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Mango & Coconut Rice Pudding

So I told the kids we were having pudding for dinner and their eyes lit up. Then they saw that it wasn’t the pudding they hoped it would be, and that little glimmer of ‘she’s really gonna let us eat dessert for dinner’ hope faded. Then they took a bite and their eyes lit up again. Then there was another bite, then another. The tropical flavors took over their little taste buds and we had a “everyone cleaned their plate (bowl)” kind of brinner!

(I only teased them because I knew they were going to love it!)

Pudding at our house is made with avocados. We have 2 dairy allergies, so pudding is a no-go generally. Unless I make with avocados. (Trust me, they’ll never know!) Rice pudding is usually a big hit and this recipe certainly was…the boys (including the adult-boy) all love mangoes and I knew they’d love it!

Couple helpful links ~

And one last note…I used coconut extract to make this and really think it helped the flavor “pop.” I keep it on hand because I like to add it to banana bread or muffins when I make them…half vanilla extract/half coconut extract…so if the banana bread recipe calls for 1 tsp vanilla, I do 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp coconut. I’m weird and that’s how we like our banana bread. That being said, I’ve made plenty of rice puddings without the coconut flavoring and they are great too. I just wanted to play up the toasted coconut flavor, with the coconut extract. Your call on how you make yours 🙂

Enjoy!!!

Mango & Coconut Rice Pudding

The tropical flavors took over their little taste buds and we had a "everyone cleaned their plate (bowl)" kind of brinner!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Servings - 4 servings

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups cooked rice leftovers work great
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar or preferred sweetener
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp coconut extract optional
  • 2 large mangoes seeded and diced
  • 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, add the cooked rice, milk, sweetener/sugar, vanilla and coconut flavoring. Bring to a boil, then cook for about 20 minutes, or until the liquid has soaked into the rice and has a more pudding like consistency. Stir in the diced mangoes and let "cook" for 3-4 minutes.
  • While rice pudding is cooking, prepare the coconut flakes. In a small skillet, toast them over medium high heat, until they begin to brown. Stir often to prevent them from burning.
  • Serve the Mango Rice Pudding with toasted coconut on top.