This is the best arroz con leche or rice pudding recipe. Creamy, sweet and easy to make this recipe is my all time favorite dessert and a holiday classic in my family!
What is Arroz con Leche?
There are different variations of arroz con leche in Latin America, this is my family recipe and it is simple and very easy to make. It's basically a dessert made with rice, milk, sugar and cinnamon. It will be the highlight of any meal.
This Colombian-Style arroz con leche is sweet, creamy and delicious. The rice pudding will thicken more as it cools, so be careful not to overcook it. The best part of making this rice pudding recipe for a dinner party is that you can make it the day before and it will taste even better after chilled in the fridge overnight.
This is one of my favorite Colombian desserts. I hope you enjoy making my simple and easy Arroz con Leche recipe!
To make this rice pudding you will need
Long-grain white rice, cinnamon sticks, water, whole milk, pinch salt, butter, vanilla extract, sugar and sweetened condensed milk. The exact amounts, tips, and cooking instructions are listed in the printable recipe card below, you can also find the step by step video to make this arroz con leche below the recipe.
This rice pudding recipe is sweet, if you prefer your rice pudding less sweet, just add less sugar, but don't skip the sweet condensed milk, because it adds a wonderful flavor and texture to the dish.
Here are other Colombian desserts you may want to try:
Coffee Mousse (Esponjado de Café)
Colombian Fruit Cocktail (Salpicón de Frutas)
Fried Bananas (Bananos Calados)
Arroz con Leche Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain white rice washed
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2 cups water
- 4 cups milk
- Pinch salt
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 12 oz can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- In a small pot, add water and cinnamon sticks, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Set aside and discard cinnamon sticks.
- Place the rice and the cinnamon water in a large saucepan, over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add salt, butter, vanilla extract, 2 cups of milk, and sugar. Stir well to mix and cook uncovered for approximately 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium low. Add the remaining milk and condensed milk. Stir with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the rice pudding thickens to desire consistency.
- Stir well and remove from heat, and let it cool at room temperature. The consistency should be very creamy. Refrigerate for a least 1 hour or overnight.
Video
Notes
- Arroz con Leche can stay in the fridge up to 4 days.
- I like to use long grain rice to make this arroz con leche recipe
- If your rice is still hard or crunchy when all the liquid has been absorbed, add ¼ cup of more milk and ¼ of water and return to a simmer with the lid on.
- This rice pudding recipe is sweet, if you prefer your dessert less sweet add less sugar.
Louise
Hi Erica,
I'm British and live in London with my British-born Colombian boyfriend. As he hasn't been back there since he was a little boy he says he doesn't really feel much of a connection but you should see the look on his face whenever I cook something using your recipes. Always a big smile followed by a story of his memories. This is his favourite and I will be making it for dessert on Christmas day 🙂
Sindy
This is probably the best arroz con leche recepie I have come across. I did have a few grains of rice that were a little crunchy but still a yummy recepie.
Dusty
Probably would be great if rice cooked.:(
Felisha
Erica,
I made this again, 3 years from when I first tried it.. and this time it turned out great! I did not use the extra sugar.. for us the condensed milk was enough 🙂 Used 1% milk and fat free condensed milks...still turned out thick. Tried to cut some calories somewhere! Cooking the rice with the lid def. helped in steps 2 and 3, but on low heat. Very yummy.. my daughter's favorite 🙂
Carolina
Hi!
I'm not sure if this has been asked already, but do you use whole milk? We drink fat free and I was wondering if I would have the same results with it.
Thanks!
Erica
Carolina, I used whole milk, but you can try it with fat-free milk.
The whole milk makes a creamy rice pudding.
Yvonne
How many people will this feed? i need to make this for my spanish class of about 35
Erica
Yvonne- 6-8 regular servings
Elisa
Hi Erica
Thank you for your recipe, I just finished making the arroz con leche and it is delicious.
Ana
It tastes amazing thank you so much!
Nana
Hi, I just finished making this for the first time, and it's amazing! I wanted to try making it because the one I had at the Colombian restaurant was fantastic and wanted to see if I could make it myself. This recipe is great, easy to follow and easy to make! (Although I didn't use the sugar at all and just used the sweetened condensed milk.) Also, I didn't have any long grain rice so I decided to use Japanese sweet rice (mochi rice) and turned out awesome! Thanks for the delicious recipe 🙂
esmeralda
deliciosa ,, muchchsismas graciasss, yo le pongo un poco menos de azucar y queda perfecta graciassss
kendrys
hi im working on making this delicious desert but my fiance does not like butter on anything do i have to put butter?
Erica
Kendrys- You don't have to add butter, but the butter makes the rice pudding rich and delicious 🙂
Maria Carolina
Hi Erica!
I'm from Bucaramanga now living in Canada and can't wait to make my family your arroz con leche! However...I'm very health-conscious and was wondering if I could reduce the sugar down to about 1/4 cup? since some people mentioned it was too sweet.Thanks!
Erica
Maria Carolina- You can use less sugar. I like mine sweet.
Anonymous
this looks soooooo guud
Daniel
I am trying to make this recipe but for more people. Do you have any suggestions for me because it looks like the rice won't soak up all the liquid. I would appreciate any help that you could give me.
Sara
I also had trouble with the rice being too hard, so I added about another cup of milk and simmered on medium for the last 30 minutes. I also added about a 1/4 cup of raisins during the last 20 minutes. Delicious!
Sandy
Erica,
I made this for a party in Spanish class for our foreign exchange student from Columbia. Can't wait to see if he likes it. It is a little sweet for my taste but delicious!
Thanks!