Instant Pot Arroz con Dulce

Fragrant with warm spices and ginger, this Instant Pot Arroz con Dulce (Puerto Rican Rice Pudding) gets its creamy richness from coconut milk and eggs, and it’s gluten and dairy free. Your Instant Pot/pressure cooker saves you the time spent stirring at the stove, and the resulting pudding will rival the best!

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks – About Rice Pudding Variations

You’ll find rice pudding variations all over the globe. In India you may find doodh pak – a sweet rice dessert with milk, saffron, cardamom, and almonds. In New England, your rice pudding may feature maple syrup. An Arabic muhalibiyya features milk, rice flour, sugar, and rose water. This is just “the tip of the iceberg”…

What rice pudding variations will we find in Latin American countries? A Mexican Arroz con leche may include tequila soaked raisins, orange peel, cinnamon, even chocolate, and some may be thickened with egg. Arroz con leche in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica includes spices like anise and star anise. So. Many. Options.

I landed on Puerto Rican inspired arroz con dulce (at least in part) because of the coconut milk. We are cutting back on dairy, and I love all things coconut. Making a dairy free rice pudding seemed a natural choice.

I knew I wanted to make my rice pudding in my pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot). I borrowed the technique for this recipe from my friend Barbara at Pressure Cooking Today. If you love your Instant Pot, head over and give her blog a look!

📋 Ingredients Notes

Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.

• whole spices – Cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cloves are typical.
• fresh ginger
• arborio rice – This arroz con dulce recipes requires short-grained rice.
• coconut milk – This is the coconut milk found in a can in the Asian foods section of your market. It adds the coconut flavor that makes this rice pudding “Puerto Rican.”
• non-dairy coconut milk – This the non-dairy coconut milk found in the “Dairy” section of your market. You can substitute dairy or other non-dairy milk.
• eggs
• sugar
• vanilla
• dried fruit – Dried cranberries, dried cherries, or raisins are great options!

🔪 Instructions

1. Make the spiced cooking liquid – YES, this step is worth it! Add water, spices, and ginger to a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle boil. Reduce water to about 1 ½ cups. If you need to add a bit of water to bring it to 1 ½ cups, that’s fine.
2. Prepare the rice – Pour spice infused water through a strainer into the IP/pressure cooker. Add arborio rice and salt. Lock lid in place. Set to 3 minutes. Keep in mind the time to full pressure varies. If you start with hot water, it reduces the time. After 10 minutes natural pressure release, open to release any remaining pressure. 
3. Prepare the coconut milk – While the rice cooks, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla together.
4. Add the coconut milk and egg mixture – When the pressure is released, whisk in the coconut milk and eggs mixture. Select sauté setting and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to boil. Turn off pressure cooker. Remove pot from the pressure cooker. Stir in dried fruit.
5. Finish the arroz con dulce – Mixture will thicken as it cools. Allow to cool about 20 minutes to serve warm, or refrigerate and chill. Garnish as desired with whipping cream (non-dairy if dairy is a problem), cinnamon or fresh grated nutmeg, etc. If you really want to get fancy, garnish with candied cranberries.

💭 Tips

Don’t confuse coconut milk (in a can) with non-dairy coconut milk (in a carton). You need the coconut flavor from the coconut milk. You can substitute nut milk (or even dairy milk) for the non-dairy coconut milk.

If you’re not concerned about dairy, by all means, use real whipped cream! There are some decent non-dairy options, or you can omit.

❓ FAQ

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Arroz con Dulce – Puerto Rican Rice Pudding

Tamara Andersen

A spice infused, thick non-dairy rice pudding made in the IP/pressure cooker with no stirring necessary!

5 from 7 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Additional Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 48 minutes mins

Course Instant Pot and Slow Cooker

Cuisine Latin

Servings 6 servings

Calories 300 kcal

Equipment

• Instant Pot LUX60V3 V3 6 Qt 6-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker
• Anchor Hocking Presence Mini Trifle Bowl, Set of 8

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 cups water
• 3 cinnamon sticks - 3-4″ each
• 3 star anise
• 8 cloves
• 4-5 thin slice fresh ginger
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 ½ cups spice infused water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut milk - see notes
• 1 cup non-dairy coconut milk - see notes
• 2 eggs - beaten
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup dried cranberries - dried cherries, or raisins
• non-dairy whipped cream - see notes for garnish
• cinnamon or fresh grated nutmeg for garnish

Instructions

• Add water, spices, and ginger to a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle boil. Reduce water to about 1 1/2 cups. If you need to add a bit of water to bring it to 1 1/2 cups, that’s fine.
• Pour spice infused water through a strainer into the IP/pressure cooker. Add arborio rice and salt.
• Lock lid in place. Set to 3 minutes. Keep in mind the time to pressurize varies. If you start with hot water, it reduces the time.
• While the rice cooks, whisk together the coconut milk through vanilla together.
• When the pressure is released, whisk in the coconut milk and eggs mixture.
• Select sauté setting and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to boil. Turn off pressure cooker. Remove pot from the pressure cooker. Stir in dried fruit.
• Mixture will thicken as it cools. Allow to cool about 20 minutes to serve warm, or refrigerate and chill.
• Before serving, garnish as desired.

Notes

Don’t confuse coconut milk (in a can) with non-dairy coconut milk (in a carton). You need the coconut flavor from the coconut milk. You can substitute nut milk (or even dairy milk) for the non-dairy coconut milk.

If you’re not concerned about dairy, by all means, use real whipped cream! There are some decent non-dairy options, or you can omit.

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g

NOTE: Macronutrients are an approximation only using unbranded ingredients and MyFitnessPal.com. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and/or star rating! Email us with any questions: tamara@beyondmeresustenance.com

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