This might just be the easiest rice pudding you’ve ever made. This sweet peppermint flavored dessert is the perfect treat to enjoy over the holidays – it’s festive, simple to make and perfect for a crowd!
‘Tis the season to make rice pudding! Isn’t it great how rice pudding is so universal? Every culture seems to have their own version of this dessert! I think that’s why rice pudding is a comfort food dessert for so many people.
Let me tell you how this creamy peppermint rice pudding came to be. I make rice pudding all the time and it’s almost always Indian rice pudding (kheer) which is different in both flavor and consistency than this recipe (my kheer recipe is in my cookbook Indian Food Under Pressure and it is sooo good). I decided that I wanted to share an American version of rice pudding so I came up with this peppermint rice pudding! It basically tastes like candy cane flavored rice pudding and it’s delicious!
My peppermint rice pudding is made with just a handful of ingredients – it couldn’t be a simpler recipe. Really, go check out the ingredients list. There’s no condensed milk in this recipe and there’s also no need to try and whisk an egg into the pudding (curdled egg is the worst! trust me, before this peppermint pudding I tried to make eggnog rice pudding and let’s just say that recipe requires quite a bit more testing…). My point is, you likely have all of the ingredients that you need for this simple recipe in your pantry – with the exception of peppermint extract and candy canes. And actually – you can honestly leave both out of those things out of the recipe and it’ll still be good – though you’ll want to flavor it with something else if you decide to do that. I mean, otherwise you can’t really call it peppermint rice pudding… yes, sometimes I like to state the obvious. Like, right now.
I know most people like to eat rice pudding after it has chilled, but I prefer it hot or warm (I prefer my kheer warm too). Roby, my husband, will only eat rice pudding if it’s cold. How do you like your rice pudding? Team warm or team cold?!
Serve this treat over the holidays for dessert or make someone’s morning and serve it for breakfast! Happy Holidays, y’all!
Ingredients
- ½ cup basmati rice soaked for 15-30 minutes
- ½ cup water
- 3 cups whole milk or full-fat coconut milk if dairy-free
Add Later:
- ½ cup sugar adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 candy cane crushed
Instructions
- Soak the basmati rice in cold water for 15-30 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Press the sauté button on your Instant Pot and add 1⁄2 cup water to the pot. Once the water begins to steam, pour the milk into the pot. (Make sure the water is steaming before adding the milk as this will prevent the milk from burning at the bottom of the pot.) Add the rice, stir.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure.
- Press sauté. Add the sugar, peppermint to the pot. Stir until well combined. The pudding will thicken as it cools.
- Serve this dessert hot, warm, cold or at room temperature.
- Garnish with crushed candy canes prior to serving.
Notes
- I have always made rice pudding with basmati rice, but feel free to use another type of rice if you prefer! Leave a comment letting us know what type you used!
Jan says
I’m confused….are you referring to a pressure cooker in your recipe? Perhaps I missed it, but I did not see anywhere where you mentioned what to cook it in…….just “press the saute button”. It sounds wonderful, but if you don’t have a pressure cooker, is there another way to cook it??
My Heart Beets says
Hi Jan! Sorry for the confusion! The recipe is called Instant Pot Peppermint Pudding – an Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker – here’s a link to it if you’d like to learn more: http://amzn.to/1apFOBf I am sure you can make this on the stovetop too but it will take longer. Let me know how it turns out for you if you decide to make this!