Sweet and Simple Glorified Rice

A delicious, retro, and super easy dessert, this Glorified Rice recipe is a blast from the past! This sweet and creamy rice salad is packed with tangy fruit and plenty of mini marshmallows.

This super simple dessert salad recipe probably comes right out of your grandmother’s cookbook!

Creamy fruit salads like this one have been popular in America since the early 1900s, and they are still quite popular, especially in the Midwestern states.

And while jello salads, ambrosia salad, and the like aren’t new and modern, they make up for it with nostalgia, simplicity, and the fact that they are completely delicious!

Glorified Rice is a vintage favorite, featuring tender arborio rice mixed with fresh whipped cream, fluffy marshmallows, and sweet fruits like bananas, strawberries, and pineapple.

A cherry on top is the perfect finish!

If you like old-fashioned dessert salad recipes, you should try my Watergate Salad and Orange Jello Salad recipes too.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. One Bowl – Once you’ve cooked the rice, the whole recipe comes together in one large mixing bowl! Pop a lid on that bowl, and you’re ready to take Glorified rice to a BBQ, potluck, or anywhere you like.
2. Delicious Flavors – This rice salad recipe is sweet, and creamy, with hints of vanilla and tangy notes from pineapple and strawberries. It’s like heaven in a bowl!
3. Versatile Recipe – This recipe for glorified rice is just a starting point. Feel free to add your own spin on this classic by switching up the fruits and mix-ins.

Ingredients In Glorified Rice

Here’s what you need to make this tasty dessert salad:

• Arborio Rice: Arborio rice is the same type used to make risotto and rice pudding. It’s starchier than long-grain varieties and perfect for this recipe.
• Whipped Cream: This recipe is sometimes made with cool whip or whipped topping, but I love the richness and flavor that comes from making freshly whipped cream with a hint of vanilla extract.
• Banana: Be sure to use bananas that are sweet and ripe, but not overripe. You can use those to make banana bread instead!
• Pineapple Tidbids: Canned pineapple works perfectly fine here, but you can also use fresh if you have it.
• Fresh Strawberries
• Mini Marshmallows
• Maraschino Cherries

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How To Make Glorified Rice

1. Cook the Rice:  In a medium saucepan, combine arborio rice with water and bring to a boil (uncovered). Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed.

2. Add Some Sweetness: While the rice is still warm, stir in granulated sugar until it’s dissolved. Transfer the rice to a bowl and allow it to cool down completely before continuing.
3. Make Whipped Cream: In a large mixing bowl, use a mixer to whip the heavy cream with the vanilla extract until it’s thick and fluffy.
4. Mix: Add the cooled rice to the bowl of whipped cream, then gently fold in the sliced banana, strawberries, pineapple, and marshmallows.

5. Chill: Before serving, allow the rice salad to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Garnish with maraschino cherries and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

• Cooking the Rice: The rice must be fully cooked for this recipe since we’ll be eating it cold. 15 minutes of simmering should do the trick, or follow the instructions on the package.
• If you’d like to use a different type of rice, you can, but the texture will be different depending on what you use.
• Let it cool: Once you’ve added the sugar to the rice, give it time to cool down before adding the whipped cream. If the rice is too warm, the whipped cream will melt.
• For a pop of color, try using pastel rainbow mini marshmallows!
• Other fruits to try: Mandarin oranges, diced peaches, or halved grapes would be tasty! Any of your favorite fruits can be mixed in.
• For even more fruity flavor, you can cook the rice in pineapple juice instead of plain water.
• Serving Tips: While it’s totally fine to eat glorified rice directly from the bowl with a spoon, I enjoy making it look pretty for serving. Sweet, red maraschino cherries add a beautiful finish to this dessert, especially when it’s served in cute dessert glasses.

Storing Tips

You can store glorified rice in the refrigerator for up to 2 or 3 days. The marshmallows will absorb liquid from the fruit during storage, so their texture will change a bit, but the salad is still so, so good as leftovers.

This also means that you can make this retro dessert up to 2 days ahead of time if needed.

What To Serve With Glorified Rice

When I think of dessert salads, I also think of hotdishes (aka, casseroles), since both are well-known to have come from the Midwest.

Try my Chicken Tater Tot Casserole, Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole, or Hamburger Potato Casserole the next time you need an easy, comforting meal for your crew.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use crushed pineapple?

Yes, drained crushed pineapple can be used in place of the pineapple tidbits in this glorified rice recipe.

Can I make this with leftover rice?

Of course! Leftover white rice can be used to make glorified rice, and that means that it will be ready to enjoy even sooner.

Can I make glorified rice with cool whip?

If you’d rather not make whipped cream, you can substitute with one 8-ounce container of whipped topping instead.

Can Glorified Rice be frozen?

I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The texture of the rice and whipped cream will change too much after freezing and thawing.

This deliciously vintage recipe for Glorified Rice is too good not to bring back! Make this for your next gathering, and watch how fast it disappears from the table.