Coconut Milk Rice Pudding

I’m not sure if most of you know this, but my husband and I lived in New York this summer.  I’ve mentioned before that my husband plays Professional Baseball.  {If you already know this, you can skim the next part of the explanation.  I don’t want to sound like a broken record.} This means that during the baseball season, which is 6 months out of the year, we are on the road traveling from team-to-team.  Last season we started out in Florida for Spring Training and then drove up to New York for the remainder of the season.  This means that for about 3 months, we rented an apartment in Brooklyn.  We quickly got accustomed to the New York lifestyle – staying up late and eating good food.

One night when we were getting pizza from Lomardi’s Pizza {Oh Lombardi’s how I miss your delicious thin crust delicious pizza}, we noticed this really modern looking dessert shop.  We walked inside and quickly realized it was a Rice Pudding Shop, called Rice to Riches.  They have a huge bar filled with different flavors of Rice Pudding – Cookies and Cream, Strawberry, Rocky Road, Tiramisu, and much more.

Only in New York can you go to a whole shop dedicated to rice pudding.

Ever since that moment, my love for rice pudding has grew even larger.  It’s a decadent dessert that we don’t have often, but when we do, it is a true treat.

Earlier this week, my husband had a huge craving for Rice Pudding.  But instead of making the rice pudding with milk or cream, I thought I would try it out with Coconut Milk.  The outcome was much greater than I ever could have thought.  It’s just as creamy and decadent, and extremely delicious.

And don’t worry if you don’t like coconut, you don’t taste the coconut flavor at all.  Not one hint.

I added vanilla beans, vanilla extract, and cinnamon into the rice pudding, but feel free to add any type of flavorings you like.  Enjoy!

Bonus -- This is naturally Gluten Free & Vegan.

Coconut Milk Rice Pudding

For Printable Recipe, Click here!

Makes: About 5 Servings; Each Serving being about ½ cup

1 cup Long Grain White Rice
1 can (Approx. 13.6 ounces) Coconut Milk, Full fat, not the Light Version
2 cups Water
4 Vanilla Beans, Scraped
2 tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
¼ cup Agave Nectar (or Honey)

In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, coconut milk, water, and seeds from the vanilla beans.  Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed into the rice.  

Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and agave nectar and stir to combine.  Taste and add any extra vanilla extract or cinnamon according to your taste level.  

If serving hot, serve immediately.  It serving warm, let the rice pudding cool for about 10 minutes before serving.  If you prefer your rice pudding cold {like I do}, transfer the rice pudding to a bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.  You can also speed up the chilling process by placing the rice pudding in the freezer.  
This rice pudding lasts up to 1 week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.