Rice pudding is a soothing must-have for many people. The challenge here was figuring out how to create a delicious, healthier version that still had all of that creamy goodness without too much dairy. After a lot of tinkering together with my dessert maven, Wendy, we found that combining coconut milk—which has great nutritional qualities—and regular milk gave us the taste and consistency we were looking for, with a kick of flavor coming from the cardamom and orange. If you want to go completely dairy free, see the variation below.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　1/4 cup Arborio rice

　　2 cups water

　　2 1/2 cups organic milk

　　3/4 cup coconut milk

　　2 tablespoons maple syrup

　　1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

　　Pinch of sea salt

　　1/2 teaspoon orange zest

　　2 teaspoons vanilla extract

　　1/4 cup raisins or currants (optional)

　　Dried Fruit Compote (page 183), Blueberry Compote (page 185), or Seasonal Stewed Fruit (page 184), for serving

　　

Step 1

Combine the rice and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Drain the rice, rinse the saucepan, then put the milk, coconut milk, maple syrup, cardamom, and salt in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, turn down the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes; during the last 10 minutes of cooking, stir more frequently to prevent sticking or scorching. The pudding is done when the rice is tender and starts to stick to the bottom of the pan and the pudding has the consistency of loose oatmeal. It will thicken as it cools.

　　

Step 3

Remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest, vanilla, and raisins. Transfer to a heatproof bowl or serving dish and serve warm or chilled. If you’re serving it chilled and want to prevent a skin from forming, place a piece of parchment paper directly on the surface of the pudding and chill for at least 2 hours. Top with compote just before serving.

　　

variation

Step 4

To make a dairy-free version of this recipe, use 2 1/4 cups of soy milk or rice milk in place of the regular milk and increase the amount of coconut milk to 1 cup. The dairy-free version will take about 5 minutes less to cook.

　　

Step 5

To increase the yum factor, and for a bit of crunch, sprinkle some toasted coconut or sliced almonds on top before serving.

　　

storage

Step 6

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

　　

nutrition information

Step 7

(per serving)

　　

Step 8

Calories: 455

　　

Step 9

Total Fat: 9.4g (7.2g saturated, 1.1g monounsaturated)

　　

Step 10

Carbohydrates: 84g

　　

Step 11

Protein: 7g

　　

Step 12

Fiber: 12g

　　

Step 13

Sodium: 177mg

　　Excerpted from The Cancer Fighting Kitchen, copyright 2017 by Rebecca Katz and Met Edelson. Published with permission by Ten Speed Press.