Arroz Con Leche -Rice Pudding from Latin America

Today I am introducing rice pudding or in Spanish “arroz con leche” and I will tell you how I got the recipe, which is a super sweet story. But first let’s talk about this dessert. Arroz con leche is an extremely universal recipe. For example, rice pudding is enjoyed in the Scandinavian countries. In fact, rice pudding is often served during Christmas season and they have created their own little traditions and customs around it. In Germany rice pudding became famous during and after World War II as a cheap main meal (I have to say, I still don’t get how a sweet dish can be served as a main meal). Rice pudding is also famous in Spain and made it to Latin America at some point. You may wonder why I am introducing this universally loved recipe here. The answer is because one reader of this blog went out of her way so that I was able to obtain the cookbook containing this recipe. But let’s start at the beginning.

I asked at the beginning of 2024 in a blog article whether any reader was flying to Latin America shortly. Reason I was asking was that I was on the lookout for a cookbook from Colombia. Unfortunately, customs as well as postage was more expensive than the book itself if I were to ship it from Colombia to Germany, so I firgued maybe somebody could bring it here on the plane. Sure enough one reader contacted me, her husband, an Argentinian, was flying to Argentina shortly and would be willing to check whether he could obtain the book in Argentina. He went to four (!) different bookstores, however, he couldn’t order the book. I was about to give up, I mean, after having checked four bookstores, apparently it was not possible. However, soon after, she wrote to me that her husband had the book shipped from Colombia to Argentina. The book made it just on time for him to return to Germany with it. Of course I was beyond grateful. Funnily enough it turned out that the couple also lived in Munich (go figure), not even 10 minutes ways from us. So of course I picked up the book happily and also made a special cake as a thankyou. I decided to make torta Balcarce for them. I still find it so crazy, that a) this reader contacted me and that they also happened to live in the same city as us. L & F, thank you so much for all your help, for checking so many bookstores, for ordering it and bringing it to Germany. You are awesome, mil gracias!

And this recipe is taking from this cookbook. In Latin America rice pudding is often made with sweetened condensed milk, like this one. If you don’t have any at hand, you may replace the same amount with regular milk and add more sugar at the end. It comparison to German rice pudding the ratio rice vs. liquid seems to be different, whereas in Germany 1/4 rice for liquid is normal, it Latin America 1/5 seems to be more normal. But the good thing about this soul food is that you can make it just how you like it, with more milk content or creamier and more solid.

Credit: Cookbook Esto está muy ñam!  page 124 (in Spanish)

Print Recipe

Arroz Con Leche - Rice Pudding from Latin America

Serves: 4-6 dessert servings

Prep Time: 5min – Cooking Time: 25-30min – Total Time: 35min

Arroz con leche is the Latin American version of rice pudding and starts with rice cooked in water and then milk.

Ingredients

• 480 grams of water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 200 grams of white rice
• 480 grams of milk
• 150 grams of sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

1

Bring water, cinnamon, and rice in a pot to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for 15min or until the rice has absorbed most of the water. Add the milk, bring to another boil again, then simmer for about 5 minutes or until creamy. Last add condensed milk and, if desired, further sugar. You need to add the sugar at the end so that the rice pudding does not turn yellow. Simmer until it has reached your desired consistency. My total time was 25 minutes, but this is personal preference. Remember that the rice will continue soaking more water, so you have to stop slightly earlier. Discard the cinnamon stick, serve with toppings such as additional cinnamon, apple sauce, etc. In Latin America often a dash of dulce de leche is added.

I also have a rice pudding tart from Belgium on the blog. The mugs are from this Etsy shop.