Rice pudding is a sweet and delicious dessert that is best prepared from scratch. The centre is rich and creamy, and providing it has been cooked correctly, the layer of skin that forms on top is often worth fighting over.
Another thing about homemade rice pudding is that it’s normally prepared in a fairly big dish, resulting in more than you could possibly eat in one go. So it begs the question – what should you do with the leftovers? Can you reheat rice pudding?
To reheat rice pudding either warm it through in the oven for 20 minutes or microwave it for a few minutes until piping hot. You will need to add extra milk to keep it soft.
How to Reheat Rice Pudding
Reheating rice pudding is an effective way of ensuring your leftovers don’t go to waste. But you can also top your leftover rice pudding with fruit and enjoy it for breakfast – but, each to their own!
The best way to reheat rice pudding is in the oven, as this will heat the dessert thoroughly and evenly. It will also preserve the nice crispy layer of skin that forms on the top of rice pudding, arguably the best bit!
But if you want to save some time, you can always reheat rice pudding in the microwave, which is equally as straightforward. Let’s take a look at each method in detail now:
How to Reheat Rice Pudding in the Oven
Reheating rice pudding in the oven is nice and straightforward, and you can do so by following these simple steps:
- Preheat Oven
Switch on your oven and preheat to 300F or 150C. - Prepare Rice Pudding
Place your leftover rice pudding in a deep ovenproof dish and add approximately 50-100ml of milk. - Cover
Cover the dish with tin foil. This will prevent the top from burning. You can always remove it for the final 5 minutes to crisp up the top. - Reheat
Place your rice pudding in the centre of the oven and reheat it for 20-25 minutes. Check on it halfway through and give it a stir if necessary. - Check for Doneness
After 25 minutes, your rice pudding should be hot and ready to serve. If you like, you can check the internal temperature of the dish is at least 75C or 165F before serving. - Serve and Enjoy
Your rice pudding is now ready to serve up with a dollop of jam, of course.
How to Reheat Rice Pudding in the Microwave
Reheating rice pudding in the microwave takes less time and is a good option if you’re reheating a small portion. Here’s what you need to do:
- Prepare Rice Pudding
Place your rice pudding in a microwave-safe bowl and add a small amount of milk. Give the pudding a quick stir, so the milk isn’t just sitting on one side. - Cover
If you have some plastic wrap, cover the bowl before placing your rice pudding in the microwave. You can use a paper towel if you don’t have plastic wrap. - Reheat
On full power, reheat your rice pudding in sixty-second bursts. After each blitz, remove the rice pudding and stir it before returning it to the microwave. - Check for Doneness
Each time you remove the rice pudding from the microwave, you need to check how well it is reheating. It shouldn’t take any more than a couple of minutes for it to have reheated sufficiently. - Serve and Enjoy
Your reheated rice pudding is now ready to tuck into.
How to Reheat Rice Pudding Successfully
You now have our two methods for successfully reheating rice pudding. But below, we’ve got our essential 3 tips to follow:
- Eat It Cold – Rice pudding leftovers are delicious when served cold. Consider topping them with fresh berries for a hearty and sweet breakfast option, instead of warming rice pudding through as a dessert (and yes, it’s safe to eat cold rice).
- Store It Correctly – According to the NHS, you need to be extremely careful how you store cooked rice. As soon as your rice pudding has cooled, you need to wrap it tightly and place it in the fridge or freezer. Leaving rice pudding sitting out at room temperature for too long can cause food poisoning, so make sure you store it correctly.
- Add Extra Milk – Adding some extra milk to your rice pudding before you reheat it will save it from drying out. Just be careful not to flood it, as you don’t want it to go soggy either!
Is It Safe to Reheat Rice Pudding?
Yes, it’s perfectly safe to reheat rice pudding. As already mentioned, the potential danger with reheating rice lies in the way that it’s stored, not the way that it’s reheated.
So, make sure you get your rice pudding in the fridge or freezer as soon as it has cooled to make sure you don’t cause yourself a stomach upset when you come to enjoy it. And the final thing to note is that you should only ever reheat rice pudding once.
Reheating Rice Pudding FAQs
Below you’ll find a handful of commonly asked questions about reheating rice pudding that may be useful:
Leftover rice pudding will keep in the fridge for roughly 4 days assuming that it is covered with cling film or stored in an airtight container. However, try to consume it within the first 2 days.
Yes, you can eat leftover rice pudding cold. It is important, however, to ensure it is stored properly beforehand. This is where you can have problems. You must not let the rice pudding sit at room temperature for extended periods of time.
There’s often a fear with rice that it can make you severely ill if it’s not cooked properly. But this isn’t the case. The problem is how it is stored. You need to ensure your leftover rice pudding is not left out at room temperature for extended periods of time.
Got too much rice pudding to use up? Then you can freeze it! Portion it out into good-quality freezer bags, seal them up and pop them into the freezer for around 3 months.
Lewis is the founder and editor of Let’s Foodie alongside other food-related platforms including FreezeIt and SubstituteIt. He launched Let’s Foodie to provide aspiring cooks with one place to get the answers to some of the most commonly asked cooking questions.
