A rice pudding, when homemade, can make a nutritious snack or dessert during the cooler months of the year. It’s tastiest eaten warm but can be enjoyed room temperature or cold too. Rice is a warming grain and a grounding food thereby a great choice during fall and winter. Made with coconut milk, honey, cardamom and orange zest, it’s a lovely combination of flavours, and really nice even for the holidays. Although best for snack or dessert, it could even be enjoyed for breakfast – up to you.

When I travel to Asian countries, rice is always on the breakfast menu. Its pretty cool. When traveling in Asia, I really enjoy eating macrobiotics. I eat more rice, miso, seaweeds, dried fish and so on. And yep, for breakfast. But its part of the culture and I just love it. Sometimes, they even have matcha on the menu! You then have a super happy and excited girl haha! You should see me when I see a place have matcha when I travel, haha! I’m like a child in a candy store.

What Kind of Rice Should I Use?

I love brown rice pudding but for this one, because it’s combined with coconut milk and orange zest and cardamom, white rice was just a better fit. I wanted to keep the light color and also has a soft texture and keep that sweeter taste. If you know a little bit about Ayurveda, this meal would help balance Vata’s.

I used organic, jasmine rice for this recipe. It’s one of the best types of white rice.

Rice is gluten-free.

I personally like the brand Lundberg.

Let’s Talk About White Rice

For those of you who are against white rice. Let me tell you something. Sometimes white is better than brown. YES. Why? Because white is easier to digest, doesn’t have any anti-nutrients and have MUCH lower amount of arsenic. See, with brown and white, they both have their pros and cons. I believe it’s fine to alternate them but keep the consumption in moderation.

Personally, rice is not something I eat daily or even weekly. But a little bit of brown or white once in a while is absolutely fine.

How Do I Cook It?

To make the pudding, cook the rice first in water (2 parts water for 1 part rice). Then, use that cooked rice to make the pudding. So you would combine the cook rice with the coconut milk and simmer until thick and creamy. Easy.

Toppings

Chopped pistachios is amazing. You can also do goji berries. Or both. And a little cinnamon if you like. So good.

This orange cardamom rice pudding recipe is vegan and gluten-free. Eat it warm or room temperature. Delicious with a cup of tea. Enjoy!

Let’s jump to the recipe now.

Print Recipe

Orange Cardamom Rice Pudding

This orange cardamom rice pudding is made with organic jasmine rice and cooked in coconut milk. It's vegan and gluten-free.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup cooked organic jasmine rice
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup local honey or maple syrup
• Optional adds in:
• Chopped pistachios
• Goji berries
• Cinnamon

Instructions

• If your rice isn't cooked already, cook it. Cook dry rice according to package directions.
• Now, combine your cooked rice in a small saucepan with the coconut milk and cardamom.
• Bring to a light boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Add in orange zest, vanilla and honey, stir and divide between bowls.
• Top with pistachios and/or goji berries, and cinnamon if you like.