Healthy Rice Pudding

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A healthy, delicious breakfast option or even dessert- This Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding can be made the night before with some tiny prep! Gluten free, dairy free, granulated sugar free, vegan and high in protein- It’s like dessert for breakfast minus the post sugar crash! 

A healthy, delicious breakfast option or even dessert- This Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding can be made the night before with some tiny prep! Gluten free, dairy free, granulated sugar free, vegan and high in protein- It's like dessert for breakfast minus the post sugar crash!  @thebigmansworld -thebigmansworld.com

When you go to New York you need to go to Rice To Riches

Okay.

When you go to New York you need to go to Rice To Riches

Yes, you told me. 

When you go to New York you need to go to Rice To Riches

OKAY. 

When you go to New York you need to go to Rice To Riches

I AM GOING TO GO TO RICE TO RICHES, OKAY?

Clearly my friend was a huge fan of Rice To Riches, a dessert shop located in lower Manhattan specialising in various flavoured rice puddings. For the two weeks leading up to my trip back to America, my friend and work colleague would not shut up about this place- He lamented how they had a myriad of flavours and how it was the best rice pudding he’d ever tasted.

This was also the first time he’d ever had rice pudding before. 

A healthy, delicious breakfast option or even dessert- This Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding can be made the night before with some tiny prep! Gluten free, dairy free, granulated sugar free, vegan and high in protein- It's like dessert for breakfast minus the post sugar crash!  @thebigmansworld -thebigmansworld.com

Regardless, I ensured to add it to the my list of foodie places to go (which pretty much only had Cinnabon on it…oops). I went there on my second of three days in New York at 9pm, thinking I’d have missed it and closed. I then remembered it was New York and NOT Australia, in which most places have a closing time similar to a toddler’s bed time. 

I remember falling in love with the place before even trying any rice pudding. I felt like I had walked into a Anti-Diet movement with signs covering the walls with rants like ‘Eat all you want, you’re already fat’  and ‘Limit- 500 rice puddings per customer’. My favourite Q + A-

Q- Do you have a fat-free rice pudding?

A- Here at Rice to Riches, all the fat is free! 

I already knew I’d be a fan. Like a kid in an ice cream store (okay, I still do it these days), I sampled most of the flavours they had before settling on the cinnamon raisin and tiramisu. Prior to choosing those, I had also sampled the rocky road version (amazing but slightly too sweet) and the cookies and cream (slightly heavy on the vanilla). Smooth, creamy and obviously free in the form of fat- I was a fan. 

I forgive my friend for harassing me. 

A healthy, delicious breakfast option or even dessert- This Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding can be made the night before with some tiny prep! Gluten free, dairy free, granulated sugar free, vegan and high in protein- It's like dessert for breakfast minus the post sugar crash!  @thebigmansworld -thebigmansworld.com

I knew I had to recreate some of the delicious flavours I had tried, but with a healthy twist. Not just a healthy twist, but one which was perfect for my favourite meal- Breakfast. Inspired by Rice to Riches, I have created three of my favourite flavours to share with you over the coming two weeks- 

– Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding

– Healthy Tiramisu Rice Pudding

– A secret flavour….one which I know many of you will be a huge fan of! 

Many of you expressed on Facebook you’d love more grab and go breakfast options and ones which can be prepped the night before. My favourite request was my personal favourite- Breakfasts which taste like dessert. This has you covered,

This healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding is the perfect breakfast option or even dessert. It’s vegan, gluten free, dairy free, granulated sugar free and high in protein. It can be prepped the night before for a quick breakfast ready for you the next day. There are two ways to make it- Using pre packaged microwave rice or you can simmer your own. There is a punch of protein thanks to a scoop of protein powder but this is completely optional. To enhance the Apple Cinnamon flavour, I used some cold apple cinnamon tea I had but that too is optional. 

A healthy, delicious breakfast option or even dessert- This Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding can be made the night before with some tiny prep! Gluten free, dairy free, granulated sugar free, vegan and high in protein- It's like dessert for breakfast minus the post sugar crash!  @thebigmansworld -thebigmansworld.com

Make this Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding the night before and be excited to have dessert for breakfast, minus the post sugar crash. 

Oh and another Rice to Riches classic- “Never diet on an empty stomach”

Amen. 

Healthy Rice Pudding

5 from 2 votes
A healthy, delicious breakfast option or even dessert- This Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding can be made the night before with some tiny prep! Gluten free, dairy free, granulated sugar free, vegan and high in protein- It’s like dessert for breakfast minus the post sugar crash!
Servings: 2 servings
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients  

  • 3/4 cup cooked rice I used a wild rice blend mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/4 cup cold brewed apple cinnamon tea optional
  • 1/2- 1 cup milk I used vanilla almond milk*
  • 1 small apple diced
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil optional**

Instructions 

Stovetop version

  • In a saucepan, add the cooked rice, cinnamon, vanilla essence and mix well. Add you cinnamon tea and milk and bring to a simmer on medium heat. After 5 minutes, add the vanilla protein powder and mix until fully incorporated. Add additional milk if desired and continue to simmer until desired thickness. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • In a small frying pan, heat the coconut oil until melted. Once pan is hot, add the diced apple and a dash of cinnamon and cook until caramelised. Top the rice pudding and eat immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate overnight/for later.

