Eggnog is widely available in stores through New Years, but sales and consumption probably peak right around Christmas Eve. I know I don’t drink much after Christmas is over. I do often have leftovers, though, and never turn down the chance to use them up in a tasty holiday-ish recipe. My leftover eggnog this year went into a batch of eggnog rice pudding.
The rice pudding recipe is a simple one, starting with leftover rice. Steamed and boiled rice both work equally well here, but make sure that your rice was only cooked in water (as opposed to chicken broth) to ensure that it has a neutral flavor. I used a combination of regular milk and eggnog to get a light, but flavorful dessert. An eggnog-only rice pudding will be quite heavy, especially if you’re using a full fat eggnog (low fat works very well for this recipe, as do soy/nondairy ‘nogs). The pudding thickens a bit after it cools, so I always stir in an extra tablespoon or so of eggnog just before serving to help ensure that the pudding has a good eggnog flavor and a very creamy consistency.
Garnish the puddings with some freshly grated nutmeg and whipped cream.
Eggnog Rice Pudding
2 cups leftover cooked rice
1 1/2 cups milk (low fat is fine)
1 1/2 cups eggnog (low fat is fine)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
additional 6-8 tbsp eggnog
Combine cooked rice, milk, eggnog sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and stir in the vanilla and nutmeg. Cook until just about all of the milk is absorbed (approx 45 minutes, depending on how absorbent your rice is) and pudding is thick.
Divide pudding into 6-8 small serving dishes, cover and cool to room temperature. Chill for at least 1 hour, or longer, before serving. Stir in 1 tbsp additional eggnog to each dish before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and more grated nutmeg.
Makes 6-8 individual servings.
sara
December 28, 2008Yum, this looks fabulous! 🙂
Brenda
December 28, 2008Hi! I was just wondering if I could use BROWN rice in this recipe (my husband has diabetes and the brown rice is the only rice he can eat these days)? I would just use Whey Low instead of sugar! I’m always looking for recipes I can alter and still let him enjoy!
Nicole
December 28, 2008Brenda – You can use brown rice in this recipe. It doesn’t tend to get as soft as white rice, so you might want to cook it longer (and potentially add some extra liquid if it doesn’t get to the consistency you want). One of the reasons I like to use white rice is that rice puddings look much prettier with white rice, as the color tends to blend with custards better. That said, at home you can definitely experiment with whatever rice you prefer. Good luck!
Jenny
January 2, 2009This was SCRUMPTIOUS!!! A great way of using up that leftover eggnog from the holidays.
Carla
December 9, 2009I’m going to add rum-soaked golden raisins to this for Christmas this year.
Jen
January 3, 2010I cannot believe how easy it is to make rice pudding! I had leftover eggnog from the holidays, and lots of leftover rice from our New Year’s Eve Chinese food feast, so I decided to give it a shot. It came out SO good!!! I did find it very sweet though – next time I might omit the sugar all together (eggnog is pretty sweet as it is). But if I make with all milk I would use the 2/3 cup. Thanks for a great recipe!