Here’s an easy and gluten-free way to use up leftover rice.  The last time I made this, I went searching on the internet to see if I could find any other fun recipes for rice pudding.  I had a really hard time finding any that called for leftover rice.  Almost all the recipes had you start with uncooked rice and cook it on the stove top – WAY too much work!

This rice pudding is really easy and you can use any kind of rice in it.  I’ve made it with brown jasmine rice but of course, it’s the most decadent with white rice.  The last time I made it, we used leftover sushi rice from when we made sushi.  Nik hadn’t added the vinegar/salt/sugar mixture to the leftover rice, which made it perfect for rice pudding!

Rice Pudding (using leftover rice)
from my mother
makes one square pan (usually 8×8 or 9×9) (double for a 9×13)

1 ½ C cooked rice*
½ C raisins (optional – I love them!)
Spread the rice and raisins (if using) evenly into the pan.

3 large eggs
2 C milk
¼ – ½ C sugar (Use the lesser amount if serving with syrups – see below.)
½ T vanilla
½ tsp salt
Put the eggs in a medium bowl and beat well.  Stir in the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla and then pour it over the rice. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes.

Take it out of the oven , stir it, and then sprinkle it generously with cinnamon.  Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the pudding doesn’t really jiggle anymore in the middle and a knife put into the middle comes out clean. (When making a 9×13 pan, it will probably take closer to an hour or more to finish.)

This is best served right  out of the oven.  I like to serve it with maple syrup or peach syrup on the side (hence my note about reducing the sugar above).  It’s also good eaten later after it has cooled but the rice does continue to absorb the milk/egg mixture.  So it becomes less pudding-like as it sits.  I like to heat it up when eating it as leftovers and it’s still delicious.

*updated 2/27/14 – So my friend David and I had a discussion on Facebook about this where he questioned my “leftover rice” title – saying, “no need for the rice to be leftover.”  He usually cooks rice if he wants to make rice pudding.  And to be honest, it never before occurred to me that you could actually cook some rice and then make pudding.  I only ever make it if I have leftover rice to use up! 🙂  So, if you want to make this but don’t have leftover rice, go right ahead and cook some up!