Name: Sütlaç – Turkish Rice Pudding
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 100 g (½ cup) short grain rice; 450 ml (2½ cups) water; 800 ml (4 cups) milk, for the pudding; 230 g (¾ cup) sugar; 125 ml (½ cup) milk, for the slurry; 25 g (2 tablespoons) cornstarch; ½ teaspoon lemon zest ((of 1 lemon), optional); 1 tablespoon ground pistachios for garnish (optional)

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Sütlaç, or Turkish rice pudding, is one of the most loved homemade desserts in Türkiye. It’s made with simple ingredients like milk, rice, and sugar, but when baked until the top turns golden, it becomes something really special.

Close-up of Turkish baked rice pudding (fırın sütlaç) in clay bowls with beautifully caramelized tops.

What Is Sütlaç?

Sütlaç is a traditional Turkish rice pudding made with milk, rice, and sugar. It has a light, creamy texture and is usually served cold.

It is one of the most common and well-known desserts in Türkiye, and something many of us grow up eating.

You’ll find it everywhere from small neighborhood pastry shops to restaurant dessert menus.

There are two common versions of sütlaç.

The first one is anne sütlacı, the simple stove-top version many Turkish moms make at home because it’s quick and easy. It’s usually served cold with a little cinnamon on top.

The second is fırın sütlaç, the baked version with its famous caramelized top. It uses the same ingredients and starts the same way, but after being poured into bowls, it is baked in the oven until the tops are caramelized. That extra step makes it feel extra special.

Turkish baked rice pudding (fırın sütlaç) topped with ground pistachios in a traditional clay bowl with a spoon scooping from it.

About the Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients to make traditional Turkish rice pudding, sütlaç.

Rice: In Turkey, short grain rice like Osmancık is commonly used for sütlaç because it becomes soft and creamy when cooked. Some people use Baldo rice too. Here in the UK, we usually make it with arborio or risotto rice because they are easy to find in supermarkets. We’ve also tested it with pudding rice and it works well too. We don’t recommend jasmine or basmati rice because their aroma and texture change the traditional taste and consistency of sütlaç.

Milk: Whole milk gives the creamiest result, so that’s what we usually use.

Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is traditionally used in Turkish sütlaç.

Cornstarch: We use a little cornstarch to help thicken the pudding and give it that smooth creamy consistency. Wheat starch works as well.

Lemon zest: This is completely optional, but we always add it. It’s actually a habit Zerrin got from her mom because she would always add lemon zest to sütlaç. We love the freshness it gives to the pudding, and now our son is so used to it that he immediately notices when we skip it.

You can find the full list of ingredients with exact measurements in the recipe card below.

Milk, rice, lemon, cornstarch, water, sugar on a grey background.

How To Make Sütlaç

Making sütlaç is actually very simple, but like many traditional desserts, it needs a little patience and slow cooking.

First, cook the rice in water until soft. There will still be some liquid left in the pot and it will look slightly creamy.

Next, add the milk and sugar and let everything simmer slowly. The mixture will start to thicken slightly as it cooks.

Then stir in the cornstarch slurry to thicken the pudding a bit more. Keep stirring continuously so everything combines well and stays smooth.

At this stage, we also add lemon zest.

For classic stove-top sütlaç, you can simply pour it into bowls, let it cool, and chill it in the refrigerator.

But for fırın sütlaç, pour the pudding into oven-safe bowls, place them in a water-filled baking tray, and bake until the tops are beautifully caramelized.

Let them cool completely and then chill in the refrigerator.

Optionally, you can garnish them with nuts. In Türkiye, finely chopped hazelnuts or ground pistachios are commonly used.

Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Step-by-step collage showing how to make Turkish baked rice pudding (fırın sütlaç), from cooking the rice pudding to baking it until the tops are caramelized.

What Kind Of Bowls Can I Use?

Traditionally, fırın sütlaç is baked in small clay bowls in Türkiye. They help the pudding cook evenly and give it that classic bakery-style look.

But don’t worry if you don’t have them. We often make it in ramekins or small oven-safe glass bowls at home and they work perfectly well too.

You can even use disposable aluminum pudding cups if needed.

Just make sure the bowls are oven-safe because they will go under fairly high heat to get that caramelized top.

And honestly, even a regular baking dish works. Our traditional clay bowls stayed back in Türkiye, and before buying ramekins in the UK, we made fırın sütlaç in a normal oven dish several times. It tasted just as good, only less traditional-looking when serving.

Turkish rice pudding in white ramekins served on a wooden board.

Don’t Wash The Rice Too Much

Unlike Turkish pilaf recipes, we don’t wash the rice thoroughly when making sütlaç because we need that natural starch for a creamy pudding.

We usually just give it a very quick rinse to remove any dust. Even skipping the rinse completely is fine.

The important thing is not washing away all that starch.

For The Best Caramelized Top

At this stage, we only want the tops of the sütlaç to caramelize.

Place the bowls on the middle rack of the oven and don’t walk away. Depending on your oven, the timing can vary, but usually after about 10 minutes, the tops will start puffing up slightly and turn beautifully golden.

After the first 5 minutes especially, keep a close eye on them because the tops can darken quite quickly.

Once they reach the color you like, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.

Top view of Turkish baked rice pudding (fırın sütlaç) in clay bowls with caramelized tops and ground pistachios.

Serving Suggestions

Sütlaç is traditionally served cold straight from the refrigerator. On hot summer days in Türkiye, it’s one of the most refreshing desserts to have after dinner.

Some people like sprinkling a little cinnamon on top, especially with the stove-top version. For fırın sütlaç though, we usually leave the caramelized top just as it is.

In Türkiye, it is sometimes served with finely ground pistachios or chopped hazelnuts on top. Some pastry shops even serve it with a scoop of dondurma, Turkish ice cream.

And if you ask us, one of the best things to serve with sütlaç is a small cup of Turkish coffee.

Storage

Keep sütlaç covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

In fact, we think it tastes even better the next day once it is fully chilled and the texture settles properly.

We don’t recommend freezing it because the texture changes after thawing.

More Turkish Desserts

Güllaç (milk-soaked layered Ramadan dessert)
Aşure (Noah’s pudding)
Keşkül (Turkish almond pudding)
Revani (Turkish semolina cake)
Şekerpare (syrup-soaked semolina cookies)

Clay bowls filled with Turkish rice pudding (fırın sütlaç) with beautifully caramelized tops on a baking tray.

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📖 Recipe

Close-up of Turkish rice pudding (sütlaç) with a beautifully caramelized top in a traditional clay bowl.

5 from 6 votes