Cardamom and Tea

This coconut rice pudding is dairy-free and easily made vegan, since the egg is totally optional. You don’t actually need an egg for a rich and creamy rice pudding, but it sure does bring it to the next level.

Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or read on for a breakdown of its ingredients. I’ll explain what’s essential, what’s optional, and what each ingredient is contributing to the overall recipe.

coconut rice pudding simmering on the stove

Essential coconut rice pudding ingredients:

Coconut milk

For this recipe, I recommend using the kind of coconut milk that you find in a carton, not a can. The kind in a can is too heavy for such a long simmer. You can get away with using canned coconut milk + a decent amount of water, but that tends to be much less flavorful than using a carton of coconut milk instead.

Stick to the kind of coconut milk you might pour over your breakfast cereal, and you should be all set.

Sugar

Since I usually add mango on top, I don’t love adding a lot of sugar to the rice pudding itself. I usually add a bit less than what this recipe calls for, but I find that the amount of sugar in this recipe tends to be a crowd-pleaser.

Whether you’re like me or you’ve got a sweet tooth, it’s always a good idea to add the sugar to taste, adding some, stirring to dissolve, tasting, and adjusting as needed.

Coconut flakes

I mean, they’re just a topping. These have very little to do with the structure of the pudding. If you don’t include them, it’s not like your coconut rice pudding will turn out wonky or anything. But whatever you do, do not skip the toasted coconut flakes. You just can’t get that toasted flavor anywhere else, and they really make the dish.

You can toast your coconut flakes however you like, in either the oven or microwave. Either way, the key is to keep a very close eye on them. They will go from white to burnt at the drop of a hat. Either finely shredded desiccated coconut or big, chunky coconut flakes will work here. Use whatever you love the texture of, and make sure you toast them.

My favorite way to toast coconut flakes is in the microwave using this method. That’s how I toasted the desiccated coconut in the photos and video in this post.

coconut rice pudding with mango and coconut flakes

Optional ingredients:

The (optional) egg

It’s not necessary to add an egg to this recipe to ensure that it thickens. As long as you let your rice simmer for long enough, it will thicken even without the egg.

The egg does have a bit of thickening power, but much more than that, it gives the pudding a super rich and creamy texture. Feel free to simply leave it out if you prefer a lighter consistency or want to keep it vegan.

The (optional) mango

If you’ve ever had Thai sticky rice with mango, I don’t have to tell you: There is no better combination than rice, mango, and coconut. But the mango in this recipe is as optional as the egg (that is, entirely!).

However, if you are reducing the amount of granulated sugar in this recipe, I do recommend adding the mango, because it contributes a ton of sweetness.

Coconut Rice Pudding (dairy-free/vegan)

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Yield: 2 large, 3 medium, or 4 small servings

Ingredients

2/3 cup [130 g] short or medium grain rice
4 cups [960 g] unsweetened coconut milk beverage*
1/4 cup [50 g] sugar (or to taste)
1 pinch salt
1 egg, whisked (completely optional)
Optional toppings: toasted coconut flakes and/or mango slices

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Instructions

Combine the rice and coconut milk in a small dutch oven or large, wide saucepan**. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently with a flat wooden or silicone spatula.
Once it comes to a simmer, gradually reduce the heat to low or medium-low to maintain a simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice breaks down and the whole thing thickens significantly. Scrape the bottom of the pot as you stir with your flat spatula to make sure it does not scorch.
Once it has thickened, stir in the sugar and salt, to taste. If using the egg, whisk one spoonful at a time of the rice pudding into the egg until you’ve added about 1/2 cup.*** Then pour the egg mixture into the pot and immediately whisk together. Continue to whisk over low heat until bubbles break the surface, and then remove from heat.
Spoon into small bowls. Serve hot or chilled, topping it with mango and/or toasted coconut right before serving.

Notes

* This is the kind that comes in a carton and is meant to be poured over cereal, not the kind that comes in a can and is meant to be simmered in a Thai curry. 4 cups is the same as a 32 fl oz or 1 quart carton.

** If your pot/saucepan is narrow, it may take longer for your rice pudding to thicken (evaporation is one thing that makes it thicken, and liquid evaporates more slowly from a narrow pot).

*** If you don’t feel like bothering with tempering, you can get away with slowly drizzling the egg in. Keep the rice pudding moving with the whisk in one hand, gradually pouring in a thin stream of the egg with the other hand. Don’t let it stop moving. It will not be as perfect and streak-free, but this is the way I make it when I’m just cooking for myself (and how I make it in the video for this post). If you’re making it for guests, you might want to go the extra mile and temper it. To be fair, it does take like 30 extra seconds.

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I’ve got to admit: “lentil hummus” makes no sense. The thing is, “hummus” literally means “chickpeas” in Arabic, so the title of this recipe technically means “lentil chickpeas,” which sounds very silly indeed. But do you know what does make sense?

Making a creamy, lemony, tahini-based dip out of red lentils. They take literally 10 minutes to get super soft, at which point we blend them up with all the usual hummus ingredients. I got the idea from my friend Mai from the food blog Almond and Fig. In her blog post, she says it best:

This dip has the consistency of creamy hummus, although nothing will ever replace traditional hummus in my book. […] But when I am crunched for time I love making a recipe like this as the lentils don’t need to be presoaked like the chickpeas.

And that’s just it: hummus made from dried chickpeas is the absolute best kind of hummus. I actually have a recipe for hummus made from dried chickpeas with a trick that lets you skip the soak… but even so! They still take a long time to cook and become super soft. That’s why red lentils are such a great shortcut. This lentil hummus has all the creaminess of hummus made from dried beans, without any of the waiting around.

Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running or read on for a bit more info.

Tips for lentil “hummus” success

1. Salt, salt salt!

This is an important thing to consider for hummus made from any dried bean or legume. Even low sodium canned chickpeas and lentils usually have a dash of salt added. But the ingredients going into this recipe are all entirely unsalted. If you’re used to making hummus, you may need to add more salt than you usually do, so taste and adjust as necessary. I showed how much salt I added in the video attached to this recipe (about 3/4 teaspoon), but I even sometimes add a bit more at the table.

2. Just (don’t) add water

I say the same thing in my recipe for hummus made from dried chickpeas: do not add water to this recipe. The beautiful thing about making chickpeas with a good amount of baking soda is that they turn to total mush. They would be dreadful on a salad, but they’re perfect for hummus.

Split red lentils on the other hand? They don’t need any help from baking soda. Turning to mush is what red lentils were born to do 😎

After a 7 to 10 minute simmer, they’ve absorbed a ton of water and really don’t need any more. We’re going to add a decent amount of lemon juice, which adds just enough moisture to bind with the tahini, turning it into a super creamy dip.

3. Plate it shallow (not deep)

I try to remember to say this in just about every hummus recipe I ever write, and I learned it from my mom and grandmother: When you’re plating your hummus, don’t do it in a cereal bowl. Don’t do it in a soup bowl. Find a deep plate or very shallow bowl (pasta bowls tend to work great) so that your hummus has lots of surface area. That way you can top it with olive oil and spices, and every bite will get some of that topping.

Many hummus recipes have you add olive oil directly to the mix, but I much prefer the kind I grew up with, drizzled with a layer of olive oil and sprinkled with spices. I can’t imagine plating it any other way, and I highly recommend trying it. Just make little indentations across the surface, drizzle, and sprinkle. You can’t go wrong!