Rice pudding

I am ashamed to admit that it has been over 2 years since I have tasted, ordered, or made rice pudding. People really underestimate just how delicious this dessert is just because it may not sound the most appetizing. Almost everyone loves pudding, so what's not to love about rice pudding? Today I made two different types of rice pudding: the original creamy version with a peach compote and a coconut rice pudding with pineapple. 

Creamy Rice Pudding

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked white rice

2 cups milk, divided

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir rice into boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In a clean saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. 

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving: 302 calories, 7.2g fat (3.9g saturated, 0.6g polyunsaturated, 2.2g monounsaturated), 50.6g carbohydrates, 1.1g fiber, 8.1g protein

Peach Compote

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 lb peaches (fresh or frozen)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp water

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the liquid is of a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat.

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving: 75.5 calories, 0.2g fat (0g saturated, 0g polyunsaturated, 0g monounsaturated), 19.1g carbohydrates, 1.0g fiber, 0.5g protein

Coconut Rice Pudding

Recipe from brittanypowell.com

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk

enough milk to make 1 quart when added to coconut milk

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup coconut flakes

3/4 cup short-grain white rice

fruit (optional)

Directions

1. Pour the coconut milk into a large liquid measuring cup, then add regular milk until you reach 1 quart total. Add the milks, sugar, salt, and coconut flakes to a medium saucepan and cover. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. As soon as the milk simmers, stir in the rice. Bring back to a low simmer, then reduce heat to low.
2. Cook for 30 minutes, covered, stirring frequently. Remove the lid and let the pudding sit for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with fruit. Refrigerate the leftovers. 

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving: 354 calories, 20.4g fat (17.6g saturated, 0.3g polyunsaturated, 1.3g monounsaturated), 39g carbohydrates, 2.9g fiber, 6.5g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

The creamy rice pudding is a great basic rice pudding recipe that you can adjust according to what toppings you want to add, if any. The original recipe actually included raisins, which you can also add.

If you want to add raisins, add it to the pudding along with the 1/2 cup milk and egg. 

This coconut pudding is a variation of the original rice pudding, simply adding coconut milk in addition to regular milk. Do not try to cook the rice in only coconut milk! Coconut milk is very thick and needs a thinner to properly cook the rice. 

One can of coconut milk is 14 ounces or 1 3/4 cup, which means you need 2 1/4 cup of milk to make one quart (4 cups). 

I only had 1/3 cup toasted coconut flakes instead of 2/3 coconut flakes, but this did not make a big difference in the outcome.

The original recipe called for chunks of mango but I decided to go with pineapple instead.

The results were spectacular! Both rice puddings were creamy and rice. The original rice pudding had a great holiday feeling to it from the cinnamon in the peach compote. It can still be consumed on its own and be equally delicious. The coconut rice pudding had just the right amount of coconut to it, with little bits of coconut in each bite. The fruit adds a special touch, but this pudding can also be served just as. Both different in their own way but each equally delicious!