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How to Make Mexican Rice Pudding: Arroz con Leche Recipe

Name: How to Make Mexican Rice Pudding: Arroz con Leche Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups whole milk (if you prefer, you can also use coconut milk); ¾ cup water; ½ cup white rice; 1 cinnamon stick; ½ can (6 oz.) sweetened condensed milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ¼ cup golden raisins; Pinch of salt

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Dec 30, 2022 • 1 min read

Fans of dulce de leche or silky flan custard know the distinctive pleasures of Mexican-style comfort food. Mexican rice pudding, arroz con leche, is a classic dessert that is sometimes studded with musky-sweet golden raisins and fragrant cinnamon.

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What Is Arroz con Leche?

Arroz con leche, literally meaning “rice with milk”, is rice pudding found throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Rice puddings, made with white rice and milk, come in many different variations throughout the world, seasoned with any number of spices and ingredients. In the Hispanic culinary canon, arroz con leche is served as a dessert, typically sweetened with condensed milk or granulated sugar.

How to Make Arroz con Leche

Arroz con leche recipes can be made in a slow cooker or a pressure cooker, but if it’s your first time, try making it on the stove to get a feel for how the dish comes together.

The kind of rice you use is a matter of preference: Spanish recipes, for example, tend to favor short-grain rice like arborio, but you can use long-grain rice like basmati, and even brown rice will work.

Arroz con Leche in a jar with cinnamon sticks

Arroz con Leche Recipe

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makes

prep time

10 min

total time

40 min

cook time

30 min

Ingredients

1 ½ cups whole milk (if you prefer, you can also use coconut milk)
¾ cup water
½ cup white rice
1 cinnamon stick
½ can (6 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup golden raisins
Pinch of salt

1
In a medium saucepan, bring milk and water to a rolling simmer over medium-high heat.
2
Add the rice and cinnamon, and stir a few times to combine. Reduce to low heat and allow to cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until rice is soft—about 20-25 minutes.
3
When rice is plump and cooked, remove the cinnamon stick, and add the condensed milk, vanilla, raisins, and salt. Increase to medium heat to return to a rolling simmer.
4
Cook for an additional 10 minutes or so, until the rice has taken on the consistency of a loose pudding.
5
Garnish with a shake of ground cinnamon, and serve.

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