Breakfast Rice Pudding

I’m coming up on my second year of going dairy-free. It’s been one of the best changes I’ve made for myself and my health – and even though I was forced into it via adult onset allergies, I’m glad it happened.

Going without has pushed me to get creative in the kitchen, making and creating goodies that are actually, if I can say so, even better than their dairy-filled counterparts.

However, there are some foods of convenience that sometimes I miss – only because they are just that: convenient. When I wanted a quick dessert, I used to pop into the grocery store and grab something quick and satisfying. And rice pudding was often one of those things.

Look, I won’t lie to you. There are plenty of excellent rice pudding recipes out there. But mines the best if you’re looking for a simple, healthified, breakfast worthy version.

Here’s why:

• The pudding itself is unsweetened (the caramel sauce I added is not sugar free but absolutely recommended as a topping)
• The coconut milk allows it to be both dairy free AND high fat. The high fat content of coconut milk negates the high blood sugar spike associated with white rice.
• CHIA SEEDS.

Might I also add that this recipe is a lot less complicated than some of the other ones out there – and although I’m no stranger to going “all out” on the flavors and spices, a simple breakfast makes more sense… especially if you are usually running out the door like I am.

This recipe is gluten free and vegan.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of rice (dry), cooked in 1.5 cups of water
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 2 cups of water (filtered preferred)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• a pinch of cardamom
• a pinch of salt

Directions:

The first step here is cooking the rice – and instead of doing it in the typical 2:1 water to rice ratio, I do it in a 1.5:1 so that the rice is able to soak up a little more in the following step.

Once the rice is cooked, add it to a stovetop pot along with the coconut milk, water, cinnamon, chia seeds, cardamom, and salt. Allow it to simmer and thicken up on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Once the liquid is mostly absorbed, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

I served mine with molasses, hemp seeds, and caramel sauce (tahini based) –  you could also add raisins, nuts, maple syrup, etc.

If you’ve never made tahini caramel sauce before, let it be known its surprisingly easy. I simply mixed cashew milk, tahini, and coconut sugar on a stovetop pan on warm until the ingredients blended completely. I didn’t measure, but if you prefer sticking to a recipe I recommend this one by ExSloth which also adds molasses and salt.

You could swap out the white rice for brown or black rice, which I have tried in the past – but the texture never gets as ‘gooey’ as the white rice version. And the fact that this dish is pretty high in fat is great, because it will help to stabilize your blood sugar if you have that issue with simple carbohydrates.

I really hope you guys enjoy this treat! I love seeing you make my recipes, so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @standingstrongwellness !

Bon appetit!