can i freeze rice pudding

Can You Freeze Homemade Rice Pudding?

Guys, it doesn’t matter how you eat the deliciousness of a bowl of rice pudding is something that is unique. However, the main issue that I have with rice puddings is that they take a considerable time to prepare. Given my lifestyle, time is not on my side, although I want it to be. I know it’s the same with you. So, shall we discuss about “can you freeze homemade rice pudding”?

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Can You Freeze Homemade Rice Pudding? And How I Did That

Can rice pudding be frozen? Yes, you can freeze rice pudding after cooking. But, it has to be done keeping certain elements in mind as some of the ingredients in the pudding might not be appropriate for the task.

As an example, if your recipe has raisins in it, the freezing process can make it dry and hard, making recovering a near impossible thing to do. Also, milky ingredients too can be a barrier, and the frozen rice pudding would be bad-tasting when you try to thaw and consume. 

Anyway, that is a separate story, and let me explain to you how I freeze rice pudding. 

How to Freeze Homemade Rice Pudding?

If some asks can you freeze rice pudding, this is how you want to explain. Before you worry about the freezing side of things, the first thing you have to do is cook it according to the recipe and let it cool to room temperature. However, leaving the pudding at room temperature for more than needed would lead to bacteria growth.

From there onwards, please follow the below-mentioned steps.  

After you cook and cool your rice pudding recipe (without raisins, of course):

  1. Stir the mixture well to blend everything together.
  2. Take freezer bags to put the pudding in.
  3. Make sure you get either high-quality freezer bags or containers that are specifically designed for freezing; otherwise, it will be difficult to prevent freezer burning.

Then, put the desired amount in the freezer bags or containers. When you put portions of pudding into the containers, make sure to leave some headroom. When you freeze pudding in such containers, it is important to leave adequate headroom to facilitate enough space for expansion.

Finally, seal the containers properly and mark the date and store them in the freezer. That is all you have to do in freezing rice pudding.

How Long Does Homemade Rice Pudding Last?

The best way to enjoy a rice pudding is to consume right after you finish cooking (after it reaches room temperature). As far as I’m concerned, the taste of freshly cooked rice pudding is unmatchable compared to frozen ones. Also, you cannot expect rice pudding to last no more than a few hours under room temperature.

However, when kept in a fridge, a rice pudding can last up to a maximum of four days as long as you don’t include milky ingredients or raisins in the recipe. In addition, storage has to happen after the pudding reaches room temperature. So, yeah, how long does rice pudding last in the fridge? It is for four days.

If you have a similar busy lifestyle like mine and want more lifetime on your rice pudding, freezing would be the best solution. Considering you followed the steps that I explain, your rice pudding portions should retain their quality for up to three months.

But, my suggestion would be to reuse them at your earliest without leaving not more than a couple of weeks to relish a more or less similar taste as freshly cooked.

How to Store Homemade Rice Pudding?

Perhaps, some of you want to keep it in a fridge to eat it on next day. Let’s take a minute and see how I store homemade rice pudding in a fridge. Similar to the freezer method, you have to keep the pudding out to get it to room temperature before you store it in the fridge.

Then, pour the pudding into a bowl in whole or to smaller containers as per your preference. After that, I use aluminum foil to cover the container; or, there is nothing wrong with using an airtight container too. 

In this way, you could have a lifetime of four days of minimum, and in the best-case scenario, it may even go up to seven days. But, stay away from the substances that I mentioned to get the best results. 

can you freeze homemade rice pudding

Can You Reheat Homemade Rice Pudding?

I have two methods when it comes to reusing rice pudding. First of all, I would not recommend you to eat right after you take it out from the freezer. In that case, I take the rice pudding out from the freezer and keep it in the fridge overnight. Ideally, you should transfer the pudding to a bowl rather than keeping it as it is when transferring to the fridge.

The next morning, I would put the pudding in a pan and reheat it over very low heat until I get perfectly thawed pudding. However, if you are in a hurry, the same process can be followed for the frozen rice pudding as well. But, it’s worth noticing that if there is milk in the pudding, it might spoil everything in between.

Alternatively, you can use the microwave to reheat the rice pudding as well. Whatever method you use, note that you can’t store the reheated rice pudding again in the fridge to reuse. So, make sure you only take out only the amount you need and reheat. This is important, guys; keep that in mind when you are reusing the rice pudding.

Rice Pudding Freezing Tips

Guys, now you know how to freeze dried rice pudding, let me share a couple of tips with you so that you get maximum bang for your effort. 

  • Labeling is imperative when you store the rice pudding, particularly in freezers. This element gets more significant when you have risotto in the freezer alongside rice pudding. Although the difference between risotto and rice pudding is like chalk and cheese at room temperature, there is hardly any difference once they get frozen. Moreover, mark the date of storage so that you know when you have kept it inside to figure out the exact time it has spent in the freezer. 
  • The second tip and the most important one is not to leave the cooked rice pudding at room temperature for long; having said that, do not transfer it to the freezer or fridge when it is hot as well. Identify the sweet spot and act fast. 
  • Even though I stated that raisins are bad for freezing, there is nothing wrong with adding spices such as cinnamon or vanilla to the pudding. 

FAQs

Can You Freeze Rice Pudding Made With Coconut Milk?

Hmm… this is a debatable question to answer. The combination of rice and milk isn’t the greatest when it comes to freezing. According to my past experience, it is really difficult to make use of refrigerated rice pudding after two days if you have mixed milk into the recipe.

Even you use it within two days, the taste would not be the same. Answering the question, can pudding be frozen when there is milk, yes you can, but you can’t reuse it after two days. 

Please add a little bit of water to the pudding when you reheat to loosen up everything and reform the milky texture. 

How Long Can You Keep Homemade Rice Pudding In The Fridge?

I have seen various answers on the internet to this query. But, rice pudding must be reused within four days when kept in a fridge. Yes, in certain situations, this time may get extended up to a week, but the more you keep in the fridge, the more it will lose its edibility.

Also, as mentioned in the previous answer, the lifespan of rice pudding gets drastically shorten (to two days) if you mix coconut milk into the recipe. So, keep these things in mind if you are going to store rice pudding in the fridge.

Can Leftover Rice Pudding Be Frozen?

Yes, you can do so. But, make sure not to allow it at room temperature for long after you cook. My advice is to plan before you cook, and if you still end up with excess pudding, transfer it to an airtight container and put it in the fridge as soon as possible.

Further, store them in several small containers when you store them. This will make it easy to get only the amount you need when reusing. 

Wrapping up..

The bottom line of this article is that freezing rice pudding is a delicate work, which should be done with the utmost attention. Cooked rice doesn’t have much of a lifespan, and it can get even shorter if you don’t facilitate appropriate storing conditions.

If you have read this looking answers to can I freeze rice pudding, the points that I brought you should be enough to clear the doubts you had in your mind. That’s it for today’s article and have a great day!

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