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    Home » Central America » How to Make Arroz con Leche

    How to Make Arroz con Leche

    Published on Jan 27, 2022 Modified: Aug 7, 2020 by Alexandria Drzazgowski.

    Jump to Recipe

    Arroz con Leche is a rice pudding made by cooking the rice with 3 milks and cinnamon for a sweet taste of Mexico everyone will love!

    Bowl of sweetened rice with 2 cinnamon sticks in the middle.

    Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!

    I tried learning how to make Arroz con Leche a few years ago in my pressure cooker, but I never could quite get it right. The end result always turned out a tad too thick for my liking. So, this year I set out to really perfect my recipe… And here it is! 

    This dessert is popular in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Spain, Peru, and so many other countries in Central and South America. I imagine that they make a similar dessert in Honduras.

    It is made with milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk (sound familiar? Just like this Tres Leches Cake!) and can be topped with raisins and cinnamon. Keep reading for the recipe, topping ideas, potential adjustments, and more. 

    Jump to:
    • Why Make this Recipe
    • What Do I Need to Make this Recipe? 
    • How to Make this Recipe
    • Expert Tips
    • Adjustments
    • Troubleshooting: If Your Recipe Is…. 
    • Recipe FAQs
    • How To Make Arroz con Leche

    Why Make this Recipe

    1. Taste of Mexico: If you love Mexican food and want to taste a typical Mexican dessert, this is a great option! 
    2. Easy to Prepare: Though rice pudding takes a while to cook, it is relatively easy to prepare. And very forgiving!  

    What Do I Need to Make this Recipe? 

    Ingredients

    Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

    Measured ingredients to prepare the dessert.
    1. Rice: Use Long Grain White Rice if you can. You can also sub Jasmine rice if necessary. Wash your rice before adding it into the pot. 
    2. Milk: I use 2% milk. You can also use whole milk if you’d prefer! I would not recommend using skim or lowfat milk, as it will make the final dish too thin. 
    3. Evaporated Milk: This comes in a can, normally in the baking aisle.

    Tools 

    1. Large Pot & Lid
    2. Wooden Spoon

    How to Make this Recipe

    [adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”qnvdUoOE” upload-date=”2022-01-19T18:55:23.000Z” name=”Arroz con Leche” description=”Arroz con Leche is a rice pudding made by cooking the rice with 3 milks and cinnamon for a sweet taste of Mexico everyone will love!” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]

    Step 1: Cook the Rice

    Water and rice with salt in a pan.

    Add water, rice, 1 cinnamon stick, and salt into a pot. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

    Step 2: Add the Milks

    Add the milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and the other cinnamon stick into the pot. 

    Cover again and cook on a low heat for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep stirring so that the milk does not burn on the bottom of the pot. 

    Remove the lid and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the desired consistency is reached. Continue stirring so that the milk does not burn. 

    Left photo of milks added to the rice/cinnamon mixture. Right photo of the cover being removed to finish cooking the sweetened rice.

    Step 3: Serve and Enjoy 

    Let the rice cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm or refrigerated, topping with raisins if desired. 

    Expert Tips

    Bowl of sweetened rice with cinnamon sticks on top and a spoon tucked in.
    • There shouldn’t be much extra water left over after the first 15 minutes of cooking the rice. Tilt the pan to make sure that most of the water is absorbed. There should only be a few tablespoons of water left if there is any at all. If there is more than this, cover the rice again and cook for a few more minutes. 
    • If there is still a little bit of extra water in the rice, do not drain it before adding the milk. 
    • For even more cinnamon flavor, let the cinnamon stick boil in the water by itself for a few minutes before adding the rice (almost like you’re making Cinnamon Tea!)
    • Don’t skip the resting step at the end of the recipe! It is important for the texture of the dish. 

    Adjustments

    Adding Raisins

    If you are serving your arroz with raisins, you can soak the raisins beforehand (in rum, water, etc) to rehydrate them a bit before adding them back into your pudding. You can also add them in as is. 

    Other Flavors

    I have seen recipes prepared with cloves and nutmeg simmered into the rice as well. Feel free to do this if the tastes appeal to you!

    I have also seen some recipes adding a lime peel into the boiling water with the rice, which will keep the rice from getting TOO sweet. I have never personally tried this, but it is an option if you’d like. 

    Make it Sweeter

    If you have a huge sweet tooth (like me!), feel free to add some extra sugar into your recipe to make it even sweeter.

    Add the sugar, ¼ cup at a time, around the same time you add the milk into the pot. As you taste the Arroz con Leche, you can add more sugar if you think your recipe needs it. 

    Topping Ideas

    This recipe is delicious on its own, but adding more toppings to it will just take it up to a whole other level. Here are some great topping ideas for you to try out: 

    • Ground cinnamon 
    • Nutmeg 
    • Raisins
    • Honey 

    Let me know if you try anything else! 

    Troubleshooting: If Your Recipe Is…. 

    Too Thick 

    If your Arroz is too thick, feel free to add more milk into the pot as it is cooking. You can add as much milk as you’d like in order to reach your desired consistency. 

    Too Thin

    If it’s too thin, you can continue stirring it on the stove with the lid off until it reaches your desired consistency. 

