This is an amazing authentic recipe for Italian rice pie (pastiera di riso) that is straight from Italy. It is traditionally served for Easter dessert in the Naples region of Italy. Many Italian American homes here in the USA also enjoy this pie for Easter.
A popular Italian dessert for Easter
This is a very popular Neapolitan Italian dessert recipe for Easter. The basic ingredients include a sweet pie crust and a rice- and ricotta cheese-based filling. The filling is made by first cooking the rice with milk and lemon peel. The cooled mixture is then combined with ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, and other flavorings.
This was something my mother made every single year for Easter along with Easter bread and pizza rustica (meat and cheese pie). And boy, did I look forward to eating it! There is something very special about baking things only once per year, as it makes for something that you really look forward to making and eating!
Finding a recipe for Italian rice pie
Probably one of the most challenging aspects of passing down recipes from Italian parents in the USA is that they measure exactly nothing! And so you can imagine how difficult that is to share. Thankfully, I was able to find this recipe, which is nearly identical to what my mom made for many many years!
This recipe was adapted from a very popular Italian blog site (Giallo Zafferano). I have found that the recipe that my mom used to make (rice, ricotta, lemon, eggs, sugar, vanilla) is not too easy to find on US sites (and as I’ve explained before, she bakes by touch and feel..no measurement involved ever!).
Step by Step Instructions:
To make the pie crust…
To make the crust, you will add the flour, sugar, butter, and zest to a bowl
Using your fingers, squeeze the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse sand like the photo shown here:
Keep pressing together and eventually the dough will become more lumpy like so:
Press down and form into a dough:
To make the filling..
To make the filling, you will start by cooking the rice with the milk and lemon peel – you must be careful to stir the ingredients on the rice will stick!
Continue to cook until the rice has absorbed most of the milk. Then set aside to cool.
While the rice mixture is cooling, combine the ricotta, sugar, eggs, and flavorings in a separate bowl and mix until well combined.
After the rice mixture has cooled (it probably will stiffen), combine it with the well combined ricotta mixture.
Pour into the prepared pan that has been lined with the pie crust and bake until the filling is set (should be at least ½ inch below rim). Note that I recently updated recipe to include 2 cups of ricotta instead of one and so the filling will be more firm than shown here:
Tips for Making the Pie
- After making the crust and before refrigerating, it helps to gently shape the crust into a large flat circle. I place on parchment and slide it into a plastic bag for at least an hour.
- Roll out pie dough using plenty of flour on both sides! Flour the rolling pin as well. Turn the pie crust as you roll to ensure it’s not sticking.
- Place parchment paper under crust when rolling to help prevent sticking and also moving the crust, and use flour under and on top of crust to roll (can’t stress that enough).
- Turn/rotate the pie crust after rolling 2 to 3 times to ensure it doesn’t stick.
- To transfer the pie crust to the pan, roll it gently around your rolling pin and place on top of pan.
- If the dough breaks or falls apart, it can easily be pieced back together in the pan – just press it back into shape.
- Check the pie 20 minutes and 10 minutes before finished time; you may need to place a sheet of aluminum foil on top to prevent over browning.
- If you want to make a lattice, read some tips beforehand here (my best advice is to keep the dough on the thicker side at least ¼ inch or so, to refrigerate/firm it up before attempting to work with it, and to use less strips than used in other pies because this dough is very fragile).
- More tips on rolling out pie dough from Smitten Kitchen who I agree with wholeheartedly.
Other Easter Recipes to Try:
Italian rice pie
Equipment
- 8 inch cake pan
Ingredients
For the crust (makes enough for top and bottom crust or a total of ~650 grams/23 ounces)
- 2.5 cups (312.5 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons (147.87 g) unsalted butter cut into cubes or slices, not melted
- 1 tbsp grated lemon from 1 small lemon (optional)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 large eggs large
For the pie filling
- 2 cups (473.18 g) whole milk
- 1 cup (185 g) long-grain rice
- 1 lemon peel yellow part only (minimize pith [the white part])
- 2 cup (492 g) ricotta cheese firm (drain over cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer if too wet)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon zest from 1 medium lemon
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon optional but highly suggested
To Bake the Pie
- egg wash (one egg with a splash of milk, beaten with fork)
- sugar to sprinkle on top if using top crust
To Serve/Decorate
- powdered sugar to decorate top of pie
Instructions
For Best Results
- Read through all directions before starting!
To make the pie crust
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, lemon zest, and cubed butter. Using your hands, cut/squeeze the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand
- In another bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and then pour into the dry sandlike mixture and stir until all of the egg has been incorporated
- Press down and form into a dough and then turn out onto counter and knead a few times until there are no dry bits remaining.
- Form into 2 flat disk shapes, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour (this makes enough for 2 pies, so you can opt to use the extra to decorate the top, or save for another pie).
- I like a thicker crust so I split the dough unevenly; that is, I use about 60% for the bottom and 40% for the top crust – no need to be too accurate just "eyeball" it when you divide the dough.
