodles (see my Twice Baked Caesar Potatoes and Spaghetti noodle leftovers), rice is another one of those things I always make too much of.
If you're looking for more leftover rice recipes, try my Easy Spanish Brown Rice!
🥘 Ingredient Notes
I'm pretty particular about my rice pudding. Some recipes don't use condensed milk, but that's my preferred sweetener. And to me, rice pudding isn't rice pudding without cinnamon, yet strangely enough, some recipes don't call for it at all. Nor do I put eggs in my rice pudding; it's just not necessary. The other ingredients thicken it up nicely - no egg required!
For this stovetop rice pudding, you'll need:
- Cooked rice. I use leftover rice because I always make too much! But you can cook it specifically for this recipe (I have done that). Either works well. You can also use any type of rice. I used 2 different kinds of rice in these photos. * In the final photos, the rice looks darker because I used instant brown rice and I used short grain white rice in the ingredient and process photos. Jasmine and Basmati rice will make this pudding even more aromatic and tasty!
- Condensed milk. Condensed milk adds both the sweetness of sugar and the benefits of milk without adding too much liquid.
- Salt. Salt balances the sweetness of this dessert.
- Dried cranberries. Gives this pudding a nice tart flavor and welcome texture. The cranberries really make it a Christmas rice pudding. I use dried cranberries because they are sweeter and more convenient than fresh or frozen. (I use 'Craisins').
*see recipe card for quantities
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Dairy-free- Use a non-dairy milk such as almond milk and make your own Dairy-free condensed milk
- Dried fruit - You can substitute dried cherries or dried apricots.
- Cranberries - You can use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries instead of dried cranberries, but dried ones are ideal. Using fresh or frozen cranberries will make it more tart. You could also use dried cherries or dried apricots instead!
- Rice -You can use any type of cooked rice (brown rice, white rice, instant rice, jasmine rice, white or brown basmati rice, etc..)
- Milk - You can use 2% or whole milk instead. I don't recommend skim as it will be much runnier.
- Add-ins - You can add in cloves and/or nutmeg for more holiday flavor if you are a fan of these spices. You could also add orange zest for a hint of citrus.
🔪 How to Make Gingerbread Cranberry Rice Pudding
This recipe is sooo easy! You literally throw all the ingredients in a pot on the stovetop and have a delicious rice pudding 10 minutes later!
- Step 1: In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients.
- Step 2: Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring often.
- Step 3: Remove from the heat; spoon into serving dishes. Serve warm or cold. Garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkles.
Like Christmas bread pudding, rice pudding is yet another one of those things that I didn't grow up with. I don't know why I never had it as a kid, but my family wasn't big on dessert anyway.
And even though I didn't grow up with rice pudding, it's still pure comfort food! I guess the sweet, milky cinnamony flavors somehow remind me of French toast (in rice form, of course) on a cozy weekend morning.
What to eat with Christmas Rice Pudding
This Cranberry Christmas Rice Pudding goes well with a holiday meal such as Pork Picnic Ham or Ninja Air Fryer Roast Chicken (shown). But it also pairs nicely with leftover meals such as this Turkey Tetrazzini with mushroom soup!
🌡️How to Store Christmas Rice Pudding
You can store this Christmas rice pudding in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days (that includes from the time the rice was cooked).
You can freeze it for up to 3 months in an airtight container. However, keep in mind that the texture does change a little (a bit more spongy) when it's defrosted. You'll want to eat it warmed up if you've previously frozen it.
👪 Serving Size
This recipe serves 6 (about ½ cup serving size). However, depending on how much cooked rice you have or how many people you want to serve, you can cut it in half or double or triple it. Simply click on the serving size in the recipe card, select the number of servings and the recipe amounts will adjust accordingly.
Making rice pudding on the stovetop is a quick and easy method, so it's the ideal stovetop dessert. And since most rice pudding recipes use raisins, in the name of Christmas and all things Chrismasy, I replaced them with dried cranberries. Plus half of the people in my family don't like raisins. I think that's reason enough.
❔FAQs
Nuts such as slivered almonds are a nice topping on Cranberry rice pudding. You could also use chopped pecans. Chocolate chips also add a nice flavor to Cranberry rice pudding.
You can actually serve all three ways. I eat it warm, cold and at room temperature, and it's delicious any way you eat it! It's really about personal preference.
So, if you are looking for festive and easy rice pudding recipes with leftover cooked rice, this is it!
🎄More Holiday Leftover Recipes!
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📋 Gingerbread Cranberry Rice Pudding Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked, leftover rice
- ¾ cups milk *I use 1 %
- ½ cup condensed milk
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ⅔ cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish
- whipped cream optional
- cinnamon sprinkles
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients.3 cups cooked, leftover rice, ¾ cups milk, ½ cup condensed milk, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ⅔ cup dried cranberries, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring often.
- Remove from the heat; spoon into serving dishes. Serve warm or cold; top with whipped cream if desired and cinnamon sprinkles.whipped cream, cinnamon sprinkles
Sabrina
What a great easy recipe. I too hate wasting but this is so delicious it’s not even like eating leftovers! Thanks for the great recipe 🙂