Rice Pudding Three Ways: Coconut, Lucuma & Strawberry

Three exact business-ready recipes for Peruvian-style rice pudding (arroz con leche), each flavored with a different fruit: coconut, lucuma (golden Andean fruit), and strawberry. Each version uses a clove-cinnamon infusion base and a triple-milk method (whole milk, powdered milk, evaporated milk). Finished with butter for the coconut and lucuma versions.

10m Prep

50m Cook

1h Total

4 Servings

arroz-con-leche coco lucuma fresas peruvian-dessert rice-pudding street-food negocio tres-versiones infusion master-cook victor-heredia emprendedor postre

Ingredients

Coconut Version

150 g white rice (high starch) - coconut (rinsed well)
500 ml clove-cinnamon infusion - coconut (half a litre from shared base)
75 g coarse shredded coconut
20 g powdered milk
500 ml whole milk (UHT) - coconut (blended together with coconut and powdered milk)
100 g white sugar - coconut
200 ml evaporated milk - coconut
9 g butter - coconut

Lucuma Version

150 g white rice (high starch) - lucuma (rinsed well)
500 ml clove-cinnamon infusion - lucuma (half a litre from shared base)
150 g lucuma (fresh or pulp) (peeled, seed removed; can substitute frozen lucuma pulp)
20 g powdered milk - lucuma
500 ml whole milk (UHT) - lucuma (blended together with lucuma and powdered milk)
80 g white sugar - lucuma (less sugar because lucuma is already sweet)
200 ml evaporated milk - lucuma
9 g butter - lucuma (salted butter preferred for contrast)

Shared Infusion Base

2 L clove-cinnamon infusion (made from 10 g cinnamon + 5 g cloves in 2 L water; yields shared base for all three batches)
10 g cinnamon sticks (for infusion)
5 g cloves (for infusion)

Strawberry Version

150 g white rice (high starch) - strawberry (rinsed well)
500 ml clove-cinnamon infusion - strawberry (half a litre from shared base)
200 g strawberries (hulled; blended with a splash of infusion (~100 ml), then strained)
120 g white sugar - strawberry (cooked with the strained strawberry juice to break molecular structure)
500 ml whole milk (UHT) - strawberry
20 g powdered milk - strawberry
evaporated milk - strawberry (added after strawberry syrup to loosen)

Steps

1

Make the shared infusion base: combine 10 g cinnamon sticks and 5 g cloves in 2 L water. Bring to a boil and simmer 5-10 minutes. Strain and keep warm. This yields enough for all three batches (500 ml each).

Tip: Making the infusion in bulk is more efficient when doing multiple batches.

~10 min
2

COCONUT VERSION - Cook the rice: wash 150 g high-starch rice. Add to a pot with 500 ml clove-cinnamon infusion. Bring to a boil then reduce to low heat. Stir constantly - the rice has a lot of starch and will stick. Cook 35-40 minutes until a grain dissolves completely when pressed.

Tip: Start with cold infusion to maximize starch release from the rice. Once boiling, never stop stirring.

~40 min
3

COCONUT VERSION - Prepare the milk blend: blend 75 g coarse shredded coconut, 20 g powdered milk, and 500 ml whole UHT milk together briefly. Add this mixture to the almost-dry cooked rice. Simmer 5 minutes.

Tip: Add the milk mixture only once the rice is completely dry and fully cooked.

~8 min
4

COCONUT VERSION - Add 100 g white sugar and stir. Add 200 ml evaporated milk and 9 g butter. Bring to one boil then turn off heat.

Tip: Optionally finish with 1 oz pisco or rum after turning off the heat for an adult version.

~5 min
5

LUCUMA VERSION - Cook the rice: wash 150 g high-starch rice. Add to a pot with 500 ml clove-cinnamon infusion. Cook on low heat 35-40 minutes stirring constantly until fully cooked.

~40 min
6

LUCUMA VERSION - Prepare milk blend: peel and remove seed from 150 g lucuma (use frozen pulp if fresh unavailable). Blend with 20 g powdered milk and 500 ml whole milk. Add to the almost-dry cooked rice. Simmer 10 minutes stirring.

Tip: Lucuma has a sandy texture - blending with milk smooths it out. Use more lucuma than coconut because lucuma is gritty.

~12 min
7

LUCUMA VERSION - Add 80 g white sugar (less than coconut version because lucuma is sweet), 9 g salted butter, and 200 ml evaporated milk. Bring to one boil then turn off heat.

Tip: Use white sugar to avoid altering the golden color of the lucuma rice pudding.

~5 min
8

STRAWBERRY VERSION - Cook the rice: wash 150 g high-starch rice. Add to a pot with 500 ml clove-cinnamon infusion. Cook on low heat 35-40 minutes stirring constantly until fully cooked.

~40 min
9

STRAWBERRY VERSION - Prepare strawberry syrup (critical step): blend 200 g hulled strawberries with ~100 ml infusion. Strain through a sieve (discard pulp and large seeds). Combine strained juice with 120 g white sugar in a small saucepan. Cook until reduced to a thick syrup/jam consistency. This breaks the molecular structure so the strawberry acid will not curdle the milk.

Tip: This step is essential. Skipping it WILL cause the milk to curdle when the strawberry is added. The syrup must reduce to at least a third of its original volume.

~12 min
10

STRAWBERRY VERSION - When the rice is dry and fully cooked, add 500 ml whole milk blended with 20 g powdered milk. Simmer 5 minutes. Then add the strawberry syrup (strained to remove any remaining solids). Stir, reduce heat to minimum and cook 8-10 minutes more.

Tip: The strawberry syrup is added AFTER the milk (not before) once the acid structure is broken.

~15 min
11

STRAWBERRY VERSION - Add evaporated milk to loosen the consistency. Adjust sweetness if needed. Turn off heat. For a gourmet version, substitute some sugar with condensed milk.

~3 min
12

All three versions: allow to cool. They thicken as they cool. Serve chilled. For adults, finish each portion with a splash of pisco or rum added once cold (adding alcohol while hot evaporates it).

Tip: Chilled rice pudding is healthier - cold rice has a lower glycemic index than warm.

~5 min

Nutrition (per serving)

380

Calories

Protein

65g

Carbs

10g

Fat

Fiber

Cultural Context

Rice pudding (arroz con leche) is ubiquitous across Latin America and Spain, but in Peru it is especially popular as street food and in homes. Victor Heredia notes that fruit-flavored rice pudding is big business in Colombia and Spain, and encourages Peruvians to adopt it as a local street food concept alongside the traditional mazamorra morada. This video presents three business-scale standardized recipes.