- Butter and flour an 8-inch pan. After the dough has chilled, roll it into a circle that is about 12 to 13 inches wide and then carefully transfer it over to the prepared pan and line it with the dough. Use PLENTY of flour under and on top of dough before and while rolling and also on your rolling pin. Return dough to fridge if it gets too warm or sticky.
- If the dough falls apart you can simply pinch it back together in the pan. Use plenty of flour on both sides of the dough when you are rolling out the dough to prevent sticking
- After you line the pan with the dough, you can freeze the pan with crust for an hour or so or place in fridge for at least an hour or overnight. This helps to prevent shrinkage.
- If you want to top the pie with pie crust lattice, roll out the crust using plenty of flour on both sides and the rolling pin, and cut into strips. Place strips on baking sheet or dish and chill until ready to use.
To prepare the filling
- Begin by adding the rice, milk, and lemon peel to a gentle boil over medium low heat. You MUST stir often or the mixture will definitely stick to the bottom of the pan!!
- After the rice has begun to slightly bubble, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until most of the milk has absorbed (it’s okay if rice is a bit undercooked as it will keep cooking in the oven). Set aside to cool
- You can also bring to small gentle boil for 2 or 3 minutes, cover, and then remove from heat and let the rice absorb all the liquid for about 30 minutes or so.
- In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, sugar, eggs, grated lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat until creamy (I mixed by hand using a whisk)
- Once the rice mixture is cooled (to the point where it won't cook the egg in the ricotta mixture), add it to the ricotta mixture and stir to combine.
To bake the pie
- Use the prepared pie shell from earlier step and price the dough several times all over with a fork
- Pour the rice-ricotta filling mixture into the pie shell
- If using top crust, top with second pie crust or the lattice strips and top the pie. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle sugar.
- Place the pie on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F on the center rack until the filling is set (about 50 to 60 minutes).
- Check the pie about 20 minutes and 10 minutes before finished and if crust is browning too much, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top very loosely.
To Decorate
- Once pie is cooled, sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.
Storing and Eating
- Cool pie completely before eating and store in the refrigerator. Pie is best enjoyed at room temperature (otherwise, rice tends to harden too much).
Notes
- After making the crust and before refrigerating, it helps to gently shape the crust into a large flat circle. I place on parchment and slide it into a plastic bag for at least an hour.
- Roll out pie dough using plenty of flour on both sides! Flour the rolling pin as well. Turn the pie crust as you roll to ensure it’s not sticking.
- Place parchment paper under crust when rolling to help and use flour under and on top of crust to roll (can’t stress that enough).
- Turn the pie crust after rolling 2 to 3 times to ensure it doesn’t stick.
- To transfer the pie crust to the pan, roll it gently around your rolling pin.
- If the dough breaks or falls apart, it can easily be pieced back together in the pan – just press it back into shape.
- Check the pie 20 minutes and 10 minutes before finished time; you may need to place a sheet of aluminum foil on top to prevent over browning.
Rhonda says
I’ve been trying to find the recipe of my mother in-law, who was from Avellino, and is now passed away. This pie’s flavor was okay but it was so dry, I know that the recipe I lost called for a quart of milk but not sure on the rice amount. This crust was dry and difficult to roll out, and more like regular pie crust in flavor than what the rice pie crust was like. If you make this, add more milk to the rice filling and more butter to the crust. There’s hope that one of my daughters may have Nonnie’s recipe somewhere.
Marie says
It stinks to lose a recipe! That said, this pie is def not dry at all- I wonder what went wrong? The crust can be difficult I agree but I do love it.
Leslie says
Can you use a food processor for the crust?
Marie says
I haven’t tried but I feel it would be fine
Christy says
The recipe for the CRUST calls for 1T grated lemon zest, but the directions never say when to add it. Does it go in with the eggs?
Marie says
Looking at the photos, I added it into the dry ingredients but you can add it with the eggs I don’t think it matters too much either way. Thanks for pointing that out I’ll update the directions – enjoy!
Christy says
I’m making this today and just noticed that the directions also say to add lemon peel to the milk snd rice on the stovetop, but also says to add lemon zest to the ricotta/egg/sugar mixture. How much lemon zest goes in with the milk and rice, and how much goes into the ricotta/egg mixture? Thanks!
Marie says
Yes, I did add a peel to the milk-rice mixture when heating so you can opt to add that; I don’t think it will matter much and I’d avoid the pith (white part of peel) and only use the yellow if you try it. I’ll amend instructions later thanks for catching these!
Shannon says
Delicious!! Just served this for dessert. I have been searching for this recipe for years but never found the right one. I worked for an Italian family in food service years ago and momma made the best easter rice pie. She made her own candied lemon and orange peels to dice up for the filling. I lost her recipe years ago. This is just short the candied peels but definitely doesn’t need them with the great lemon flavor. Brings back memories. Thanks for sharing.
Marie says
Glad to enjoyed it! Candied citrus sounds good!
Rosa falso says
The best recipe ever Easy and tasty much appreciated
Marie says
Glad you enjoyed it! We made it too and I just had a slice tonight 🙂