Peanut milk rice pudding, 16p [VG/V/DF/GF] (slow cooker)
Sometimes all you need is a little nursery-soft sloppy comfort food, and for me, rice pudding usually does the trick. Over the years I have made rice pudding in many kinds of ways, on the hob, in the oven, and scooped from a tin, but last night I decided to give the slow cooker a go. And my oh my am I glad I did. As soft and creamy as any tinned variety, as plump and rich as any from the oven, this is delightful, and so so very simple. Those of you without a slow cooker can make it in a saucepan on a low heat for half the time, but do consider investing in one – mine has changed my world, especially on low-energy, bad-joints or tired days.
Serves 2 very generously at 16p each
120g rice, 7p (60p/kg, Sainsburys Basics)
600ml water
2 tbsp sugar, 1p (80p/1kg, Sainsburys Fairtrade granulated white sugar)
150ml soya milk (or any kind), 13p (90p/1l, Sainsburys)
3 tbsp peanut butter, 11p (90p/340g, Sainsburys Basics)
First weigh your rice and tip it into the slow cooker. For those without scales or can’t be arsed to dig them out, 120g is around the size of a ramekin dish, or 2/3rds of a decent sized mug. It doesn’t look a lot but believe me, it grows!
Add the water and sugar and turn the heat on your cooker to high. Tip in the sugar (or equivalent if you are a low-sugar person, I do use it rarely in my recipes these days but lordy, a girl’s gotta have the occasional treat!) Give it all a stir, pop the lid on, and give it 20 minutes to start to warm through.
Add the peanut butter and stir through, then reduce the heat to low and let it cook for an hour, checking and stirring to make sure it doesn’t dry out, stick or burn. Measure your milk and pop it beside the slow cooker, and add it a slosh at a time if it starts to stick.
After the hour is up, your rice pudding should be a soft swollen stickiness, sweet but not saccharine, creamy and comforting. I gave mine another half hour at this point just to really soften it up, but the difference was frankly negligible, more a sweet congee than a rice pudding, so you don’t need to.
Serve with a sprinkle more sugar, and enjoy.
A word on rice – do not put it in the fridge while warm. Rice is one of the top causes of food poisoning, caused by little spores that thrive in warm conditions. Allow it to cool completely before putting it in the fridge, then reheat within 24 hours to piping hot. I like you lot, don’t be gung ho with your own health on tbis one.
And a note on ingredients: I make mine vegan, because that’s my personal choice, but I’m aware that not all of my readers are vegan and as many of you are on stringent budgets (that’s why you’re here!) I’m not going to preach to you about ‘changing your ways’. You can use any kind of milk in this – it will still work out delicious – and any brand of peanut butter, and any colour of sugar, too. Use my recipes as ideas, not as prescriptive bossy missives, and develop and adapt them to suit you and your families as you wish.
Jack Monroe.
This blog is free to those who need it, and always will be, but it does of course incur costs to run and keep it running. If you use it and benefit, enjoy it, and would like to keep it going, please consider popping something in the tip jar, and thankyou.
COOKING ON A BOOTSTRAP 
Is it normal rice or pudding rice? So want to try this.
Thanks.
I make mine with normal rice.
Thank you.
Will try this tomorrow.
Hi Jack,
This looks divine. Jack you made me smile when you mentioned Congee, not too many westerners would know about this sweet or savoury porridge made with rice. My Hubby is of Chinese decent and I learnt how to cook this from his late Gran, she was a beautiful woman. I always made it for my late Mother in law when she would come home from hospital (lung treatment) her favourite one was chicken and ginger served with sesame oil, light soy and green onion. She always said it was comforting and I knew it was nutritious. Have a lovely day.
Fi
Love rice pudding so much always have it with some jam on top!
Thank you, once again another delicious treat to try, I love the idea of using a slow cooker for this brilliant. 😀
Might make it without peanut butter (vanilla instead) as my appetite is delicate due to severe illness. A big bowl of rice pudding sounds heavenly, though. (I think I went vegan around the same time as you – what a happy coincidence!)
I may well steal Nikolai’s idea of using vanilla, as OH hates peanut butter in sweet things – he says it tastes ‘wrong’.
Well made recipe…………loved it 🙂
For those who aren’t vegan, buttering the slow cooker helps prevent the pudding from sticking. It can also help to cut a piece of buttered greaseproof paper and line the bottom of the cooker.
Yes next time I’ll ‘butter’ or ‘oil’ the ceramic dish in my slow cooker. It didn’t spoil the rice pudding but I suspect that getting the dish clean is going to be a bit of a challenge!
I made this overnight for breakfast and it was perfect 🙂 I used short grain brown rice, and topped with mashed banana and cinnamon instead of adding sugar, and it was lovely. I’m making it again for tomorrow!
This is absolutely scrumptious! Ate some and froze the rest away (after cooling it as quickly as possible) for another day. I used long grain brown rice (I only really like brown rice and long grain is what I have in the cupboard) and it worked fine although I did cook it for longer than the original recipe. I included some – well quite a lot of – vanilla extract purely because I was given a bottle as a gift and I keep it in the fridge for occasions like this. The vanilla/peanut combination worked really well if anyone is feeling doubtful by the way!
I’ve been ill all weekend, and I still feel pretty dreadful, but even with being wobbly and not really able to stand up for more than a couple of minutes without getting dizzy i have rice pudding and it’s making me smile. Low spoons days need recipes like this!
I’m SO in love with this recipe! Just made a batch in the slow cooker last night so can’t wait to try it tonight!
I made this with basmati rice last week and it was really nice. But I’ve just bought some actual pudding rice – would I need the same amount?