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Oven Baked Rice Pudding for Two

Oven baked rice pudding is my favourite British dessert and my version has been scaled back to be the perfect serving size for two people.

The dish takes a shade over an hour and a half to cook, but it is very easy, chuck some stuff in a bowl, stir it, throw it in the oven and go about your day.

Oven baked British rice pudding being served from its baking dish.

Creamy Rice Pud

This recipe is a bit of a collector’s piece here on Krumpli… a dessert!

I don’t present desserts here very often, not because I don’t like them, but because they are something that I choose not to eat very often. As a result, they take a long old time for me to develop and get right.

My latest sweet street is a traditional baked rice pudding, and like almost all of my desserts, it is fuelled by nostalgia.

I’ve got everything from mini Bakewell tarts and bread and butter pudding to mini lemon meringue pies and sticky toffee pudding.

One of the main themes of my site is food for two and as a result, this rice pudding recipe is made for just two people.

It’s gloriously simple to make and it is by far the easiest dessert you can make in my opinion.

It takes a little over 90 minutes to make, but you spend less than 10 minutes doing anything for it, how’s that for efficiency?

Overhead oven baked British rice pudding for two people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do you get pudding rice from?

When I returned to the UK a few years ago I was taken a little by surprise at how difficult it can be to find pudding or short-grain rice.

I have found Asda to be a pretty reliable source. Both Morrisons and Tesco have it online but I’ve never found it in any store that I have been in.

It is also widely available online and it will last for ages in the cupboard!

What if I don’t like the skin?

Shhhhhhh, you are not allowed to say such things in these parts… sorry… or am I?

If the skin is not for you, simply cover the bowl with tin foil before baking it!

Do I have to use cream?

No, but it does make this dish gloriously rich and I think it is worth it.

But if you want to scale back the calories you can omit the cream and use the same total amount of milk (400ml).

Can I use vanilla essence or extract?

Yes, depending on the quality of what you are using you will need to use between a quarter and half of a teaspoon.

Although I do think that fresh vanilla or vanilla bean paste is much better.

Overhead oven baked British rice pudding served with a dollop of jam.

Serving Suggestions

It may seem odd to have a serving suggestions section for a baked rice pudding, but stick with me.

There are a few bits that you can and maybe should have with rice pudding to take it to the next level.

The most obvious is a big dollop of jam, I prefer either a raspberry jam or a strawberry jam.

But a big spoon of cherry jam works well too. If you are doing that then try toasting off some flaked almonds too, it works wonderfully.

I’m sure that my next section will raise eyebrows, but I loved school dinner rice pudding with prunes in syrup. As I said, my dessert dishes are almost always about nostalgia.

If you want something completely out there, a sprinkling of sweet granola as a topping works really well.

Oven baked British rice pudding for two people.

Equipment Used

I only mention brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But, if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

  • Oven.
  • 500ml (2 cup) baking dish.
  • Stirring spoons.
  • A paring knife and cutting board, only required if you are using fresh vanilla.
  • Grater.
  • A combination of weighing scales, measuring jug, cups and spoons.
Oven baked creamy rice pudding being served from a baking dish with a spoon.
Yield: 2 Servings

Oven Baked Rice Pudding Recipe for Two

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

This pretty traditional oven-baked rice pudding is a real taste of my childhood, but it has been scaled back to be the perfect size for two people yet still produces the perfectly creamy pudding.

Ingredients

  • 60g (¼ Cup) Pudding Rice
  • 275ml (1 Cup + 2 Tbsp) Milk
  • 125ml (½ Cup) Double Cream
  • 3 Tbsp Sugar
  • ½ Tsp Vanilla Paste or Seeds From 1 Small Vanilla Pod
  • Grated Fresh Nutmeg
  • Butter to Grease the Bowl

Instructions

  1. Grease a 500ml (2 Cup) baking dish with butter.
  2. If you are using a vanilla pod cut it in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds.
  3. Pour the milk, cream, and sugar into the baking dish, grate in a little fresh nutmeg and add the vanilla seeds. Then give everything a stir to distribute the ingredients evenly and begin to dissolve the sugar.
  4. Add the pudding rice, give everything another stir, then place it in the oven and bake at 170°C or 340°F for 80-90 minutes.
  5. If you don't like the "skin" on the rice pudding cover the bowl with foil before baking.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 442Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 117mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 0gSugar: 28gProtein: 7g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

Camilla

Monday 15th of April 2024

This looks truly scrumptious Brian and one of my husband's favourite puddings! Thanks for including my jam recipes.

Brian Jones

Sunday 21st of April 2024

You are welcome Camilla, you can't beat an old school rice pud with a big dollop of homemade jam :)

Nancy

Wednesday 5th of April 2017

HI. The rice was moist like risotto. Sounds like it did turn out correctly. Guess I was imagining it was to be more like a pudding with the rice surrounded by the custard after cooking. I did not do was the sugar on top and put under the grill and bruleed. Thanks for the help.

Brian Jones

Friday 7th of April 2017

Like most dishes our expectations of what they are very much depend on where we are from... For me a baked rice pudding was always thick and creamy with very little 'custard', however on my travels have discovered a whole world of differences with everything from something almost like a hot milk shake with a little rice to the full on almost set and mouldable Indian rice pudding.

Nancy

Tuesday 4th of April 2017

HI I tried the rice recipe today. I cooked all in one pot. I cooked in my pressure cooker for 40 minutes.And let it cool down on its own. All of the liquid was soaked up by the rice. Since there was no liquid I did not sprinkle the sugar on top as directed.

I did pour some cream on top, mixed it thru and added whipped cream on top as I would do for pudding or jello. My question: should there be liquid once it is cooked? If so, I may have cooked it too long and will need to try once again next week.

If not, I must have cooked it properly. Thanks.

Brian Jones

Wednesday 5th of April 2017

Hi Nancy...

Great to hear from you again, I am sure there are some differences in kit at play here, but lets see what I can do to help. First of all the rice should not be dry when it comes out but also it should not have liquid in it either, if there we liquid then the sugar would sink through meaning you are unable to crisp the top it, should be a little like a risotto, creammy but quite firm. If you let it cool then the sugars and carbohydrates will firm up a little again making it drier, it should be served hot and the sugar sprinkled over immediately and flashed under the grill and 'bruleed'.

Nancy

Saturday 1st of April 2017

Hi Thanks for answering back. I just bought an electric combination slow cooker (crock pot) and pressure cooker and just learning to use it. Once I try the recipe I will let you know how it turns out. Not sue that I could fit 2 bowls in it. May need to use 1 bowl. Since it is just for myself the 2 person size would be perfect.

Brian Jones

Saturday 1st of April 2017

No problem, if you pressure cooker is electric then the thing to check is the pressure that it cooks at, it may take a little longer than my Instantpot which operates in the higher levels for Electric pressure cookers... I have never cooked this in a larger single pot but will look forward to hearing your experiences :)

Nancy

Friday 31st of March 2017

Is your pressure pot a regular pressure cooker we have in the US? I would love to try this recipe. Thanks.

Brian Jones

Saturday 1st of April 2017

Hey Nancy, thanks for asking... It is kinda like a regular pressure cooker, however it has it's own power source. It does not get to the same pressures as a regular pressure cooker though so a regular pressure cooker cooks a little quicker, typically somewhere around the 10-20% mark, so for this recipe that would convert to around 35-40 minutes on low pressure on a standard stove top pressure cooker. Although please bare in mind I have not tested this but would love to hear how you get on :)

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