Recipe

Tropical Rice Pudding

Recipe Information

Total Time: 

40 minutes

Servings: 

8

Ready for a tropical excursion? Perhaps not quite as delectable as a trip to the tropics but this tasty new twist on rice pudding is sure to delight.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup long grain brown rice, uncooked
  • 2 tablespoon coconut oil* (see Tips & Notes)
  • 1/3 cup tapioca flour
  • 2 cup Hazelnut milk (or other nut milk* see Tips & Notes)
  • 1/4 cup sugar or honey
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon or lime zest
  • 2 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped dried fruit—pineapple, papaya and/or mango

Preparation

  1. Soak rice overnight, rinse well and cook in 2 1/4 cups water. Set aside to cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 325º
  3. Melt coconut oil over very low heat and whisk in tapioca flour until it is a smooth paste.
  4. Add 1/4 cup hazelnut milk and whisk until the oil and flour are evenly blended and dissolved in the milk. Whisk in the remaining milk, and then add sugar. Turn up heat to medium low and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens. (It will just be starting to boil around the edges). Remove from heat and stir in salt, vanilla, lemon or lime zest and juice.
  5. In a large mixing bowl, mix together cooked rice and dried fruit until fruit is evenly distributed through rice and rice kernels are not in clumps. Add seasoned milk mixture to rice and dried fruit and stir until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Spread mixture in a lightly oiled 2 quart glass baking dish and bake for 40 minutes.
  6. Serve warm or cool. Stores well in refrigerator for several days.

Tips & Notes

Ingredient Notes

  • Coconut oil can be a bit challenging to work with at first, since it is solid at room temperature. Melt it gently and use room temperature ingredients.
  • Hazelnut milk has a creamy texture that works well in this recipe. You can substitute another type of nut milk if you prefer, but check the label. If it has added sweeteners, reduce the sugar in the recipe by a tablespoon or so.

Make Ahead Tip

  • Rice is soaked to remove the enzyme inhibitors that keep it from sprouting until it’s received enough rain. These inhibitors also make it more difficult to digest, and removing them also improves flavor.
  • A rice cooker is a useful tool, as it never burns the rice.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 301, Fat: 8 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 341 mg, Carbohydrate: 44 g, Dietary Fiber: 3 g, Protein: 2 g