Ready Rice And Sweetened Condensed Milk Are The Start To A Fall-Inspired Cozy Dessert

With the days getting shorter and temperatures beginning to drop, the urge to dip a spoon into a warm bowl of rice pudding seems to be growing by the minute. By nature, rice pudding is a relatively simple dessert that still delivers a healthy dose of comfort, but clever cooks around the internet are sharing their novel technique for making an autumnal pumpkin rice pudding in a flash and with hardly any effort. The trick, it seems, is to start with a package of ready rice and a can of condensed milk.

Ready rice, for those not familiar, refers to those microwaveable rice packets at the store. Straight out of the package, they are fully cooked, so starting with these shelf-stable rice packets cuts down the preparation time tremendously. Aside from that, all one needs is a bit of milk to simmer the rice, a can of pumpkin puree for depth of flavor, pumpkin pie spice for aroma, and condensed milk to sweeten the mixture and add richness. The process is about as simple as it gets, just requiring a brief simmering to warm the pudding and meld the flavors together, and the result is hands-down one of the best pumpkin desserts — especially if we consider the ratio of effort to reward.

Looking at the exact measurements of one TikTok cook, @danicakrizia, the recipe calls for 1 packet of ready rice, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. While that might be all the recipe needs, there is no reason that home cooks shouldn't feel like they can put their own touches on it.

Making this recipe your own could be as simple as adding chopped toasted pecans, diced chunks of apple, raisins, or any other favorite rice pudding upgrades. Additionally, while using ready rice can be a great time-saving technique, these packets can be expensive. As such, using leftover rice may be better — and it delivers the exact same result. Or, if the goal is to make the recipe entirely shelf-stable, as well as to add another layer of richness, cooks can consider using evaporated milk in this rice pudding.

Finally, there's no reason that this clever technique should be limited to just pumpkin-flavored desserts. Maybe next time it's a quick coconut-chai rice pudding, or something inspired by this Mexican hot chocolate arroz con leche recipe. Such recipes may require a few modifications, but the combination of ready rice and condensed milk is a versatile one, just waiting to be dressed up with a selection of other choice ingredients.