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    Home » Recipes » Dessert

    Coconut Rice Pudding

    By Dannii · Published 11th April 2019 · Updated 12th March 2021 · 31 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links and generates income via ads · This site uses cookies · Post contains 1270 words. · About 7 minutes to read this article.

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    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This super creamy rice pudding, that happens to be vegan too, is total comfort food with a tropical twist. Coconut milk not only makes it rich and creamy, but adds that tropical taste to it, which is just enhanced with the sweet caramelised pineapple on top. What's even better is this Coconut Rice Pudding is much lighter than most, as we have sweetened it with Hermesetas Granulated Sweetener.

    Two wooden bowls of coconut rice pudding topped with pineapple chunks

    I am sure we all have happy childhood memories of rice pudding. It was always served up in the school canteen (topped with jam) and we would also open a can of it on a weekend as an after Sunday dinner treat.

    We have taken a childhood classic and given it a quick and easy tropical twist with coconut and pineapple.

    It can be tempting to just buy a tin of it, but it is so easy to make it yourself with just a few ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard and fridge. Making it yourself means you can control exactly what goes in to it too, and make it lower in sugar.

    Jump to:
    • Why should you try it?
    • What you will need
    • Step by step
    • Topping
    • FAQs
    • Extra Tips:
    • More dessert recipes
    • Recipe
    • Feedback

    Why should you try it?

    • A really tasty vegan dessert
    • Kids will love it
    • Lower in sugar than most rice pudding
    • Easy to adapt with different toppings

    What you will need

    Rice - For the best rice pudding, use arborio rice.
    Milk - We used a mixture of almond milk and coconut milk. You could use more coconut milk, but we find that a bit too sickly. You can swap the almond milk for dairy milk, but it wouldn't be vegan any more. We used light coconut milk, but you could use full fat.
    Maple syrup - This is what the coconut rice pudding is sweetened with and what the pineapple is cooked in. You could use honey (it wouldn't be vegan any more), or granulated sugar.
    Vanilla - This adds lots of flavour to the rice pudding. Use extract, not essence.
    Pineapple - This is what we topped the rice pudding with. You can use any fruit though. A berry compote is good too.
    Coconut - An extra sprinkling of desiccated coconut on top just finishes it all off.

    Step by step

    One: Put the rice into a pan.

    a stainless steel saucepan containing uncooked pudding rice

    Two: Add the coconut milk, almond milk, maple syrup (or sugar) and vanilla extract.

    a stainless steel saucepan containing uncooked pudding rice, milk and sugar

    Three: Put on a medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and gently cook for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is thick and creamy and the rice is tender.

    a stainless steel saucepan containing cooked rice pudding

    Four: While the rice is cooking, chop the pineapple in to 1 inch/2cm chunks. Tip: To see how to store the leftover pineapple, look at our post on how to reduce food waste.

    a wooden chopping board with a chef's knife, chunks of pineapple and a half whole pineapple

    Five: Put the pineapple and sugar (or maple syrup) into a frying pan.

    a frying pan containing chunks of pineapple and sugar

    Six: Gently heat for 10 minutes.

    a frying pan containing chunks of cooked pineapple

    Seven: Spoon the cooked rice pudding in to bowls and top with cooked pineapple, coconut flakes and a dusting of nutmeg.

    Coconut rice pudding in a bowl with pineapple on top

    Topping

    As the main flavour of the rice pudding is coconut, we wanted to stick with the tropical flavours and went with pineapple and some extra coconut. But you could really use anything.

    Not a fan of pineapple? Swap it for mango and cook it in the same way. You could even caramelise some bananas to go on top.

    Keep it simple and go with some homemade jam or chocolate chips, or it is good plain too. We have also topped with with peanut butter, berries, chopped nuts and pomegranate.

    Pineapple chunks on top of a serving of rice pudding

    FAQs

    Can you freeze coconut rice pudding?

    It will keep for about 2 days in the fridge (make sure it has cooled completely before putting it in the fridge). You can also freeze it in individual portions and then reheat in the microwave or on the hob after totally defrosting. It won't taste as good after it has been frozen though, but add a little water to loosen it up and make it super creamy again.

    Can coconut rice pudding be cooked in a slow cooker?

    Yes, you can cook this in the slow cooker, but the texture will be a bit different and a little more mushy. Simply stir everything together in the slow cooker and then cook on high for 2 - 2.5 hours stirring every hour. You may need to add a little more milk if it is too thick.

    Is coconut rice pudding healthy?

    Portion control is key with any dessert, and one portion of this coconut rice pudding is under 250 calories. The great thing with making it yourself, is that you can control the amount of sugar that goes in to it.

    Extra Tips:

    • You can swap the coconut and almond milk for any kind of milk, but it won't be as creamy.
    • Swap the pineapple for mango, but cook it in the same way, to mix things up a bit.
    • You can cook this in the slow cooker on high for 2-2.5 hours, but you might need to add a little bit more milk towards the end if it is too thick.
    • You can freeze this in individual portions or keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just make sure it has cooled completely before putting it in the fridge or freezer.
    • If you don't want to use sweetener, you can use brown sugar, but this will alter the nutritional values considerably.
    • To see how to store the leftover pineapple, look at our post on how to reduce food waste.

