Can You Freeze Rice Pudding?

Rice pudding is an all-around great dish. It combines some of the most basic ingredients to form a scrumptious treat for the whole family. This yummy dish is the perfect dessert, an excellent snack, and something that even your baby can eat.

One of the only sweet treats that are also really healthy, and an easy guilt-free treat for a down day. But for all the effort that it takes to make this delicious pudding, it doesn’t have a very long shelf life.

That’s why freezing is an excellent option, despite its two main ingredients being extremely temperature-sensitive.

Milk is a dairy product that is well-known for being difficult to freeze, and rice is also extremely sensitive. This means there will likely be structural and textual changes to the ingredients once they freeze.

Despite this, rice pudding actually freezes surprisingly well. So there’s no need to worry if you’ve made too big a batch, you can easily freeze the excess.

You can even make a batch of rice pudding ahead for easy access to this sweet treat in the future. Just follow this guide, and freezing rice pudding will be easy.

How to freeze rice pudding

If you decide that you want to freeze your rice pudding, the process is extremely easy. The most important step is the first one, and once you’ve done this, the entire process is simple.

You have to wait until the rice pudding has cooled before beginning the freezing process. If the pudding is not cooled thoroughly, this will affect the texture of the rice pudding and potentially make it inedible when defrosted.

If you are short on time and need the rice pudding to cool quickly so that you can freeze it, there are ways around this. The most common way is to give the pudding an ice bath. This accelerates the cooling process by exposing the warm pudding to cold water.

To do this you simply transfer the rice pudding from the pan into an airtight container. You can then seal the container and submerge it in water which is ice cold for roughly 20 minutes. This will cool the pudding to a temperature that is freezer safe.

If you decide to let the pudding cool naturally, the first step once it has cooled is transferring to an airtight, freezer-safe container. You should fill the container up until it has about 2-inches left at the top.

The water content of the rice pudding will expand when frozen and cause the entire mixture to fill the container.

You should then place a layer of saran wrap across the pudding before sealing with the lid. Once this is completed you can simply label the container with the date of freezing, and lay flat in your freezer to avoid any spillages.

How to defrost rice pudding

Once frozen, rice pudding can last up to 3 months in the freezer. But for the best taste experience, it should be eaten as soon as possible because the texture and flavor will deteriorate the longer it has been frozen.

When you decide to eat your frozen rice pudding, the defrosting process is just as easy as the freezing process. You can simply take the container of rice pudding out of the freezer and place it in the fridge.

Leave the container in the fridge overnight and come morning you will find that the rice pudding has thawed thoroughly. You should never leave the rice pudding to defrost at room temperature. It has a high milk content, and this will cause the pudding to turn quicker and become inedible.

Depending on your preference, you can then either reheat the pudding or eat cold. If you prefer your rice pudding chilled then you’re good to go. But if you prefer it heated, you have a few options for how to do this.

The most common is to reheat the rice pudding on the hob. This method ensures that the mixture has heated thoroughly and also allows you to give the pudding a good stir before you eat it.

Simply simmer the mixture in a saucepan over low heat, once it has reached your desired temperature you can then add your favorite toppings and enjoy.

Alternatively, you may choose to reheat the rice pudding in a microwave. This is a very easy option, but you must add a cup of water to the mixture before heating it. The microwave is likely to dry out the mixture, so the water will counteract this and allow you to enjoy your meal.

Factors to consider before freezing RICE PUDDING

As is most common with freezing things, there are some factors that you should consider before choosing to freeze your excess rice pudding.

The first is the ingredients you use to make the rice pudding. This is especially important if you are making a batch of rice pudding intending to freeze.

One great way to give your rice pudding a longer shelf life is by using a milk alternative. Rice pudding is commonly made with whole milk, but this has an extremely short shelf life which can be affected by freezing.

To improve the texture and consistency of your pudding once defrosted, you should consider using a milk alternative such as evaporated, condensed, or even coconut milk.

You should also consider the type of rice that you use. Long grain rice tends to make for drier and denser rice pudding, whereas short grain tends to be a lot more watery.

Consider which will freeze better and choose accordingly. Alternatively, if you plan on making rice pudding exclusively to freeze you could replace the milk with water to freeze.

This will provide the pudding with a longer shelf life, and allows you to add fresh milk to the recipe when you are reheating it.

Summary

In short, the answer is yes, rice pudding is freezable.

You can easily freeze your excess rice pudding to enjoy in the future.

Alternatively, if you are making a batch of rice pudding to freeze for the future there are some changes you can make to the recipe to give it a longer shelf life.

Different ingredients can cause changes to the texture, so follow this guide for the best freezer-friendly rice pudding.