Four (or five) ingredients to YUM!!!

My sad little jar of Nutella was begging for me to use him this weekend, and I graciously agreed to grant his holiday weekend wish.

I found this recipe on Recipe Goldmine and decided to tweak it a little. I halved the original recipe and tweaked the ingredient amounts (I added an additional tablespoon of both Nutella and Arborio rice and left out the dried cherries/dried cranberries).

SO simple. SO delicious. It will SO will be repeated again...soon!!!

Nutella Rice Pudding

Adapted from Recipe Goldmine

3 cups 2% milk, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 T. Nutella
1 cinnamon stick (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Arborio rice (do not substitute or pudding will not thicken)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat an 8x8-inch glass or metal (not aluminum) pan with vegetable oil spray.

Over medium heat, whisk together 2 cups milk and the Nutella in a heavy-bottom 2-quart saucepan. Add cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Stir in Arborio rice and transfer to prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 8 to 10 minutes.

Add remaining 1 cup milk, combining well, and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer, stirring every 8 to 10 minutes, or until pudding has thickened and rice is soft. Remove cinnamon stick, if using, and cool 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm or cover and refrigerate. (I spooned the pudding into 4 individual ramekins and let them cool to room temperature before covering them with plastic wrap and putting them in the refrigerator overnight to thicken to the consistency I wanted to achieve.)

If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon-dusted whipped cream. (Desire it!!! It really adds a nice finishing touch to the pudding.)

Mindy’s notes: I used a cinnamon stick instead of 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon because I wanted a more subtle cinnamon flavor. Also, make sure you stir this every 8 to 10 minutes to prevent the rice from sticking together and to keep a skin from forming. If you plan to serve this warm, I would add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of Arborio rice so it is a little bit thicker. I refrigerated it overnight and the consistency the next day was perfect, but right out of the oven and after sitting, it was still a bit runny. Adding an additional tablespoon or two of the rice would firm the pudding up to a thicker consistency right out of the oven.