Arroz con Coco Blanco is a traditional Colombian rice dish from the coasts of the country. This coconut rice is an easy and simple side dish and it goes well with seafood.
This Arroz con Coco Blanco or Coconut Rice is a typical dish from the coast of Colombia and is simply delicious! It's creamy, soft and with amazing coconut flavor.
I remember having arroz con titoté and this recipe in Cartagena as a side dish with every meal and felt in love it with them.
This quick and easy coconut rice recipe is delicious. It's made with just 4 ingredients and under 30 minutes.
How to Make Coconut Rice
Place the rice in a small pot, add the coconut milk, sugar and salt.
Bring to a boil over medium high-heat. Stir once, cover and reduce heat to low, cook for 20 minutes
Do not remove the cover. Remove the pot from the heat and let it seat for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice using a fork and serve immediately.
Serve it as a side dish with seafood, stuff it into a burrito, or use it as the base of a rice bowl just add beans, corn, salsa, and guacamole.
If you are a fan of rice recipes and want to try a different recipe than your traditional white rice, this coconut rice recipe is a must-try.
What to Serve with this Dish
Rice with coconut pairs nicely with seafood dishes. Some of my favorite main dishes are grilled salmon, fried whole fish and battered fish.
More Side Dishes to Try:
Roasted Potatoes with Avocado Sauce
Coconut Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Cups long grain rice
- 4 Cups coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the rice in a small pot, add the coconut milk, sugar and salt.
- Bring to a boil over medium high-heat. Stir once, cover and reduce heat to low, cook for 20 minutes
- Do not remove the cover. Remove the pot from the heat and let it seat for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice using a fork and serve immediately.
Miranda
I’ve tried this three times now and no matter how long I let it simmer on low, it’s coming out kinda crunchy as if the rice itself is undercooked in the center. Any tips??
Patricia Wolf
Miranda, it might need to be cooked on lower temperature, add a bit of coconut water and seal to create a steam would help.
Daniela Jackson
This rice came out DELICIOUS! Next time I'm going to try it on a regular pan since I cooked it on a rice cooker and it was a little mushy
Anita Delahoz
My mother in law makes coconut rice like this all the time. Simetimes sge adds raisins too. She is from Barranquilla. I've never had the brown rice. I have never been able to perfect it like hers. So I'm really excited to try it.
Thank you
Anita
Cynthia
I lived in Colombia (Bogota) and my husband is from Monteria... with a home along the coast as well. As it is clear from posts above there are several ways to prepare coconut rice and other rice dishes from Colombia. When you are at a home in the coast, they will take down a coconut from the tree, opened it, drain, grate the entire coconut ( with a hand grater) while squeezing with fresh water to extrude coconut milk. That strained product, (with no bits of coconut) will be used just as in this recipe to make white coconut rice. Our families however, do not like mixing sweet and savory. The rice is prepared only with salt, no sugar. It is absolutely delicious and served often with fried fish and fried plantains, either thin (tostones) or thicker (patacón). For less work, in the US, the Erica's recipe is perfect. Some canned coconuts are oily, Thai versions best, or refrigerated coconut milk, or put coconut in the blender with water and strain it! Thanks for your recipe, Erica
Nicole
So simple and good.. Also a nice twist than plain white rice
Nicole
Look forward to trying your other rice dishes. I'm a 24 y/o mom of 2 babies.. At 18 my mom a polish immigrant passed away so I am learning on my own to imitate cuisines I love. Living in queens ny, it's a melting pot so I crave everything from across the globe. I bought 2 calderos small and medium . My rice game is still inconsistent . Mushy result in some cases but this method worked for me most definitely
Nicole
would be great plain. For my one yr old I decided to add a little corn sizzled it in a little coconut oil then added the rice/ milk also cut the recipe in half followed your directions and the texture was perfect . Went yummy with some salmon I made. I love coconut flavor and it is strongly present in this yummy side dish one can to one cup rice will make sure I always have some coco milk in my pantry for this lol
Ana
I made this arroz con coco for dinner last night . It was absolutely delicious , I served it with salmon.
Jaqui
Almost all countries in south & central America, and Caribbean serve a version coconut rice with a main meal. I think the 'color of the rice' being debated here is just based on a few variables like if you use white or brown sugar, 'burning' the sugar, and the 'pegao/con-con' at the bottom of the pan. Adding guandules, raisins and carrots are personal preferences & variations and could very well change the 'color'. Pointless debate on here if you as me. Anyways Erica, I am so glad I found your website. Your recipes look fabulous and I can't wait to try them. I'm a big fan of Colombian food and I always wanted to learn to make a few of my favs. Thanks for sharing! -Jaqui
Luz Gudgel
Hi I'm from Bogota Colombia we made smoke salmon and the coconut rice and fried plantain. It was superb !
Natalia
Hi I'm from Bogota Colombia and we make the Coconut Rice with raisins
Doris
My name is Doris and I am from Cartagena de Indias. I made this rice yesterday and it was the same rice my nana used to make for my family. She used fresh coconut milk, but the flavor was very similar. Thank you.
Liliana Maria
I am from the Pacific coast of Colombia and this is the way my mom and my grandmother make the" arroz coco blanco". I think that every family has a different way to make it around the country.
Carolina
Hi dear! I am colombian from the caribbean coast, and the actual recepy for coconut rice is a little bit diferent than the one you offer here.
Ingredients are ok but make sure if is possible to get the cocunut milk directly from a coconut (The flavor is better ). once you do that, you start frying the milk till it becomes thick (add brown sugar so you can give the rice itcharacteristic golden color). After the coconut mil is thick add more cocunut milk and a water, the you add the rice and the salt (For each 2 spoons of sugar add a small one with salt). You wait until its dry and voila! you got the original recepy.
Besos.
Fiorella
I am from Cartagena and my mom makes white coconut rice all the time. It is very popular. I grew up eating this rice as a side dish for our seafood dishes.
wacka-doo
My family is from barranquilla, and as far as I know the white style is how its done in cartagena, although we've found both styles in cartagena from vacationing there. In barranquilla I only know the brown style never the white. Also inthe browned coconut recipe u need to fry up ur rice a little more, it usually looks chalk colored withbits of black/dark brown.