Coconut rice pudding from the slow cooker

My slow cooker is definitely my best friend but until recently I had not used it to make a dessert until I made this super delicious and easy coconut rice pudding with banana. I used brown rice but you can substitute for arborio rice for a creamier effect or any white rice or brown rice will do.

Coconut rice pudding from the slow cooker

This coconut rice pudding is filled with tropical flavors. And while you normally have to pay close attention to a rice pudding if you’re making it on the stove top this slow cooker variant needs to attention at all. Just some time in the slowcooker. I used the following ingredients in the recipe:

• brown rice
• coconut milk
• almond milk
• palm sugar
• ginger
• banana
• cinnamon stick
• kaffir lime leave

Now the palm sugar can easily be replaced by brown sugar, coconut sugar or regular sugar. I only used 4 tablespoons of sugar in this recipe as I found it sweet enough due to the sweet banana that also went in. But if you have a sweet tooth you can add a cup sugar if you want. But I would use some constraints here. You can always serve it with some maple syrup if you find it needs something extra. You can also add a splash of vanilla extract to the slow cooker as well. For a tropical twist you can add a teaspoon of lemon grass or kaffir lime leave.

This coconut rice pudding is a vegan rice pudding recipe as I used non-dairy milk, but if you want you can add whole milk instead of the almond and coconut milk. I used canned coconut milk which is thicker than the tinned coconut milk that you would find in a package. There might be substantial differences depending on where you live though. I like to use the full fat coconut milk but you can substitute also for oat milk or another kind of milk.

Which rice to use for the rice pudding

Now the most logical for a rice pudding would be pudding rice maybe. But because this is made in the slow cooker it takes considerably longer and that’s why long grain rice is a perfect choice. The fun part about this slow cooker rice pudding recipe is that you can use just about any type of rice you want. The only exception would be maybe wild rice. I’ve made that once in a delicious rice pudding but it took forever to cook. Still possible though but maybe not the best choice. O and definitely not the one minute rice or whatever quick rice that is out there.

And no cauliflower rice either! That needs a whole different approach. If you would like to try that check this cauliflower rice pudding recipe.

Due to the low heat any rice will eventually cook. As mentioned I used brown rice but will make this soon with short grain rice too, just to see how it would react with sweet rice. I don’t think there is a best rice for this, so just go with what you have. 

How long in the slow cooker

As with any slow cooker recipes it needs a bit of time. I used a total of 5 hours for this coconut rice pudding and it was absolutely perfect. It is also easy to make up front and keep in the fridge. It will thicken in the fridge and get a bit stiff but you can loosen it again by reheating and maybe adding some more liquid to get it smooth and into a creamy rice pudding again. You can keep it in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Serving

You can serve the coconut rice pudding from the slow cooker as a delicious dessert or for breakfast too. I love adding some coconut flakes, some golden raisins and slices of banana for serving. Or add some fresh fruit as a topping.  It’s best served at room temperature. It’s the perfect comfort food. I’m pretty sure the whole family will love this crock pot rice pudding recipe. You can find the full recipe in the recipe card.

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