Rice Porridge with Milk

Name: Rice Porridge with Milk: Creamy Breakfast Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Round rice 1 cup (180 g); Water 2 cups (400 ml); Milk (2.5%) 0.5 l; Butter 1 tbsp; Sugar a scant 1 tbsp (14 g); Vanilla or vanilla sugar a little; Salt a pinch

☆ 4.5

45 mins

Simple rice porridge with milk is what my mom used to make me as a kid, most often for breakfast. You may be surprised, but I still eat this dish and love it to this day. For me, milk rice porridge was always the “base” for nuts, condensed milk and jam. Oh yes! A spoonful of cherry jam on top was the height of childhood happiness. And if the jam still had whole pitted cherries in it, that was pure perfection.

Porridge is considered one of the staples of Ukrainian cuisine. That said, dishes similar to porridge exist all over the world. The idea is simple: grains, or products made from various cereals by grinding them to different degrees, from whole kernels to flour, are cooked until soft. Rice porridge, for example, can be made from whole or broken rice, and even from rice flour.

The ratio of liquid to grain determines the texture of the dish: porridge can be fluffy, creamy, runny or thick. Rice porridge can be made as thick as you like. For breakfast or for kids, it is better to make a semi-runny or creamy porridge, so that it is easy to scoop from the plate with a spoon and does not spill.

When making milk rice porridge, the rice is usually boiled in plain water first, and then milk, sugar, butter and other additions go in. The reason is that rice is hard to cook through in milk alone. For a creamy porridge, 1 part rice is cooked in 2 parts water, then finished and left to rest in milk, and the amount of milk determines how thick the dish turns out.

The best result comes from so-called “round” rice. It is most often sold in plain generic packs simply labeled “Rice”. This rice cooks down beautifully and, once mixed with milk, makes the porridge creamy with almost no liquid left.

The cooked rice porridge can be topped with sugar, butter, condensed milk or jam, whatever you like. Since rice has a completely neutral taste, any addition only makes the dish better. For a creamy porridge, let it stand for a while after adding the milk: some of the rice will swell and blend with the milk, making a thick, creamy porridge, just the way it should be. And when serving, add whatever you like.

How to make rice porridge with milk, sugar and butter

Ingredients

2 servings

Round rice 1 cup (180 g)
Water 2 cups (400 ml)
Milk (2.5%) 0.5 l
Butter 1 tbsp
Sugar a scant 1 tbsp (14 g)
Vanilla or vanilla sugar a little
Salt a pinch

Step-by-step recipe

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Getting ready

Surprisingly, a good milk rice porridge comes from inexpensive round rice sold in any store. We buy the milk at the store too, regular 2.5% fat. Homemade milk makes the dish richer in calories, and it is rarely available unless you go looking for it.

Get the rice, milk, sugar and butter ready. Butter and how much of it you use is entirely up to you, since it is quite high in calories. If you plan to serve the porridge with jam, you can easily skip the sugar.

Bring the milk to a boil. First, this checks that it is fresh, since old milk may curdle. Second, it is best to add hot or warm milk to the porridge. And third, you can do this while the rice is cooking, which cuts down the overall cooking time.

Cooking the rice in water

Pour water into a heavy-bottomed pot, twice the volume of the rice. Season the water with a pinch of salt.
Rinse the rice if needed. Polishing the grains leaves a lot of rice flour on them, though it also makes the porridge thicker.
Add the rice to the water, stir and bring to a boil.
Cook the rice over low heat, stirring. It is important that the porridge does not stick to the bottom and burn. Gradually the rice will absorb the water, soften and start to break down, forming a thick mixture, essentially rice porridge made with water. You can clearly see the softened grains in it.

Finishing in milk

Add a little vanilla or vanilla sugar to boost the aroma of the dish. Add sugar to taste; I added a scant 1 tbsp.
Pour the warm or hot boiled milk into the pot and stir.
Cook the porridge, stirring, until the rice is completely soft with no trace of firmness, and the milk starts to thicken as the rice breaks down.
When the porridge is almost ready, add a pat of butter.
Let the pot sit for a while over the lowest heat, or simply stay warm thanks to the heat held by its thick bottom. After that, the rice porridge with milk is ready.
Spoon the porridge into bowls, small soup plates or deep bowls. If you like, add another small pat of butter, sliced banana, jam or chocolate, raisins, dried apricots and other treats.
Let the porridge cool a little before serving: when hot it can burn, and kids will not be happy.

Calories and macros

555 kcal

Serving ≈ 560 g

Protein14 g10% of kcal
Fat14 g24% of kcal
Carbs89 g66% of kcal

100 g99 kcalProtein 2.5 gFat 2.5 gCarbs 15.9 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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To Get It Right

Which rice to use

Round rice gives the best result, the kind sold in plain packs simply labeled “Rice”. It cooks down beautifully and, with milk, makes the porridge creamy with almost no liquid left.

To keep it from burning

a heavy-bottomed pot;
low heat and constant stirring, both in water and in milk;
add hot or warm milk, not cold.

Sugar and toppings

Rice has a completely neutral taste, so any addition only makes the dish better: condensed milk, jam, nuts, banana, raisins, dried apricots. With jam you can skip the sugar. My favorite since childhood is a spoonful of cherry jam on top.

For kids

For breakfast and for kids, a semi-runny or creamy porridge is best: it is easy to scoop with a spoon and does not spill. Let the porridge cool a little before serving.

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Questions and answers

How long does it take to cook rice porridge with milk?

About 40 minutes, including boiling the rice in water. First the rice is cooked in water until it absorbs it and starts to break down, then the milk goes in and the porridge cooks until the rice is completely soft.

What is the ratio of rice, water and milk for rice porridge?

For 1 cup of round rice (180 g), use 2 cups of water (400 ml) and 0.5 l of milk. There is always twice as much water as rice by volume, and the amount of milk determines how thick the porridge is.

How much rice do you need for 1 liter of milk?

By the proportions of this recipe, 2 cups of round rice (360 g), first cooked in 4 cups of water (800 ml). That makes about 4 servings.

Why is the rice for milk porridge boiled in water first?

Rice is hard to cook through in milk alone, so it is boiled in water first, then finished and left to rest in milk.

How do you make a runny rice porridge?

The amount of milk determines the thickness: for a runny porridge, add more hot milk. Don’t keep it on the heat for long once it is ready, since the rice keeps swelling and the porridge thickens.

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