We grew up with the most amazing extended family. Each of our parents has 7-9 siblings and so you can only imagine how many cousins we have in each of our clans. Family is everything to us and we are so thankful for the tightness and the bond we share with them. Since we started this fall recipe series, we thought what better way to share a fall dessert than to do one that is close to home. This arroz con leche recipe and our hojarascas recipe are our faves right now!
Our Tía Mimi makes this treat whenever the weather starts to get cooler and it is such a delight! Fall is here!! Today is officially the first day of all so we are sharing our take on Arroz con Leche! If you have never heard of “Arroz con Leche” let us just say it is sweet, warming and calming. It has an amazing aroma of cinnamon and it literally is just to die for. You can eat this for breakfast, as a snack and for dessert – it is the ultimate indulgence. Our Papi lovessssss Arroz con Leche! He drives over to Fiesta (local Latino food store in Houston) to get his little Arroz con Leche fix! Some would say it is similar to rice pudding… but we think it is way better! We found a recipe that we thought was basic and simple, doesn’t require a lot of time, and is easy for anyone.
Max and Cali are great kitchen helpers. They love to be close and watch our every move. Even though sometimes we get bothered by them always being in our way and tripping us, they are the cutest! 
This is how your Arroz will look once it’s thickened to perfection!!! Now you are ready to serve it up!
Now we present to you how do you make Arroz con Leche in a quick and efficient way that is the perfect dessert to take to a party or hang out with friends.
Arroz on Leche
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 7 cups of water
- 1 cup of long grain rice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup of granulated sugar OR 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups of whole milk
- ground cinnamon for dusting
Directions
Put the water and rice with a cinnamon stick into a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil and then let it cook for 18 minutes. Once the rice is tender, strain it out and bring it back to the same saucepan. Stir in whole milk and sugar (or sweetened condensed milk if you decide to use that instead of sugar). Continue to cook the rice in the saucepan and bring to another boil. Once it is boiling, reduce heat to low and cook it for 20 minutes until rice has become thick and creamy. After the mixture has thickened, remove from heat and add in vanilla. Stir in the vanilla and now you are ready to serve warm, or store in an airtight container in the fridge! When you serve you can add a cinnamon stick and dust some cinnamon over the top, who doesn’t like cinnamon…am I right!?!? It makes it so much better!
Nutrition Facts
Recipe with sugar: 207 calories, 3g fat
Recipe with sweetened condensed milk: 374 calories, 10g fat
What is awesome about making arroz con leche is that you can add whatever you would like to it. Some recipes call for raisins, others add nuts of your choice for a little crunch and some even add rum for that little kick! There are a variety of things you can do to make the recipe your own!
We changed the sweetener for the second batch of our Arroz con Leche and it made a big difference! This is just a preference, but you can try both out and see what you think! We switched out the sugar for sweetened condensed milk and in our opinion, we prefer it because the taste is more authentic and closer to the arroz con leche we’ve had from our family members. The sweetened condensed milk is higher in fat and calories, but you can determine if it’s worth it or not haha. It is absolutely mouthwatering and the best treat when the weather cools down and you want something warm and filling!
You can serve up your Arroz Con Leche with some hojarascas (or what we call them, polvorones) on the side, and the treat just gets so much better! Stay tuned for the recipe of hojarascas coming at ya tomorrow!
We hope you enjoy this recipe and give it a try! Let us know if you liked it, we love your feedback!
Hi Sami,
I just wanted to say thank you for posting this recipe. I’ve been looking for the recipe but I couldn’t remember the name of the cookies! Lol! I lost touch with the person who made them. I will definitely be baking these to add to my baked gift trays for friends. I love to cook and bake traditional dishes and desserts. I lost my sweet mama just recently in June of this year so I find comfort in cooking her recipes for things like chilies rellenos and homemade salsa. Such great memories! I have comfort in the fact that she is with the Lord Jesus in heaven and that I’ll be seeing her again one day. Praise Jesus! God bless you and your family! Merry Christmas!! 🙏😇💝🙌
Awwww ths is so sweet! Thank you so much for your comment Natalie! They are such delicious cookies and so easy to make! Once we realized how easy they were we were so excited! Im so sorry about your mom, prayers to you and your family. God bless you! Have a Merry Christmas!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!! This is by far the Best Rice Rice Pudding ever! Delicious
Most authentic recipe I could find, thanks!