    More dessert recipes

    • Easy 5 Minute Healthy Frozen Yogurt
    • Apple Hand Pies
    • White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins
    • Healthy Carrot Cake
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    If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog then let us know how you got on in the comments below, we love hearing from you!
    Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - we love sharing photos when people make our recipes. You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

    DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓

    Recipe

    Coconut rice pudding in a bowl with pineapple on top

    Coconut Rice Pudding

    This super creamy Coconut Rice Pudding, that happens to be vegan too, is total comfort food with a tropical twist.
    An illustration of a v-shaped plant in a pot.
    Vegan
    4.78 from 27 votes
    Pin Print
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: British, Caribbean, Thai
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes
    Allergen:
    An illustration of four different nuts.
    Nuts
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 247kcal
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    UK Metric Measures - US Customary Measures

    Rice Pudding:

    • 400 ml light coconut milk
    • 400 ml almond milk
    • 80 g pudding rice (arborio rice)
    • 3 tablespoon maple syrup
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

    Topping:

    • 0.5 pineapple chopped into 2cm chunks
    • 2 tablespoon maple syrup
    • Shredded coconut and nutmeg to serve

    Instructions

    • Put the rice into a pan.
    • Add the coconut milk, almond milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
    • Put on a medium heat and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and gently cook for 35-40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until it has thickened.
    • Chop the pineapple in to 1 inch/2cm chunks.
    • Put the pineapple and rest of the maple syrup into a frying pan.
    • Gently heat for 10 minutes.
    • Spoon the cooked rice pudding in to bowls and top with cooked cooked pineapple, coconut flakes and a dusting of nutmeg.

    Notes

    • You can swap the coconut and almond milk for any kind of milk, but it won't be as creamy.
    • Swap the pineapple for mango, but cook it in the same way, to mix things up a bit.
    • You can cook this in the slow cooker on high for 2-2.5 hours, but you might need to add a little bit more milk towards the end if it is too thick.
    • You can freeze this in individual portions or keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just make sure it has cooled completely before putting it in the fridge or freezer.
    • To see how to store the leftover pineapple, look at our post on how to reduce food waste.

    Nutritional Information

    Serving: 1portion | Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 135mg | Iron: 1.2mg
    Have you tried this recipe?Mention @hungryhealthyhappy on Instagram and tag #hungryhealthyhappy!
    DisclaimerThe nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Holly

      March 16, 2021 at 2:42 am

      Hi,

      I would like to try this recipe. What other forms of rice will work besides arborio rice?

      Thank you.

      Reply
      • Dannii

        March 16, 2021 at 7:08 am

        Arborio rice really does give the best results (you can find it in all major supermarkets, it is risotto rice). But other short grained rice can be used as a substitute.

        Reply
    2. Hayley

      February 04, 2021 at 9:55 am

      5 stars
      I made this yesterday and it was lovely. I used honey instead of the sweetener and topped it with berries instead of pineapple. Both of my children enjoyed it too.

      Reply
    3. Phoenix

      November 16, 2019 at 10:39 am

      1 star
      All the other (5 stars) reviews say 'this sounds great'. 'Can't wait to try'. Basically they left 5 stars but haven't made it.
      Well I actually made it and sad to say it tastes horrible. Stodgy, cardboard colour and cardboard flavour. Throwing it away. Note* the ingredients ask for almond milk (which I used) but the instructions ask for skimmed milk.

      Reply
      • Dannii

        November 16, 2019 at 11:19 am

        I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it. We make this recipe almost weekly and we love it and think it tastes far from like cardboard.It's very creamy and has a strong coconut taste. The skimmed milk was a typo and we have changed that now - thanks for telling us.
        Did you use the exact sweetener that we used in the recipe? And pudding rice?
        If it is too stodgy, which can happen if it is cooked at a higher temperature (it has to be turned down to a low simmer), you can always just add some more milk to make it creamier. As for the colour - it's rice pudding :)

        Reply
    4. Chris Collins

      April 18, 2019 at 9:50 am

      5 stars
      Love the idea of using coconut milk! What gorgeous flavours this must have!

      Reply
    5. Emily

      April 16, 2019 at 10:21 pm

      5 stars
      This looks so good! I fell in love with coconut rice when I was in Columbia last year and am so excited about this recipe!

      Reply
      • Susan

        January 26, 2022 at 7:59 pm

        5 stars
        Made this yesterday & we both loved it, really tasty.

        Reply
    6. Luci’s Morsels

      April 16, 2019 at 9:45 pm

      5 stars
      I LOVE the idea of using coconut milk in rice pudding. It’s auch a simple idea, but it sounds positively delicious!! I’ll have to try this soon!!

      Reply
    7. Pam Greer

      April 16, 2019 at 9:04 pm

      5 stars
      Rice pudding is pure comfort food and I love this tropical take on it!! Such fun flavors!

      Reply
    8. Adrianne

      April 16, 2019 at 8:39 pm

      5 stars
      Yes please! I like the sound of this dish. I think we could all use a little less sugar in our diets so this is perfect for what I am planning for dishes this weekend. Cheers!!

      Reply
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    Dannii in hat and glasses stood on a beach.

    Welcome! My name is Dannii. Here you will find easy family recipes with a healthy twist, along with travel, home and family life and general happiness.
    Established in 2011, Hungry Healthy Happy has become one of the UK's most popular food and lifestyle blogs, with two successful recipe books published.

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