Use Rice Milk When Making Pudding For A Perfect Non-Dairy Dessert

A beloved childhood dessert, store-bought pudding is the creamy, delicious treat that never gets old. Made of flavoring, sugar, and cornstarch, the boxed dessert is mixed with milk to get its thick texture. If you're lactose intolerant, try using rice milk in pudding for the perfect non-dairy dessert. 

As one of the plainer types of plant milk, rice milk is an excellent alternative to real milk in pudding. It tastes somewhat similar to milk but with a slightly grassier hint to it. Still, it won't infuse your pudding with any funky flavors. Although simply mixing instant pudding is quick and convenient, rice milk's watery texture works best with cook-and-serve pudding, which comes in different flavors and needs to be heated on the stove.

The steps for making cook-and-serve pudding with rice milk are the same as if you were using dairy milk: heat the milk and pudding together in a saucepan and stir, stir, stir. However, the ratios might be a little different. Since rice milk is on the thinner side, you may want to use a bit less than the amount of milk that the directions call for. For thicker, creamier pudding, a scoop of coconut cream can give you a denser dairy-free dessert.

While pudding is a dessert in its own right, it's been known to spruce up a few desserts thanks to its luscious taste and texture. Chocolate or vanilla pudding made with rice milk makes a rich filling for dairy-free donuts. Swap dairy milk for oat milk to make the donuts, add a dash of cinnamon sugar and maple syrup to the pudding, and pipe it into the donuts for a sweet, vegan treat.

You can also use it to add one more ingredient to this 3-ingredient dairy-free fudge recipe. Store-bought pudding is a shortcut to fast, easy fudge. Pour the pudding and rice milk, along with sweetened condensed coconut milk, vanilla extract, and dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate, into the saucepan for a fast, delicious dessert.

Or, jazz up store-bought pudding by making this vanilla chai spice pudding with maple pecans. Rather than making the pudding from scratch, use cook-and-serve vanilla pudding. Sprinkle in cinnamon, black pepper, ground cloves, allspice, and cardamom for a rich, aromatic hint to the sweet pudding. Topped off with toasted pecans covered in maple syrup, this quick dessert tastes absolutely delightful.