Slow Cooker Amish Rice Pudding

This Slow Cooker Amish rice pudding is exactly what it sounds like — humble ingredients, no fuss, and a creamy, old-fashioned dessert that practically makes itself. Raw rice, whole milk, a handful of pantry staples, and three hours of slow, gentle heat. When I don’t know what to make, I can always count on this one.

Why You’ll Love It

Totally hands-off — the slow cooker does all the work while you go about your day
Only 6 ingredients — all pantry staples you probably already have
Creamy and comforting — thick, old-fashioned texture without any stovetop stirring or babysitting
Great for leftovers — thickens beautifully in the fridge and reheats with just a splash of milk
Smells incredible while it cooks — warm cinnamon and vanilla drifting through the kitchen for hours

A Few Notes on Ingredients

The rice: short or medium grain is really the way to go here. Long grain will work in a pinch, but it doesn’t give you that same soft, almost creamy texture. I’ve used both, and the difference is noticeable. I usually buy whatever’s in the big bag at the grocery store — I think it’s Calrose, or some kind of Calrose-adjacent rice — and that works perfectly.
The milk: whole milk, please. I’ve tried it with 2% and it comes out thinner and a little sad. This is a dessert. It’s not the place to cut corners on fat content. If you want to go a step further and swap one of the cups for half-and-half, I will absolutely support that decision.
The eggs: just two, lightly beaten. They help give the pudding structure so it sets up properly instead of staying soupy. Don’t scramble them — just a quick whisk to break up the yolks and you’re done.
Vanilla: use the real stuff. Or don’t, I’m not going to police your pantry. But the real stuff makes a difference, especially in something this simple where vanilla is one of only a handful of flavors doing any work.

Ingredients

1 cup raw white rice (short or medium grain — I use about a cup, maybe slightly heaped)
4 cups whole milk
½ cup granulated sugar (white sugar here, though brown works too — more on that in a minute)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top

How to Make It

First, butter or spray the inside of your slow cooker. Not a lot — just a light coat around the sides and bottom. Skip this step and you’ll spend an annoying amount of time scrubbing later, and the edges of the pudding can get a little Crusty, which nobody wants.
Pour the dry rice into the bottom of the crock and spread it around so it’s roughly even. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
In a bowl — I usually use a big measuring cup because pouring is easier — whisk together the milk, sugar, beaten eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. You’re just combining them here, making sure the sugar has started to dissolve and the eggs are fully blended in. The mixture will look thin and pale and unremarkable. That’s fine.
Pour it over the rice. The grains will float up and shift around and it will look a little chaotic — just give it a gentle nudge with a spoon if anything seems stuck in one place, and then leave it alone.
Put the lid on. Set it to LOW. Walk away for three to four hours.
I want to be honest with you about the stirring: the directions will say to stir once or twice during the last hour of cooking, and you should do that. I sometimes forget. When I forget, the edges get a little more set than I’d like, a bit rubbery around the rim, and I have to scrape past them to get to the good stuff in the middle. It’s not a disaster, but it’s also not ideal. So — set a timer if you’re forgetful like me.
The pudding is done when the rice is fully tender and the whole thing has pulled together into a loose, creamy mass. The center will still look a little wobbly and that’s exactly right. It will continue to set up as it rests. Let it sit with the lid on for another fifteen or twenty minutes after you turn off the heat, and by then it should be perfect.
If it looks too thick when you serve it — and sometimes it does, especially after it’s been sitting — just stir in a splash of warm milk. A few tablespoons does the trick.

Variations

Stirring raisins in at the end — about a half cup, added during the last thirty minutes so they plump up without turning to mush — makes it taste more like the old-fashioned version. I’m not a raisin person myself, but I know plenty of people who swear by it.
Brown sugar instead of white: I’ve done this. It gives the pudding a slightly caramel-like undertone and darkens the color noticeably. I go back and forth on which I prefer.
For less sweetness in the morning — because yes, I eat leftover rice pudding for breakfast and I’m not apologizing for it — I cut the sugar to a third of a cup and add fresh berries and a drizzle of honey on top. It’s genuinely good. Like a warm oatmeal situation but better.
A pinch of nutmeg along with the cinnamon, or a cinnamon stick dropped in at the beginning — both are nice. Remove the stick before serving, obviously, though I’ve served it with the stick still in and then watched someone try to eat around it, which was its own kind of entertainment.

Leftovers

It keeps in the fridge for about three days — covered tightly, or just pressed with a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface so it doesn’t form a skin. (My mother did this. I didn’t understand why until I didn’t do it once and understood immediately.)
Reheat it with a splash of milk stirred in, either on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave in short bursts. It thickens significantly in the fridge, so don’t be alarmed by how solid it looks in the morning — it loosens right back up with a little warmth and liquid.

I almost forgot — serve it in small bowls, warm, with a little cinnamon dusted over the top. Not a lot. Just enough that it looks like you put thought into it, even if you made it mostly by accident while folding laundry and watching television.
That cracked slow cooker is still sitting on my counter. Still perfect.