Arroz con Leche — Print Recipe

Creamy cinnamon-spiced rice pudding made with whole milk and condensed milk, served warm or cold with a generous dusting of ground cinnamon.

Ingredients

1 cup long grain white rice
3 cups whole milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cinnamon sticks
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Ground cinnamon for serving
Raisins optional

Instructions

1 Cook rice in two cups of water with cinnamon sticks until water is absorbed and rice is tender, about fifteen minutes.
2 Add whole milk gradually, stirring frequently over medium-low heat. Let the rice absorb the milk slowly, about fifteen minutes.
3 Stir in condensed milk, lemon zest, vanilla, and salt. Continue cooking and stirring until thick and creamy, about ten more minutes.
4 Remove cinnamon sticks. The pudding should coat the back of a spoon and be thick but still pourable.
5 Serve warm in bowls with a generous dusting of ground cinnamon. Can also be refrigerated and served cold.

Did You Know?

In El Salvador, arroz con leche is traditionally made in large pots for community events and church celebrations, with each cook guarding their secret ratio of milks.