    Putting your dessert in the fridge overnight also allows the rice to soak up a lot of the extra liquid, leaving your rice pudding thicker than the day before. 

    Recipe FAQs

    Glass cups of the dessert garnished with cinnamon sticks and raisins.
    How to Store Leftovers 

    This recipe makes quite a bit of rice pudding, so if you have leftovers, you can definitely store them!

    Put the leftovers in an airtight container and put it in the fridge. It will stay good for another 3-4 days. 

    How to Reheat

    If you want to reheat your leftovers, you can simply put them in the microwave.

    If you’d prefer to reheat them on the stove, this is an option too! As mentioned above, the rice pudding will thicken in the fridge, so, depending on your preference, you may need to thin it out before reheating. 

    In this case, I add a little splash of milk to my bowl and stir it together until it is thinned out.

    Did you enjoy this article on How to Make Arroz con Leche? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you: 

    • Caakiri (Couscous Pudding) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • Muhammar Sweet Rice from Bahrain
    • Pineapple Coconut Agua Fresca Recipe
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    A bowl of arroz con leche topped with sprinkled cinnamon and cinnamon sticks.

    How To Make Arroz con Leche

    5 from 9 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 170kcal
    Author: Alexandria Drzazgowski

    Equipment

    • Pot(s)
    • Wooden Spoon

    Ingredients

    • 2 ½ cups water
    • 1 cup long grain white rice
    • 2 cinnamon sticks, divided
    • ¼ tsp salt
    • 2 cups milk
    • 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, can
    • 12 oz evaporated milk, can
    • Raisins, optional for serving

    Instructions

    • Add 2 ½ c water, 1 c rice, 1 cinnamon stick, and ¼ tsp salt into a pot. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
    • Add the 2 c milk, can of sweetened condensed milk, can of evaporated milk, and the other cinnamon stick into the pot. Cover again and cook on a low heat for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep stirring so that the milk does not burn on the bottom of the pot.
    • Remove the lid and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the desired consistency is reached. Continue stirring so that the milk does not burn.
    • Let the rice cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm or refrigerated, topping with raisins if desired.

    Notes

    Recipe copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational and personal use only. 
    Recipe was made using an 8 qt pot.
    • Rice: Use Long Grain White Rice if you can. You can also sub Jasmine rice if necessary. Wash your rice before adding it into the pot. 
    • Milk: I use 2% milk. You can also use whole milk if you’d prefer! I would not recommend using skim or lowfat milk, as it will make the Arroz con Leche too thin. 
    • Evaporated Milk: This comes in a can, normally in the baking aisle.
    • There shouldn’t be much extra water left over after the first 15 minutes of cooking the rice. Tilt the pan to make sure that most of the water is absorbed. There should only be a few tablespoons of water left if there is any at all. If there is more than this, cover the rice again and cook for a few more minutes. 
    • If there is still a little bit of extra water in the rice, do not drain it before adding the milk. 
    • For even more cinnamon flavor, let the cinnamon stick boil in the water by itself for a few minutes before adding the rice (almost like you’re making Cinnamon Tea!)
    • Don’t skip the resting step at the end of the recipe! It is important for the texture of the dish.
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 106mg | Potassium: 212mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 168IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @TheForeignFork or tag #TheForeignFork!

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    Sharing is caring!

    1006 shares

    Central America Dessert Mexico North America Rice Costa Rica

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Felix Hernandez says

      March 18, 2024 at 3:43 pm

      5 stars
      Don’t get me wrong ( it tasted good) but there was more liquid than rice, had enough for one bowl, so this time I added 3 cups of rice and only 1.75 of water and the rest of the liquids, still came out good.

      Reply
      • Alexandria Drzazgowski says

        March 19, 2024 at 11:08 am

        Thank you for the feedback Felix! I’m glad you found an adaptation that you love 🙂

        Reply
    2. Shirley Gonzalez says

      November 18, 2023 at 8:44 pm

      5 stars
      Very very good recipe.. loved it

      Reply
      • Alexandria Drzazgowski says

        November 20, 2023 at 4:37 pm

        Thank you Shirley! I am so glad you liked the recipe 🙂

        Reply
    3. Raul Espinoza says

      April 06, 2023 at 11:04 am

      5 stars
      Just like mom used to make.

      Reply
      • The Foreign Fork says

        April 09, 2023 at 9:20 pm

        So glad to hear it, Raul! Thank you for the comment 🙂

        Reply
    4. Katie Jo says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:08 am

      5 stars
      Ohhh man we made this for dessert tonight and it is SO yummy! Super easy, too. Plus it feels breakfast-y enough that I’ll probably eat it for that with my blueberries tomorrow… lol

      Reply
      • The Foreign Fork says

        June 18, 2020 at 12:40 am

        Haha I love your mindset, it sound like a great breakfast! 😉

        Reply
    5. Barbara says

      June 16, 2020 at 9:11 pm

      Can I use almond milk?

      Reply
      • The Foreign Fork says

        June 18, 2020 at 12:16 am

        Hi Barbara! I’ve never tried it with almond milk before, but I don’t see why not! If you try it, let me know what you think.

        Reply
    5 from 9 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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