Paella Rice For Rice Pudding

This easy arroz con leche recipe is the perfect dessert for a Spanish tapas night. With only a few ingredients, this creamy Spanish rice pudding is sure to please. Serve arroz con leche cold, warm, or room temperature sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon.

I started making this recipe when we lived in Spain. Arroz con leche is often served as a dessert at traditional restaurants, particularly as part of the menu del dia.

The menu del dia is a three-course meal served mostly for lunch at a reduced rate. The most common desserts served as part of the menu were rice pudding, flan, and crema Catalan, particularly where we lived in Catalonia.

Pudding Rice Vs Risotto Rice: The Main Difference

It is thought that traditional arroz con leche dates to the Moorish occupation of Spain. The Moors probably introduced cinnamon to Spain from Africa.

Like many Spanish desserts, this dish is made of humble ingredients, with the cinnamon stick or vanilla bean probably standing out as the most exotic one.

Please see our roundup of the Best Spanish Dessert Recipes for more ideas. Or, check out our recipe for Mini Basque Cheesecake. Still hungry? Check out our Traditional Spanish Tapas recipes.

Arroz Con Leche (30 Minute Spanish Rice Pudding)

When living in Spain and hunting for a recipe for Arroz con leche, I ended up finding several written in Spanish, which I translated.

I found several Spanish pudding recipes that included some unnecessary ingredients, like margarine or butter. I just don’t think that’s necessary and adds too much fat.

Instead, I tried a few different ways of making Arroz con leche before coming up with the perfect combination of creamy and sweet.

Arroz Extra, Round Grain Rice, For Paella Or Rice Pudding, Spain, Dop, 1 Kg, Bag

In the end, any white rice you have at home would work for this arroz con leche recipe. You might need to use a bit more water or whole milk or adjust the cooking time if using long-grain rice, though.

When it comes to how to cook arroz con leche the traditional Spanish way, I prefer to use the rice available in Spain. We always used bomba rice because it was locally grown in Catalonia, where we lived.

It’s a short, almost stubby, rice that provides a nice texture for a pudding. It is often marketed in the US as paella rice. Other types of rice can be used, like risotto rice or arborio rice.

What Is Paella Rice? And What Are It's Characteristics?

Once you’ve chosen your rice, the rest of the ingredients are pretty simple. The rice is cooked in a combination of water and whole milk.

You can use low-fat milk, but you might need to add a bit more during the cooking process. The whole milk in this recipe is preferred because it makes the rice super creamy. That said, if you want an arroz con leche that’s sweeter, you can use condensed milk.

The pudding is cooked with a big slice of lemon rind and a cinnamon stick. Both are removed before serving. The lemon rind should be wide, but not include any pulp and minimal white.

Vegan Rice Pudding

You can also add a bit of lemon zest if you’d like. It is better to use a cinnamon stick rather than ground cinnamon, which will turn the rice brown when the arroz con leche is being cooked.

The only other seasoning is a touch of salt and sugar. The salt helps to bring all of the flavors together and won’t result in a salty taste.

The sugar is also added to taste. I recommend a 1/4 cup, but you should add it a bit at a time, stir, and taste until it’s the right sweetness for you.

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This easy arroz con leche recipe is made in one pot on the stovetop. The hardest thing about Arroz con leche is that it needs to be monitored and stirred frequently.

Place the rice and a cup of water in a small to medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the rice starts to absorb the water.

The rice should be soft and creamy but not mushy. You will need to taste the rice to ensure it is ready. If it has any crunch to it, it needs more time.

Lemon Rice Pudding

Add the sugar, a bit at a time, stir to blend, and then taste. It should be sweet but not sugary, and really to your taste.

This nutritional data is provided by a third-party source and should not be relied on if you are on a strict diet.

This creamy pudding can be served any way you like. It can be served cold, warm, or at room temperature. I avoid serving it overly hot, however.

Can You Make Risotto With Paella Rice?

For some variations, you can turn this into a Spanish rice pudding with raisins, but add a handful in the last few minutes of cooking.

Or, add grated coconut, or a bit of coconut milk to make it a coconut rice pudding. Although this is probably a little less traditional Spanish, I tend to do this when I have a bit of coconut milk left over from another recipe.

I usually serve Spanish-style rice pudding family-style, in a traditional cazuela, the round terracotta cooking and serving dish that is common in Spain. You can buy cazuelas on Amazon here.

Creamy Rice Pudding With Fresh Berry Jam (ve)

Or, you can serve these Spanish rice puddings individually in small glass jars or small dishes. I like serving them in glass because it shows how creamy the pudding is!

Arroz con Leche. Arroz translates to rice in English. Leche translates to milk. The literal translation is rice with milk, but we all know this as Spanish rice pudding. 

This recipe for Spanish rice pudding is the one I learned when living in Spain. From my research, it seems that most Mexican recipes use condensed milk rather than whole milk and sugar.

Mexican Rice Pudding (arroz Con Leche)

Yes, arroz con leche is in fact from Spain. One of the oldest Spanish dessert recipes, it has been exported around the world. As a result, there are many different versions found in former Spanish colonies.

Technically you can use basmati rice but it’s best to use a shorter, risotto-style rice. Basmati rice is better suited for Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern cooking. Arroz con leche needs shorter stubbier rice to absorb the condensed milk.

A traditional arroz con leche recipe calls for whole milk. If you are keeping an eye on saturated fat, you can substitute low-fat milk. However, if you want to make a sweeter arroz con leche, you can use evaporated milk or condensed milk. Evaporated milk and condensed milk are sweeter than whole milk. If you use evaporated milk or condensed milk, make sure to taste as you cook, not to over-sweeten the Arroz con leche.

Milchreis (german Rice Pudding)

Amber S. Hoffman, the food and travel writer behind Food And Drink Destinations and The Bean Bites Recipe Blog, is a recovering attorney and professional eater, with a passion for helping people travel for food and drink. She lives with her husband, Eric, in Limerick, Ireland, after spending three years living in Spain. Together over the last 20 years, they have traveled to over 70 countries in search of the best food and drink. Amber also loves cooking at home, from traditional Spanish and Moroccan recipes to exploring dishes from Japan and Korea. She's learned all of these recipes while traveling to classic culinary destination.

I’m Lisa, a food-obsessed traveler sharing my personal experiences as well as incorporating a global network of like-minded contributors to provide tips on what and where to eat and drink around the world.

Food And Drink Destinations is the ultimate guide on how to travel for food and drink. We provide tips on what and where to eat and drink around the world.

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Then, we bring what we learn home with tips on how to eat and drink well at home and how to make cooking easier!

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policyRice pudding is a classic dessert that can be made with a variety of different types of rice. While most people use long grain rice, you can also use short grain rice, like the type used for making paella. Paella rice is a short grain rice that is very starchy, which makes it ideal for creating a creamy, flavorful rice pudding. When making rice pudding with paella rice, be sure to cook the rice until it is very soft before adding the milk and sugar, as this will help to create a smooth, delicious pudding.

If you want to replace your paella rice, there are some substitutes, but you should avoid certain types of rice. Unfortunately, basmati rice is one of the rice varieties that should not be used for paella.

Tips For Making An Authentic Spanish Paella

Jasmine rice is also adaptable to many other cuisines. Aside from that, it can be used as an excellent substitute for Paella rice. In Spanish cuisine, short-grain rice such as arborio or Valencia is traditionally used to make plall. Jasmine rice, on the other hand, can be used to make a delicious and authentic Paella.

This rice has a short grained texture that is commonly used to make puddings and sweets. This is usually from Italy. The grains appear chalky and tubby on the outside, but cling to