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A coconut rice pudding that’s creamy, lightly sweetened, easy to make, and can be eaten for breakfast or dessert. Plus, it’s dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan.
I’ve always been put off by the word ‘pudding’ because American pudding gives me the heebie-jeebies. Coconut rice pudding wasn’t really on my radar either though. But sometimes you have to step outside of your food comfort zone.
And to my surprise, it’s way better than I ever expected.
Unlike the pudding that shall be forgotten, coconut rice pudding is creamy, slightly sweet, and closely resembles a bowl of warm oatmeal in terms of texture.
Ingredients
- jasmine rice
- unsweetened canned full-fat coconut milk
- maple syrup
- orange zest
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon (optional)
- salt
How to Make Coconut Rice Pudding
Cook the rice. Add the rice and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice is soft.
Infuse the coconut milk. While the rice cooks, in a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk, maple syrup, orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
Combine and thicken. Pour the infused coconut milk over the rice and remove the cinnamon stick. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until thickened, about 5-7 minutes.
Make It Your Way: Ingredient Substitutions
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this coconut rice pudding using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No jasmine rice? ➝ use arborio rice instead
- No maple syrup? ➝ sub another sweetener of choice: honey, cane sugar, coconut sugar, etc.
- No orange zest? ➝ use lemon zest or any type of orange citrus: blood orange, mandarine, tangerine, etc.
Tools Needed
Helpful Tips For Making The Best Coconut Rice Pudding
Speed It Up
Coconut rice pudding is a really great way to use up leftover rice lingering in your refrigerator. Just skip straight to the second step.
Will Any Coconut Milk Work?
No, it must be coconut milk from the can, not the kind in a carton by the other dairy-free milk varieties. Canned coconut milk has coconut cream which is what helps make the pudding consistency super creamy.
Coconut milk from the carton is made of mostly water and therefore won’t thicken up.
Breakfast or Dessert?
Coconut rice pudding is typically a dessert, but because this recipe has lower sugar than most, it can be enjoyed as either breakfast or dessert.
If choosing it as a dessert option, drizzle on an extra tablespoon of sweetener or top it with dairy-free caramel sauce to make it extra indulgent.
More Recipes You’ll Love
Coconut Rice Pudding (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup dry Jasmine rice or 1 ½ cups cooked rice
- 1 ½ cups water
- 13.5 oz can unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- zest of 1 orange
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cinnamon stick or ¼ tsp ground (optional)
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Add the rice and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice is soft.
- While the rice cooks, in a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk, maple syrup, orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour the infused coconut milk over the rice and remove the cinnamon stick. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until thickened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Serve with fresh fruit, dairy-free caramel sauce, ground cinnamon, toasted coconut, nuts or seeds, etc.
Notes
- How can you make this coconut rice pudding using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No jasmine rice? ➝ use arborio rice instead
- No maple syrup? ➝ sub another sweetener of choice: honey, cane sugar, coconut sugar, etc.
- No orange zest? ➝ use lemon zest or any type of orange citrus: blood orange, mandarine, tangerine, etc.
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