An easy-to-make and deliciously creamy arroz con leche recipe (rice pudding) made Cuban-style with sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, and lemon zest!
My mom is a self-taught cook. She learned all the things and she learned them well. She’s a Virgo after all. We all, however, are forever our own worst critics.
Needless to say, she often found flaws in her meals. “Was it too salty?” “Was it overcooked?” But it never is. It’s always perfect. We always tell her she’s crazy and gobble everything up in seconds. This arroz con leche is no exception. It’s a flawless recipe that is YEARS old and cherished in my family. Along with many other recipes, of course. Mami is a legend.
What is arroz con leche?
Arroz con leche is a sweet rice pudding made by cooking down the rice with milk and spices until you get a creamy consistency. There are tons of different versions of this recipe but this one is my mom’s recipe.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Uncooked long-grain white rice: Technically, you can use any rice for this recipe. I prefer long-grain white rice.
- Water: Needed for initially cooking the rice.
- Zest from one lemon: Adds a lot of brightness to the rice pudding.
- Cinnamon: Adds a sweet, spicy, woody flavor to this dish.
- Whole milk and sweetened condensed milk: Both of these together cook the rice into that delicious creamy consistency!
- Vanilla extract + salt: The perfect flavor enhancers.
How To Make this Arroz Con Leche Recipe
This Cuban-style rice pudding is simple to make and as deliciously creamy as I remember it to be as a kid.
This is what cooking is all about after all. Attaching memories to food experiences and cooking adventures. It’s what I’ll always remember about my childhood and what I, myself, strive to do in my own kitchen. Making arroz con leche is easy.
- Cook the rice. You first cook the rice in a saucepan with water, lemon zest, and a cinnamon stick. After 10-15 minutes, the rice should be soft.
- Make the rice pudding. Drain any excess water and remove the cinnamon stick. Add milk, condensed milk, salt, and vanilla extract to the rice and cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until thick.
- Serve in these adorable dark blue mini cocottes with ground cinnamon on top. That’s all folks!
I hope you make this arroz con leche and LOVE it as much we do!
Other recipes you may like:
- Cuban White Rice (Arroz Blanco)
- Cream Cheese Flan (Flan de Queso)
- Individual Tiramisu Cups
- Coquito Sugar Cookies (Puerto Rican Eggnog)
Arroz Con Leche Recipe (Cuban-Style Rice Pudding)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Zest from one lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon for garnish
Instructions
- In a saucepan, add the rice with water, lemon zest and cinnamon stick. Cook until the rice is soft, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and drain off any excess water. (Most of the water should be absorbed into the rice.) Place saucepan back on the stove.
- Add milk, condensed milk, salt, and vanilla extract to rice and cook over low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally until thick, for about 1 hour.
- Remove from heat. Serve, sprinkle with ground cinnamon and enjoy!
Hi! I too love my abuela’s arroz con leche!! Cubans make it the best in my opinion…lol. Now where in your recipe do you add the leche condensada? I don’t see it in the recipe.
Judie! Thank you for bringing this to my attention! I was so leche condensada excited that I missed it in the recipe – oy vei. Recipe is now updated! And yes I agree with you – Cubans make it best… but I’m biased ;)
Hey, it doesn’t say what size condensed milk to use?
14 oz! Sorry about that. I updated the recipe. Thanks for the heads up!
Question…regular long grain white or valencia ?
Long grain white rice
Whenever I ask Mami for the arroz con leche recipe she rattles off ingredients without measurements! I am a horrible cook and need exacts. After a few failed attempts with other recipes, I found yours and It’s a success! I did add an additional cup of whole milk during the last 10 minutes just to cut the sweetness a bit. I am sitting here scraping the bottom of the sauce pan while I type! Delish!
First time here but this recipe was awesome. The only thing I changed was adding only 1/2 of the condensed milk because I don’t like it too sweet. But everything from the texture to the flavor was great! Thanks for the recipe!
Happy you loved the recipe, Maria!
In the first step, cooking the raw rice, does the rice need to have a soft center (fully cooked) before adding the milks?
Yes
Hello I’m looking forward to trying your recipe. Those I knew that made this always added a can of evaporated milk. Does the 2 cups of whole milk replace a can of evaporated milk? Thank you
Hi! I’ve never made this with evaporated milk so I can’t really say. I always use whole milk and it always comes out creamy and delicious!
I can’t wait to try the recipe. I don’t have whole milk. I have heavy cream and 2% milk. Which do you recommend?
I’d recommend heavy cream so it’s super creamy (2% doesn’t have enough fat). To replace the 2 cups of whole milk, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of water to dilute it a bit. Let me know how it turns out!
How long can this be stored in your fridge before going bad?
3-4 days in an airtight container!
So amazingly delicious