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This arroz con dulce recipe is creamy, thick, and perfectly sweet. A classic Puerto Rican coconut rice pudding with raisins that can be enjoyed cold or warm.
Other Puerto Rican dessert favorites include this flan and coquito cake.
This arroz con dulce is very similar to arroz con leche. The only difference is this arroz con dulce contains star anise, cloves, ginger, brown sugar, and cream of coconut. The best part about this recipe is the texture and the raisins soaked in brandy!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It feeds a crowd.
- You don’t have to soak the rice!
- Super rich.
- You can make it ahead of time.
Ingredient Notes
- Rice – Use short or medium grain rice, avoid long-grain rice.
- Sugar – I used brown sugar because I like the rice pudding to have a darker color, but feel free to use granulated sugar instead.
- Ginger – I used a very small amount, if you use too much it can turn out spicy.
- Butter – Use salted butter!
- Brandy – Completely optional, you can also use rum if you prefer.
- Cinnamon – You’ll need both sticks and ground cinnamon.
Step-By-Step Ingredients
- Place the raisins and brandy in a bowl and set it aside.
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add the rice and 6 cups of water to a large pot and cook for 20 minutes or until tender over medium heat. Stir frequently.
- While the rice cooks, prepare the spice-infused tea. Add 2 cups of water, ginger, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and cloves to a pot and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. Once the 20 minutes are up, strain it and discard the spices except for the cinnamon sticks.
- Once the rice is tender, add the spice-infused tea, cinnamon sticks, cream of coconut, coconut milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until well combined. Cook for 30 minutes, while stirring frequently. If you don’t stir frequently, the arroz con dulce may burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the 30 minutes are up, the arroz con dulce should be nice and creamy. Turn off the heat. Finally, stir in the butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and raisins. Mix well.
- Taste the arroz con dulce and add more salt if needed. Garnish with ground cinnamon, if desired. Allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving and enjoy.
Top Tips For The Perfect Arroz Con Dulce
- Make sure to stir the arroz con dulce frequently while it cooks and don’t cover it.
- Top it with whipped cream and shredded coconut for extra flavor.
- Serve it in individual jars and refrigerate it once it cools completely.
- Place some plastic wrap on top of the rice pudding to avoid a skin forming.
Storage
Place any leftovers in an air-tight container or individual jars and refrigerate for up to 4 days. If too thick, add more milk as needed.
More Recipes
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Arroz con Dulce
This arroz con dulce recipe is creamy, thick, and perfectly sweet. A classic Puerto Rican coconut rice pudding with raisins that can be enjoyed cold or warm.
Ingredients
- 2 cups short-grain rice
- 8 cups water
- 2 cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 can cream of coconut
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cups brandy , optional
- 1 cup raisins
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 3 star anise
- 12 cloves
- 2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the raisins and brandy in a bowl and set it aside.
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add the rice and 6 cups of water to a large pot and cook for 20 minutes or until tender over medium heat. Stir frequently.
- While the rice cooks, prepare the spice-infused tea. Add 2 cups of water, ginger, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and cloves to a pot and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. Once the 20 minutes are up, strain it and discard the spices except for the cinnamon sticks.
- Once the rice is tender, add the spice-infused tea, cinnamon sticks, cream of coconut, coconut milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until well combined. Cook for 30 minutes, while stirring frequently. If you don't stir frequently, the arroz con dulce may burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the 30 minutes are up, the arroz con dulce should be nice and creamy. Turn off the heat. Finally, stir in the butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and raisins. Mix well. The arroz con dulce will thicken alot more as it cools.
- Taste the arroz con dulce and add more salt if needed. Garnish with ground cinnamon, if desired. Allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving and enjoy.
Notes
- Make sure to stir the arroz con dulce frequently while it cooks and don’t cover it.
- Top it with whipped cream and shredded coconut for extra flavor.
- Serve it in individual jars and refrigerate it once it cools completely.
- Place some plastic wrap on top of the rice pudding to avoid a skin forming.
Nutrition
Calories: 716kcal | Carbohydrates: 95g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 243mg | Potassium: 537mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 56g | Vitamin A: 281IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 211mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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