Microwave version

  • In a large, microwave safe bowl, add the cooked brown rice with the cinnamon, vanilla essence and mix well. Add the cinnamon tea and milk and microwave for 1- 2 minutes, watching to ensure it doesn’t overflow. Remove from the microwave and stir though the protein powder until fully incorporated. Add more milk (if protein powder is thick) and cook for an extra minute. Remove from microwave and set aside.
  • In a small, microwave safe bowl, add the diced apple with the butter*** and desired cinnamon and microwave for 30 seconds, or until caramelised. Top the rice pudding and eat immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate overnight/for later.

Notes

* Eyeball the liquid. Dependant on your protein powder, you may need more or less. Similar to oatmeal, if you prefer a thicker rice pudding, reduce the liquid.
** You can omit but I prefer a richer tasting apple topping.
*** For the microwave version, I prefer using butter.
I love eating this for breakfast and just do the simple prep the night before and simply remove and eat the next day.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 257kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 11gFat: 10gSodium: 296mgPotassium: 148mgFiber: 3gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 42IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 314mgIron: 0.2mgNET CARBS: 28g
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Arman
Tried this recipe?Give us a shout at @thebigmansworld or tag #thebigmansworld!
A healthy, delicious breakfast option or even dessert- This Healthy Apple Cinnamon Rice Pudding can be made the night before with some tiny prep! Gluten free, dairy free, granulated sugar free, vegan and high in protein- It's like dessert for breakfast minus the post sugar crash!  @thebigmansworld -thebigmansworld.com

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.

Arman Liew

I’m a two time cookbook author, photographer, and writer, and passionate about creating easy and healthier recipes. I believe you don’t need to be experienced in the kitchen to make good food using simple ingredients that most importantly, taste delicious.

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Comments

  1. Dessert for ALL THE MEALS! I’ve never been to NY, so that should answer the question about Rice to Riches, but I now feel the need to have rice with allllll the toppings.

  2. I love infusing teas into grains! It’s so good! (NOT OPTIONAL!) Haha!
    This rice pudding sounds and looks so yummy and creamy! XOXO

  3. With all the rice I’ve eaten over the years, I feel like I’ve definitely had rice pudding before… I just haven’t called it that. But I actually probably end up eating sweet rice more often than savoury. Blame the sweet tooth…

  4. I’ve actually never had rice pudding before! I’ve never even seen it on a menu around here. Maybe it’s just not a popular thing in Canada? I’ve seen it so much on blogs lately though so I’m definitely intrigued.

    Dessert for breakfast? Always.

  5. I need to be on a low-fat diet (goddammit), but I think I will take the gallbladder attacks and lack of digestion for Rice to Riches. I will literally go to New York JUST for this! And dessert for breakfast is a serious requirement. I can’t do savory for breakfast; it always has to be sweet. I prefer my leftover Chinese for lunch, thank you!

  6. I’ve had coconut rice pudding before and it was great! The next closest thing I’ve had is tapioca pudding, which was ok. I do not go out of my way to buy it. I am certainly a fan of all your dessert for breakfast recipes! I can’t wait for your e-cookbook!
    Can you do a post about developing an e-book? I would love to read about that!

  7. Rice to Riches is awesome, we went so many times when we lived in NYC. Some of my favorites are Sex Drug & Rocky Road and the Coast to Coast Cheesecake. Clearly you were inspired because this look AMAZING!

    1. YES! I loved the Sex Drug and Rocky Road- I need to try the cheesecake one- We should totally have our first blogger catch up there! 😉

  8. Rice pudding is one of my favourite (sweet at least) childhood dishes and I’ve been intending to finally have it again soon. Actually, I was hoping for this weekend but with all the Easter treats around I can’t predict if it’s going to happen or not. Rice pudding brings back so.many.memories for me. Especially that of my mum letting it cook ‘in bed’. From what I’ve seen on blogs American rice pudding is prepared differently from German but I can’t see why modifying our recipe using your Apple Cinnamon idea here wouldn’t work. It sounds really good and I actually happen to have quite the stash of that tea on hand, too.
    Oh, and yes, Rice to Riches has been on my “for when I finally visit New York” list for years. I should really start saving up for that trip, I guess …

  9. This looks so good! I am a huge rice fan! I feel like I say this about every recipe you do but I think we just have similar tastes 🙂 I love me some rice for brekkie, so delicious and filling 🙂

  10. I’ve never had rice pudding before. Remember I was a picky eater growing up and I still haven’t outgrown all my strange food tendencies. I do love some apple and cinnamon though. If you add fruit to anything, you can count me in. Also, I happen to love fat too. Mmmm.

  11. Oh God, I hate that I didn’t know about this place when I was in NY! The Q&A is perfect.
    We have ricepudding in our Supermarket. It tastes like an artificial edible punishment with something in it which they call rice.
    I prefer homemade – thanks for the recipe!

    1. We shall go there together! Ugh, our rice pudding is like glue. I could stick paintings on my wall with it!