Arroz con leche is a popular rice pudding dish in Spain and Latin America, made by slowly simmering uncooked rice with milk and sugar. It can be flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, and citrus peels, and is often served with butter. Brown rice can be used for a healthier version, and a vegan variation can be made with coconut milk.
Arroz con leche literally translates to rice with milk in Spanish, but typically the term refers to a delicious version of rice pudding, popular in Spain and many Latin American countries. It is often considered the ultimate comfort food and you will find numerous bloggers singing its praises and sharing fond memories of the food prepared by wonderful mothers, grandmothers and aunts when they were little growing up in Mexico, Venezuela or Cuba, to name just a few of the countries where he is loved.
Unlike American rice pudding, arroz con leche tends to be thicker. Sometimes American rice pudding recipes cheat by adding cooked rice to cooked pudding. With true arroz con leche, uncooked rice is slowly simmered with milk and sugar (or condensed milk). It may contain raisins and can be cooked with a cinnamon stick or sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg when finished. Some recipes call for a lemon or orange peel to be added during the simmering process, and the preference is often to eat arroz con leche right after it’s cooked with pats of butter.
Recipes for this delicious dish vary but most are fairly easy to prepare. The biggest mistake seems to be not stirring the rice and milk mixture every minute or two to make sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, and keeping the heat very low to avoid burning it. Some recipes even suggest the type of rice to use, recommending using short-grain white rice such as Arborio rice for best results. Some recipes also call for the addition of vanilla or a splash of brandy to make the dish more flavorful.
You may be able to find arroz con leche in Latin American restaurants, and it’s definitely worth a try. If you want to increase its health value, try making it at home with brown rice as a snack that is not only tasty but also good for you, even if it contains some sugar. Brown rice alters the texture slightly because it’s not as glutinous as white rice but gives you a healthy serving of fiber.
One variation of arroz con leche that is popular is called an arroz con dulce. Instead of using cow’s milk, the rice is simmered in coconut milk. If you’re looking for a way to make a vegan variation of this rice pudding, arroz con dulce or arroz-doce can yield creamy and excellent results.
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