Turkish Baked Rice Pudding Recipe

Do you like milk-based desserts? This Turkish Baked Rice Pudding Recipe is right up your alley if yes. It is creamy, rich and has the yummiest golden top. One of the best gluten-free desserts out there! It makes a wonderful breakfast too!

Do you know that Turkish cuisine has an abundance of yummy desserts? I’m sharing one of my favorite Turkish desserts today. You might be expecting a homemade Turkish delight recipe, but I have already done that. Today’s dessert is way easier to make. Oh and less sweet than world-famous Turkish homemade baklava. What’s more, you don’t need a lot of ingredients for this Turkish baked rice pudding recipe, which is called sütlaç in Turkey.

 

Ingredients For Turkish Baked Rice Pudding

The best thing I love about this recipe is the simplicity of it. This is a baked rice pudding recipe without eggs.

We need just 5 ingredients. These are:

1. Rice
2. Water
3. Milk
4. Cornstarch
5. Sugar

How To Make Baked Rice Pudding Recipe

This recipe has four stages.

First, cook the rice with water in a large pan until the rice is tender. Before putting the rice in the pan, wash it just once under cold water. Don’t try to clean rice super well so that it won’t lose much of its starch. We need that natural starch of rice for a creamy rice pudding.

Second, add in milk and sugar and bring it to boil. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat.

Third, in a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup milk and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Pour it gradually into the simmering rice. Stir the rice while doing this. Continue stirring and let the mixture simmer until it thickens.

Finally, pour this mixture into small ovenproof cups like ramekins or clay cups and bake.

How To Bake Rice Pudding

To bake the rice pudding, fill the ½ of an oven tray and place the ramekins into it. This will keep the pudding creamy and prevent it from getting dry. Bake them uncovered at 400F until their tops are golden. Watch their top and remove from the oven when they reach the desired golden color.

Can I Make Baked Rice Pudding With Cooked Rice?

Yes! Although I like doing things from scratch, shortcuts are sometimes good for me too. For example,  when I have leftover rice and I want to make this baked rice pudding recipe in a quicker way. Turning that leftover rice into a wonderful dessert like this is brilliant, isn’t it? If making rice pudding with leftover rice is not your type of thing, you can use store-bought pre-cooked rice and use it for an easier and quicker way of making this recipe. You skip the first stage in this case and start right from the second.

Can I Make Vegan Rice Pudding?

This is a gluten-free pudding recipe because it is made with rice and cornstarch. However this baked rice pudding is not vegan because we use milk in the recipe. Some recipes even use egg yolk for the topping, but I really don’t think it is necessary. To make it vegan, use coconut milk. Almond milk or soy milk would work fine too. I’ve tried coconut rice pudding before and it was as yummy as this one with a nice coconut flavor.

Looking For An Easy Rice Pudding Recipe?

If you don’t like many stages in a recipe or need an easier recipe, skip baking the pudding. Trust me it’s still so good! Mom’s Simple Turkish Rice Pudding was my favorite dessert, snack and breakfast as a kid. I used to gobble one bowl when it was still hot, but I’ve always loved it more when chilled.

Although this is the easy way, I came accross an even easier way of making rice pudding on my lovely friend Mely’s blog. Her Mexican Rice Pudding Recipe uses a mixture of whole milk and condensed milk and she says the pudding is ready in half the time with this shortcut unlike the old-fashioned method. Are you intrigued like me? Well, I need to try her rice pudding with condensed milk asap!

What Type of Rice for Baked Rice Pudding?

In Turkey, while we use long grain to make Rice Pilaf with Orzo, we use round short grain rice in desserts like this or in soups. It doesn’t matter much though. You can use any rice as long as it doesn’t have a strong flavor.

We don’t recommend Basmati or Jasmine rice because they would be too flavorful for this pudding. On the other hand, you might see these flavorful rices in Indian Rice Pudding recipes like this Instant Pot Kheer. What’s more, they also add cardamom and saffron in their puddings. You know traditional Indian recipes always have a ton of flavors, which I really love.

What other flavors to add in this recipe?

The only spice we use in this recipe is cinnamon. It gives the pudding a comforting feeling, especially when served warm. Also, I recommend adding lemon or orange zest if you are planning to serve the puddings chilled. They add an amazing summer effect on this dessert.

Another ingredient I love in my baked rice pudding is pistachio. It is totally up to your taste. You can use any nut you like or just leave it out.

If you love fruit in your dessert, raisins, dates or fresh fruit go really well too. You might need to reduce the amount of sugar then. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your taste.

How To Serve Rice Pudding

In Turkey, we serve it well-chilled. It makes a delightful snack any time of the day. Although it’s not traditional, I love it even at breakfast. I enjoy it cold in summer but it is better at room temperature in cooler weathers.

Can I Freeze Baked Rice Pudding?

Yes, you can freeze your pudding in freezer-safe containers wrapped tightly for up to three months. On the other hand, I personally don’t like the taste much when thawed. It tastes way better for three to four days after it is made.

Did you make this Turkish-style baked rice pudding recipe? Please rate it below and leave your comment!

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