I have a confession to make…I have been eating dessert for breakfast. Yes, it is true. I have been tinkering with this recipe for a while a now, and every time that I make a version of my rice pudding I end up eating it for breakfast. I mean, its perfect! It has whole grains, milk and fruit. That makes a complete breakfast! (right?)
This past winter I played around with a few different versions of rice pudding, but summer just screams strawberries to me. I wanted to make a hearty, wholesome, (somewhat healthy) and still decadent rice pudding. I decided to make this version vegan, just because I wanted to experiment with using coconut milk. And……..It worked! It is not quite as creamy as using milk and cream, but I think it is tastes great. I also used brown rice to up the nutritional value. I also prefer the nuttiness of brown rice over white rice, but that is just my preference.
I prefer to eat this cold, topped with a good serving of fresh sliced strawberries and a dash of unsweetened coconut. I have even topped it with toasted macadamia nuts and cacao nibs to add a little crunch, and it was DEEEElicious!
The result — a dessert so good, and healthy enough, that you can eat for breakfast!
Strawberry and Coconut Brown Rice Pudding
Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup organic brown rice
- 4 cups unsweetened coconut milk (NOTE: I used 1 cup of the canned light coconut milk, and 3 cups SO Delicious unsweetened coconut milk. You can use any combination you would like. I find that the canned coconut milk makes the pudding more rich and creamy, but also adds a bit more calories and fat. You can also use regular cow’s milk and heavy cream if you prefer, it’s really up to you!)
- 2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sucanat
- 1 cup sliced organic strawberries
- Unsweetened shredded coconut
DIRECTIONS
- Rinse rice. Bring 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk, rice, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and sucanat to a simmer over medium heat.
- Reduce heat and cover. Allow rice to cook for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure coconut milk doesn’t bubble over.
- After the liquid is almost all absorbed (about 40 minutes) add remaining 2 cups of coconut milk and allow to cook, with the lid off, for an additional 45-55 more minutes, or until pudding is thickened and has reached the desired consistency. Stir in 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries.
- Allow to cool. Serve with remaining strawberries and coconut.
