Diner-Style Rice Pudding

This creamy rice pudding is the ultimate make-ahead dessert. The recipe is easy to scale up for a crowd, and you can prepare it up to two days before serving. But the type of rice you use matters. While leftover rice can make a worthy pudding, this ultra-creamy rice pudding recipe starts with uncooked short-grain white rice, which is slowly enriched as it simmers in dairy. Look for arborio rice (sometimes called risotto rice). Shorter rice grains have a higher starch content, which contributes to the pudding’s silky texture. In a pinch, you can use medium-grain rice or even long-grain basmati or jasmine rice—your homemade rice pudding will still taste great; it’ll just be a little looser in consistency.

Customize your ingredients and add-ins to create a rainbow of rice puddings. If you need a dairy-free swap, coconut milk and almond milk make delicious rice puddings. Use brown sugar for toffee flavors or brown rice for a heartier, nuttier taste. Trade the ground cinnamon for cardamom or allspice, or the vanilla extract for (half the amount of) almond extract or fiori di Sicilia—or swap out the dried fruit for cranberries, golden raisins, or coconut flakes.