From Fine Cooking Magazine

When using a vanilla bean, I like to leave it in the pudding and then scrape out the seeds after the pudding has cooled. The seeds scrape out more easily from the softened bean, and the pudding gets an additional boost from the extra time the bean sits in it. This pudding is great as is, but can also be dressed up in dozens of ways (for a few ideas, see Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango, Coffee Rice Pudding, and the variations below).

Classic Rice Pudding

From Family Circle

Let this old-fashioned dessert simmer on the back of the stove while you prepare the rest of the meal. By the time you're done with the main course, the warm pudding will be ready to spoon into dessert dishes.

rice pudding with raisins

From Better Homes and Gardens

A spoonful of molasses-chocolate sauce adds extra richness to this homespun dessert. Substitute dark corn syrup for the molasses if you prefer.

Chocolate Rice Pudding

From Better Homes and Gardens

This dessert delivers a double delight of caramel flavor: in the crunchy, candy-like top and in the pudding.

Caramel Rice Pudding

From Fine Cooking Magazine

This one is my family's favorite. Brown rice gives a deep, nutty flavor, while a sugared nut topping delivers crunch. Precooking the rice shaves off half the baking time.

Baked Brown Rice Pudding

From Better Homes and Gardens

Evaporated fat-free milk makes this pudding taste rich and creamy without adding fat. It's versatile enough to serve as either a holiday side dish or dessert.

Cardamom Cranberry Rice Pudding

From Food & Wine

The arborio rice in Joe Bastianich's lightly sweet pudding provides complex carbohydrates for energy. Since the pudding keeps well in the refrigerator, Joe Bastianich makes it in big batches, then reheats portions for quick breakfasts.

Soy Milk-Arborio Rice Pudding with Poached Figs

From Tyler Florence

Arborio Rice Pudding with Rum-Raisin Mascarpone

From Taste of the South

Creamy Rice Pudding

From Better Homes and Gardens

This slow cooker holiday dessert calls for Arborio rice, a short-grain rice used for risotto. Top with a purchased lingonberry sauce before serving to family and friends.

Festive Rice Pudding

From Food & Wine

Arborio rice is great for Stephanie Prida's pudding, because the plump grains stay perfectly firm and chewy.

Coconut Arborio Rice Pudding

From Food & Wine

This vanilla-flecked rice pudding is exceptionally easy and exceptionally delicious, thanks to the tangy rhubarb. Krista Desjarlais, the chef-owner of Bresca in Portland, Maine, gently poaches the stalks in red wine, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Perfect on the pudding, the rhubarb would be equally good with Greek yogurt.

Rice Pudding with Poached Rhubarb

From Better Homes and Gardens

Combine apricots, evaporated milk, ginger, and rice to make an irresistible slow-cooker dessert.

Rice Pudding with Dried Apricots

From Midwest Living

Buttery cookies serve as the base for sweet vanilla rice pudding and fresh berries in this scrumptious dessert.

Risotto Pudding

From Diabetic Living

This pleasantly sweet, Indian-style rice pudding recipe is smooth and custardy with a hint of cardamom. Cardamom loses its flavor quickly, so purchase whole, decorticated cardamom and use it within a few months.

Apricot Baked Rice Pudding

From EatingWell

This rice pudding is dairy-free, but the bananas and rice milk make it so creamy and rich-tasting, no one will know the difference.

Dairy-Free Banana Rice Pudding