Non-Dairy Crockpot Rice Pudding

My mother-in-law made my kids rice pudding while we were visiting them. She has a knack for making the perfect rice pudding. She diligently stands over the pot and makes sure it doesn’t stick or burn. She cooks it a long time too. At her house it was made with goat milk, but I just can’t savor the taste of goat milk pudding, so I often ate only a few bites. But the kids loved it.

On the day we left she armed me with four bags of pudding rice, the really small, fine beads of rounded pearl rice that make a nice thick pudding. So I got busy experimenting and came up with a recipe that is easy and tasty.

Ingredients:

2 cans of coconut milk (I use Thai Kitchen (contains guar gum) or Trader Joe’s). You have to be careful the brand you buy does not have additives, thickeners, or preservatives that are potential allergens.

1 cup of dry pudding rice (the smaller the grain the better the pudding!)

1 cup of water

Any kind of sweetener of your choice in any amount you desire

Directions:

I use a small 1 quart crockpot. I just plug it in and set it to high. I add the coconut milk, rice, and water. Then I give it a stir and cover it. About 2 1/2 to 3 hrs it should be done. I usually turn it off and let it sit for about an hour before serving it (as it is quite hot!). You could add more coconut milk to the individual bowls when you serve, or add raisins and cinnamon, and of course your sweetener. We add honey or sometimes a couple of tablespoons of evaporated cane juice. Some might not find that sweet enough.

I usually refrigerate the pudding in the crock pot container and then serve it cold the next day. The kids love this dessert.