This Healthy Pumpkin Rice Pudding is made with brown rice and is one of the easiest and coziest pumpkin desserts you can make! I love that it's also gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and perfect for 21 Day Fix and Weight Watchers!
Hey guys! Aaaare you ready for some pumpkin?! Because I AM.
Of course I'm here for all the fall things, but pumpkin has always, and will always, have my heart. I'm sorry, Cinnamon Apple, you're just always going to be number two in this house.
Gimme all the pumpkin bars, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin french toast, pumpkin sausage lasagna (YES!!), spicy pumpkin chili and most especially these pumpkin chocolate chip blondies because OMG.
But if you're here looking for the easiest, the absolute coziest fall pumpkin recipe ever - you're in the right place, my friends, because this warm, Instant Pot pumpkin rice pudding is the fall-flavored hug that you need in your life.
Aside from being perfect all season long, I would also like to mention that it would make a great allergy-friendly dessert for a Halloween party (dress her up with a fun spider ring, or you can make coco whip spider webs using the super simple technique from my Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup recipe!) or even Thanksgiving!
Anyway, without further ado, (ok, maybe just a smidge of ado) let's have a little Q&A and then I'll show you how insanely easy this autumnal deliciousness is to make!
What is rice pudding?
Rice pudding is a sweet and creamy dessert dish usually made from rice, milk, sugar, and cinnamon.
Is this Instant Pot Pumpkin Rice Pudding healthy?
For a dessert it's pretty darn healthy! This cozy treat is packed with wholesome ingredients like brown rice, pumpkin and almond milk and is pretty low in sugar (again, for a dessert). I feel good about feeding this to my kids and they love it, so that's a big win in my book!
Oh, and it's also gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, 21 Day Fix and Weight Watchers friendly (you can find the link to the WW points for this recipe in the recipe card.
What kind of rice was used in this Instant Pot Pumpkin Rice Pudding?
I tested this with long grain brown rice because it's easiest to find (in fact, at two grocery stores nearby, it was the only kind of brown rice I could get). That being said, you should be able to make this with any brown rice you have on hand.
Can rice pudding be frozen?
Yep, it freezes beautifully!
Can this Pumpkin Brown Rice Pudding be made ahead?
Absolutely, and it's great warm or cold!
What is the whipped topping used in these photos?
Real talk: what's actually in these photos is Cool Whip, because I was short on time to go somewhere else and my store was out of what I had actually planned to use (which looks and tastes similar to cool whip) - So Delicious CocoWhip. Most grocery stores carry it in the freezer section these days and it's such a great, dairy-free alternative to whipped cream/Cool Whip and it's great for 21DF!
You can also make your own coconut whipped cream - you can check out how I do it in my Pumpkin Custard Tart post🙂
How do you count Cocowhip for 21 Day Fix?
Based on the ingredients and the nutritional information, I count each tablespoon of Cocowhip as ¼ oil teaspoon and ¼ sweetener teaspoon.
This Container Guide makes it super easy to figure things like this out! (Sweetener info isn’t in the guide, but 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar, fyi!)
My rice didn't turn out as soft as I'd like it, what should I do?
Sometimes this can happen if your rice has been on the shelf for a while (yours or the grocery store's) and luckily it's no big deal! Put your pudding on saute to continue to cook your rice, adding water as needed if it starts to get too thick.
How to make healthy Pumpkin Rice Pudding in the Instant Pot:
Put your rice, water, almond milk and salt into your Instant Pot and give the mixture a stir. Cook on manual (or Pressure Cook) for 40 minutes with a natural release.
After removing the lid, give it another good stir, and then stir in the remaining ingredients.
Top it however you like (or don't!) and enjoy!
If you guys give this Healthy Pumpkin Rice Pudding recipe a try, please let me know what you think! You can leave a comment below or tag me on Insta @thefoodieandthefix. Or if you’re in my private Facebook group, I’d love to see a photo of your creation in there! I hope you enjoy ♥
Don’t forget to save this Instant Pot Pumpkin Brown Rice Pudding recipe to Pinterest! ⇓
📖 Recipe
Healthy Pumpkin Rice Pudding (Instant Pot)
This Healthy Pumpkin Brown Rice Pudding is the ultimate in fall coziness and couldn't be simpler in the Instant Pot!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry long grain brown rice
- 1 ½ cup water
- 2 cups unsweetened vanilla (or plain) almond milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, plus 1 Tbs, packed (you can swap this for maple syrup if you prefer, but I personally liked it with brown sugar best!)
- 1 Tbs refined coconut oil (you can use unrefined, but it may add a slight coconut flavor) - if you aren't dairy free, you could also use butter instead, but I love the coconut oil!
- ½ Tbs vanilla extract
- ¾ - 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice* - I prefer a full tsp, but start with ¾ and see what you like!
Optional Toppings/Mix-ins:
- Pecans, raisins, chocolate chips, Coco Whip, homemade coconut whipped cream (21 Day Fixers, just be sure to count anything you add!)
Instructions
Add the rice, water, almond milk and salt to your Instant Pot. Pressure cook (with the manual or pressure cook button) for 45 minutes and let it naturally release.
Remove the lid - it'll look a little funky at this point ^, but it just needs a stir. Give it a good stir until it all comes together and then stir in the remaining ingredients. It'll continue to thicken as it cools. Serve warm or cold, I love it both ways!
Notes
*No pumpkin pie spice on hand? I've also tested this using 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and it's also delish that way!
**Rice not quite as soft as you'd like? Sometimes this can happen if your rice has been on the shelf for a while (yours or the grocery store's) and luckily it's no big deal! Put your pudding on saute to continue to cook your rice, adding water as needed if it starts to get too thick.
21 Day Fix Container Counts per Serving: ¾ Yellow, ½ oil teaspoon, 2 sweetener tsp
Weight Watchers Personal Points: Instant Pot Pumpkin Rice Pudding
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: ½ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 116Total Fat: 2g
Nutritional information provided is approximate and for informational purposes only.
DizTraveler says
I assume this is cooked Low Pressure level?
Stephanie says
Nope, high pressure 🙂
Brandy says
I made this today and I do really like it! I may have put a touch too much pumpkin spice in for my taste so I’m going to add some cream on top to tame it down. If I would have went by the recipe it would have been delicious! My rice kind of pearled up, soft and reminiscent of tapioca pearls to me, I really liked it, thanks for the recipe!
Stephanie says
Yay! I'm so glad! Thanks so much for letting me know!