A thick coconut-milk rice pudding spiced with cinnamon, clove, and ginger and studded with raisins, chilled until it can be cut into squares — Puerto Rico's beloved Christmas sweet.
Arroz con dulce sets the Spanish-Moorish rice pudding apart by trading dairy for coconut milk, a substitution that marks it unmistakably as boricua. It belongs above all to the long Puerto Rican Christmas season, from the holidays through Three Kings Day on January 6th, when pots of it simmer in kitchens across the island. Spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, and fresh ginger and dotted with raisins, it is cooked until thick, then chilled so firmly that it is cut and served in neat squares like a confection.
Cold and dense, it cuts cleanly like a soft cake, then dissolves into creamy, coconut-rich grains warmed by cinnamon, clove, and a faint ginger heat. Plump raisins give chewy sweet bursts, and the whole thing is rich without being cloying — a spoonful tastes like a Puerto Rican Christmas.
Long, slow simmering with frequent stirring releases the rice's starch, which thickens the coconut milk into a custard-like body that sets firm when cold. Steeping whole spices in water first extracts their aromatics without leaving gritty bits, and the coconut's fat carries those fat-soluble flavors evenly through every grain.
Variations
Some cooks add coconut flakes or top it with toasted coconut; a richer version uses only cream of coconut; raisins can be soaked in rum; the spice mix sometimes includes star anise or orange zest.
On the Palate
Where Arroz con Dulce sits in the Puerto Rican flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
7 steps · 40 min active + 20 min waiting
- 160 min
Rinse 1 cup medium-grain rice and soak it in water for 1 hour, then drain.
- 212 min
In a pot, simmer 4 cups water with 3 cinnamon sticks, 6 cloves, a sliced 2cm knob of fresh ginger, and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes to make a spiced infusion. Strain out the solids.
- 322 min
Return the spiced water to the pot, add the drained rice, and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the rice is tender and most liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Watch outSimmer and stir often until the rice is tender and most liquid is gone — this is where the starch starts to release and thicken the base.
- 411 min
Stir in 2 cups coconut milk and 1 cup cream of coconut, and continue simmering, stirring, for 10 minutes.
- 511 min
Add 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup raisins and cook another 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until very thick and the spoon leaves a trail.
Watch outCook until very thick and the spoon leaves a clear trail across the bottom — that's the point it will set firm when cold.
- 63 min
Pour into a shallow dish or individual ramekins and smooth the top. Dust with ground cinnamon.
- 720 min
Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least a few hours until firm. Cut into squares to serve cold.
