Arroz Doce
A hearty Portuguese dessert built around short-grain rice, water and whole milk — roughly 60 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 5 steps.
You'll mainly reach for pan and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 5 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (1)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Bring the water to a boil with the lemon peel, the cinnamon stick and a pinch of salt, then stir in the rice and simmer it uncovered over low heat for about 10 minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed.
- Warm the milk in a separate pan and pour it into the rice a little at a time, stirring often, then let it cook gently for 18 to 20 minutes until the grains turn soft and the mixture is creamy yet still loose.
- Stir in the sugar and butter and keep cooking for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly so nothing catches on the bottom, then fish out and discard the lemon peel and cinnamon stick.
- Beat the egg yolks in a bowl and temper them with a ladleful of the hot rice while whisking, then return everything to the pan and cook over the lowest heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, without ever letting it boil, so the yolks thicken the pudding instead of scrambling.
- Spoon the pudding into shallow dishes or onto one large platter, let it cool slightly so it sets, and dust it generously with ground cinnamon in stripes or a lattice before serving it warm or chilled.
You'll use: Pan · Saucepan · Whisk
Ingredient substitutions
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
- Lemon
- lime · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar per lemon
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
What to serve with Arroz Doce
Tips & common questions
How long does Arroz Doce take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 5 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of milk?
Try any unsweetened plant milk. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Arroz Doce vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Arroz Doce is an original Portuguese recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Arroz Doce (rice pudding) at street food stall during Santos Populares (Popular Saints Festival) in Lisbon, Portugal (55181217238).jpg by Philip Mallis from Melbourne, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.