Many dishes resembling rice pudding can be found in Southeast Asia, many of which have Chinese influences.

It can be made by gently simmering the milk and rice in a saucepan until tender, and then the sugar is carefully mixed in.

When made in the oven, the pudding rice is placed into a baking dish, and the milk, cream and sugar are mixed in.

The dish is then placed in the oven and baked at a low temperature for a few hours, until the rice is tender and the pudding has a creamy consistency.

uses butter instead of cream, adds a small pinch of salt, and requires the pudding mixture to stand for an hour or so prior to being cooked.

Such puddings tend to set firmly when cooled, enabling slices to be cut and eaten like cake.

Ready-made, pre-cooked rice pudding is widely available in supermarkets and corner shops, either chilled in pots or ambient in tin cans, which has a long shelf life.

In different languages it is called risengrød (Danish), risengrynsgrøt or risgrøt/risgraut (Norwegian), risgrynsgröt (Swedish), riisipuuro (Finnish), grjónagrautur [ˈkrjouːnaˌkrœyːtʏr̥], hrísgrautur [ˈr̥iːs-] or hrísgrjónagrautur (Icelandic), and rísgreytur (Faroese).

In Norway, the dessert is called riskrem and served with red sauce (usually made from strawberries, raspberries or cherries).

In Scandinavia, rice pudding has long been a part of Christmas tradition, in some countries referred to as julegröt/julegrøt/julegrød/joulupuuro (Yule porridge) or tomtegröt/nissegrød.

In Finland, Christmas rice porridge is sometimes eaten with a kissel or compote made of dried prunes.

In New England, a popular pudding is made with long grain rice, milk, sugar, or in Vermont, maple syrup.