I’m a pretty big fan of healthy desserts.
I know, I know. That may seem like an oxymoron. How can healthy and dessert even be friends in the same sentence?!
After all, it IS January: that month where EVERYONE talks about dieting and ditching sweets. But as you’ve come to expect from Kitchen Stewardship®, we’re all about balance. Definitely eat more veggies. Definitely drink your water and get exercise. And definitely enjoy a little treat now and then – especially if it is healthy. 
Dessert … For Breakfast?
A few years ago, I learned a wonderful secret. It’s okay to make breakfast food into “dessert.” And it’s even better when you can upgrade a dessert into a breakfast food. My Fail-Proof Fruit Custard is an example of a delicious treat that packs enough protein and nutrition to be served for breakfast.
I created this Healthy Baked Rice Pudding based on a similar inspiration. I found myself with a small spattering of leftovers: 2 cups of milk that I needed to use up. A little bit of rice that wasn’t quite enough to serve for dinner. A few eggs that needed to be eaten.
And thus my favorite no-fuss rice pudding was born.
My kids also love this baked oatmeal recipe for breakfast!
Your kids CAN make their own healthy breakfast!
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Healthy Baked Rice Pudding
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: Dessert
Description
This delicious treat is a perfect way to use up your leftover rice for dessert (or breakfast!). It’s hard to beat the simplicity of this dump-and-bake recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 c. cooked rice
- 1/3 c. sucanat or honey or applesauce (or any combination)
- 2–3 eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 c. milk
- 1 Tbs. vanilla extract (or make your own)
- 1/4 – 1/2 c. raisins
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Dump rice in 8×8 pan, spreading evenly (no need to grease).
- Sprinkle raisins on top.
- Mix all remaining ingredients in a bowl.
- Pour the liquid into the pan, covering the rice and raisins.
- Bake about 35-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- Let stand ten minutes to “cure.” (If you dig in right away, it may be runny. It will firm up as it cools.)
- Serve warm or cool.
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Some Notes About the Recipe
Got A Sweet Tooth? I have already reduced the sugar quite a bit from a typical dessert. If you find that it isn’t sweet enough after baking, drizzle some maple syrup on top.
Keep the Raisins! As I mentioned before, the sugar is reduced in this recipe. The raisins and the cinnamon really help bring about the sweetness factor. If you’re a raisin-hater, consider adding another type of fruit or serve with a drizzle of maple syrup.
No Sugar? No Problem. If you’re really wanting to avoid sugar altogether, try using applesauce in place of the sweetener. You’ll want to increase your raisin volume if you do this because applesauce isn’t as strong of a sweetener as sugar or honey. And don’t worry. You won’t be able to taste the applesauce at all.
Everything But The Kitchen Sink. I love recipes that are high in protein, feature healthy grains, get good dairy into our diet, and even include a fruit (ie. – raisins). I was laughing as I was making this recipe for the photos. “It has everything but vegetables in it!” And then I realized: this could be delicious with the addition of pumpkin!! Start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup pumpkin and maybe add some clove and nutmeg. Tadaaaaa! All your food groups in one delicious meal!
Make Two. An 8×8 dish doesn’t go very far in our family. I highly recommend you double the recipe if you want some for later (or are feeding a hungry crew). You can double it into a 9×13 pan, although that will extend the cooking time and sometimes I’m too impatient for that. I find it easier to just make two 8×8 pans instead.
Sarah Boswell says
Just wondering if I could use coconut milk in lieu of milk due to dairy intolerance…
Carolyn @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Yes, I’ve used dairy-free milks in this recipe before and it works just fine!
Lilly M says
Hello! Could I use maple syrup as a sweetener instead of honey or applesauce? Would the amount still be the same? I really would love to try this recipe!
Carolyn @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Yes you can Lilly! Maple syrup can be used at the same measurements as honey.
Peter Coologeorgen says
Not sure about the milk to rice ratio. I had to use 4 cups milk to 2 cups rice, otherwise recipe pretty good.
★★★★
Carolyn @ Kitchen Stewardship says
That’s interesting, I wonder why. I actually just made this recipe this morning and I don’t think I could have fit 2 more cups of milk in the dish. Did you use an 8×8 dish?
Peter Coologeorgen says
I apologize greatly. I was reviewing numerous recipes and got the ingredients mixed up. This recipe called for COOKED RICE, not raw like others. My bad.
Carolyn @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Oops! That makes sense!
LB says
Hi, Katie. I just found your site and this recipe looks great. Any thoughts on whether it would work as well with rice milk? Lots of allergies over here….
Thanks!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Hi LB and welcome! I would guess that it would be fine but have never cooked with rice milk.
Rachel says
Very good, but extremely sweet! I’m glad to have it in my breakfast repertoire. I’ve reduced the sweetener to 1/4 c, and almond extract instead of vanilla is a nice variation.
★★★★★
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
I love almond extract in my stovetop rice pudding too, Rachel, mmmm! 🙂 Katie
Jessica says
Is there any substitute I could use for the eggs?
Jacki says
The recipe sounds and looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it! Do you think I could substitute Quinoa for rice maybe?
Thank you
Bethany Wright (Contributing Writer) says
Jacki – That’s a great question! I’ve never substituted with quinoa, but I’m sure it could work. Let me know what you find out. 🙂
Carol says
Well, I just tried it with leftover quinoa and the taste is great. The quinoa doesn’t have as much ‘body’ as rice does, but it was a good way to use up those leftovers.
★★★★