Italian Rice Pie, known as Pastiera di Riso, is a traditional Italian Easter Rice Pie recipe that’s made with arborio rice and ricotta cheese. This classic Italian Easter dessert is perfect for your holiday table!

Italian Rice Pie is a simple and delicious dessert made with a shortcrust pastry and a rice pudding filling. Known also as “Torta di Riso,” this cake is a sweet and classic dessert that’s perfect for Easter Sunday.

For more cakes made using shortcrust pasta frolla pastry, be sure to try this Ricotta Pie, Italian Crostata, or Torta della Nonna. If you love fun Easter recipes, don’t miss these Cadbury Mini Eggs Cookies, Italian Easter Cake, Colomba Cake, or the classic Italian Thumbprint Cookies.

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You’ll Love Italian Rice Pie!

Italian Rice Pie is a unique and classic dish that’s perfect for your Easter table. Made with a tender pastry pie crust and filled with a sweet rice filling, you’ll love the texture and flavor of this classic Italian dessert.

This dish is commonly served for dessert during the Italian Easter holiday. It’s a delicious treat to make ahead of time and can be refrigerated up to three days in advance.

What makes Italian Easter Rice Pie so special is it’s hearty sweet rice texture and flaky delicious crust. There are some steps in the preparation, but it is actually quite simple to put together.

You’ll love the flavors of this dish. It’s made with a combination of flavors like vanilla extract, cinnamon, and lemon and orange zest, for the most incredible treat.

If you love classic Italian desserts, be sure to give this Italian Rice Pie a try!

Ingredients

Rice: you’ll need arborio rice to get the creamy texture of this pie filling. Arborio rice is a high-starch, short-grain rice that, when cooked, releases its starch to give a creamy texture.
Milk: use either whole milk or 2% milk.
Ricotta: fresh ricotta cheese (whole milk) will add creaminess to the rice pie filling.
Eggs: you’ll need large eggs for both the pasta frolla and filling.

Sugar: use regular granulated sugar.
Zests: use both orange zest and lemon zest. You can add in additional lemon juice if you’d like.
Cinnamon: a bit of ground cinnamon is used in the filling. You can add a cinnamon stick to the rice/milk mixture to get even more flavor.
Vanilla: add vanilla extract to sweeten up the flavors. If you have a vanilla bean, that would be great too.

Flour: all purpose flour works best.
Baking powder: make sure you are using baking powder and not baking soda.
Salt: a bit of kosher salt is needed for the crust.
Butter: use cold cubed butter for the crust, and room temperature butter for the filling.

How to Make Italian Rice Pie

Italian Rice Pie, or Pastiera di Riso, is a classic Italian Easter Pie recipe that can be made days in advance. To start, you will need to prepare your shortcrust dough, also known as pasta frolla.

Prepare the Pasta Frolla

Process shots showing how to make recipe including combining the ingredients in a food processor and rolling the dough with a rolling pin.

Step 1: mix together dry ingredients

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse to combine.

You can also make this in a large mixing bowl and just whisk ingredients together.

Step 2: add in eggs and butter

Next, add in the eggs and cold cubed butter with the flour mixture. Place the lid on the food processor and pulse until the butter and eggs are well combined and the dough is crumbly.

If you are making this in a large bowl, you can use a pastry blender to cut the butter and eggs into the dry ingredients until they form a sand-like texture.

Step 3: chill the dough

Pour the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap or cling film. Use your hands to form into a ball of dough or disk shape. Cover well with plastic wrap and let the dough rest and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to three days.

Step 4: roll out dough

When ready to use, remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface, preferably lined with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Flour your rolling pin to roll the pasta frolla into a large circular shape.

Then, use your rolling pin to move the dough into your springform pan. Use excess pieces of dough to fill in any holes in the dough. Set aside.

Italian Rice Pie Filling

While the dough is chilling, make the rice pie filling. The cooked rice will need time to cool before adding it to the remaining filling mixture.

Process shots showing how to make recipe including cooking the arborio in milk, and combining with the ricotta, sugar, and eggs.

Step 1: cook the rice

In a large saucepan, combine the milk with the uncooked arborio rice. Heat the mixture to a low boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring frequently so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Let the rice cook for about 30 minutes, or until all of the milk is absorbed. Transfer the cooked rice to a large bowl or baking sheet and allow it to cool before combining with other ingredients.

Step 2: prepare filling

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix together the butter, sugar, orange zest, lemon zest, and cinnamon. Add in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Then, beat in the ricotta until light and fluffy.

Step 3: add in the cooked rice

Lastly, add the rice mixture into the filling. Then, scoop in a small amount of the rice. Stir with a wooden spoon until it is well combined. Continue stirring until you have a creamy filling.

Step 4: pour in filling and bake

Once the filling is made, carefully pour it into the shortcrust-lined springform pan. You should have just enough creamy rice mixture to fill the pan. Trim off any excess dough.

Place the Italian Rice Pie on the center rack in a preheated oven. Bake for 70-80 minutes or until the center of the sweet pie doesn’t jiggle much when you move it.

Pastiera di Riso cooked on a white plate.

Let your pastiera di riso cool completely on a wire cooling rack before dusting with powdered sugar and serving.

Helpful Recipe Tips

You can make the shortcrust dough up to three days in advance. Just cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
This recipe makes a lot of filling. If you don’t have a springform pan, you could make this in two standard-sized pie plates.
To ensure a creamy texture filling, you must use arborio rice. White rice will not give the same consistency.

Be sure to stir the rice and milk frequently so it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook the rice until past al dente. All of the milk should be fully absorbed.
To get the rice to cool faster, spread it on a baking sheet to cool.
Italian Rice Pie will take anywhere from 70-90 minutes to cook. You’ll know the pie is done when it is golden brown and the center doesn’t jiggle as much when you move. You can also test for doneness using a toothpick.

Let the pie cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before remove the collar from the springform pan. Let cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar and slicing.
You can make this pastiera di riso up to three days in advance. Store the cooled pie in an airtight container in the refrigerator and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Cover and refrigerate leftover rice pie for up to a week.

Italian Rice Pie slice on a white plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Italian Rice Pie and Pastiera Napoletana?

The main difference between Italian Rice Pie and Pastiera Napoletana is the type of grain used for the filling. In Pastiera Napoletana you use wheatberries, where in Italian Rice Pie you use arborio rice.

When do Italians serve Pastiera di Riso?

Classic Italian rice pie is normally served during Easter time and is also known as Italian Easter Rice Pie.

Slice of Italian Easter Rice Pie on a white plate.

More Italian Easter Recipes!

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