Jamaican rice porridge

Jamaican rice porridge  – My vegan rendition of a classic rice porridge, creamy made with plant based milk and full of flavour.

 I’m so excited to share this recipe with my lovely readers because rice porridge is an absolute favourite of mine. This Caribbean breakfast is packed with tons of energy thanks to the slow releasing carbohydrates. Have this for breakfast and I promise you that this amazingly tasty  Jamaican rice porridge is guaranteed to sustain  or as island people say “hold you” until the lunch time.

The Caribbean is known for it’s variants of porridge – cornmeal, cream of wheat, green banana, cassava, plantain, hominy etc..

However, with that being said, rice porridge is the least popular porridge but don’t let that deter you from making it. We are simply more partial to the former (no reason why just preference).

My beloved grandmother would fix us a bowl of rice porridge especially during the harsh UK winter time and boy was I happy to drink a bowl or two. It felt as if I had to wait forever for her to cook it because granny made sure the rice was extremely soft.

Despite having to wait a lifetime for some Jamaican rice porridge I have to admit, it certainly was worth the wait. I would stand by her side and watch her prepare this huge pot of rice before adding the remaining ingredients – milk, condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and a pinch of salt.

My recipe is a vegan rendition of what my grandmother taught me.  It is plant based inspired and even I took the liberty of using brown rice. A far more healthier choice of grain as opposed to using white rice which contains zero nutritional value. I also omitted the use of flour, a common ingredient that you will find featured in most of the traditional rice porridge recipes.

Prior to preparing this recipe dairy free I never felt the need to include flour (used as a thickening agent). My grandmother made her porridge without flour and she would only use it if she become heavy handed with the liquid to grain ratio but this was seldom.

How to make a vegan version of Jamaican rice porridge?

The key to making a good plant based style rice porridge is to ensure the brown rice is cooked thoroughly then add my homemade coconut condensed milk made using coco fina organic coconut butter.

I am a huge fan of their coconut butter. Unlike white rice, brown has the germ and bran in tact giving it a nutty taste and texture. Furthermore, brown rice also takes a little longer to cook.

Cooking tips for making rice porridge

• Presoak the rice grains in warm water – a few hours or preferably overnight add 1tbsp of lime to remove the starch and ease digestion (this is an optional step)
• The porridge should be soft but slightly nutty in texture
• Aim to cook the rice for quite some time 25 minutes (approx)
• Be careful not to over saturate the rice with liquid. If the liquid levels seem low add a 1/4 cup at a time. Remember the finishing product should look similar to risotto.

**Disclaimer – This is not a sponsored post, all ingredients used were paid for by the author

Here are just some of my favourite Caribbean porridge recipes green banana porridge and cornmeal porridge

Don’t forget to comment and star rate below……also if you like the recipe don’t forget to “pin it” on pinterest too

Jamaican rice porridge (vegan)

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

Delicious Jamaican rice porridge – Gluten free, dairy free, vegan

• Author: Charla
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 55 mins
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: Caribbean

Ingredients

• 1 cup of brown rice
• 1 jar of coconut condensed milk (see post for recipe link)
• 3 1/2 cups of water
• 1 3/4 cups of almond milk
• 1/4 cup of coconut milk (optional can use just one plant based milk)
• 1tsp of nutmeg
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1/4 of himalayan pink salt

Instructions

1. Presoak the brown rice grains in lukewarm water mixed with 1 tablespoon of lime. Leave this for a few hours or preferably overnight to soften. This is an OPTIONAL step!!
2. Drain off the lime water and rinse the grains several times.
3. Pour the rinsed off rice grains into a large saucepan with 3 1/2 cups of water and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat to a simmer for 25 minutes (approx) with the pot covered.
5. During this time the water level will reduce so check periodically as you don’t want the liquid to completely recede. You only need 1/4 worth of liquid leftover which should happen 20 minutes into the cooking time.
6. After 25 minutes finally stir in the milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and salt.
7. Carefully pour in the coconut condensed milk and sweeten according to taste.
8. Lastly, allow the porridge to simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, stir occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
9. Serve accordingly