Arroz con Leche Mexicano

Cooking with Kids: Arroz con Leche Mexicano

Popular in many Latin American countries and Spain, Arroz con Leche is a delicious dessert that kids can easily help make. It’s a simple rice pudding recipe that is made by cooking rice in milk with sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. As part of our study of Mexico, we prepared Arroz con Leche Mexicano as a sweet afternoon treat.

Arroz con Leche Mexicano

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Cooking Class Global Feast

As part of the Global Explorers Club, we’re using the cookbook Cooking Class Global Feast!: 44 Recipes That Celebrate the World’s Cultures to help us explore food from around the world.

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Tools you’ll need to make arroz con leche:

  • Mixing bowl
  • Measuring cup and spoons
  • Whisk
  • Small pot

Just a few ingredients

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup rice
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • Ground cinnamon (optional)

Tips & Tricks

  • When working alongside children in the kitchen, it’s always a good idea to measure all the ingredients beforehand.
  • If you have multiple children who will be cooking alongside you, it’s easier to take turns or split the steps evenly.
  • Some people prefer to eat arroz con leche warm, while others prefer it cold. Be sure to pop some in the fridge so your children can try eating it both ways.
The Global Explorers Club

An “Around the World” Curriculum

Explore the world with your children and begin learning about different peoples and their cultures, while sharing engaging stories and folk tales from around the world. You’ll meet artists and musicians, sample global cuisine, create art, and play games together.

Begin your adventure today

How to Make Arroz con Leche Mexicano

STEP 1: Rinse the rice in cold water.

STEP 2: Add rice, water, and a cinnamon stick to a pot. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place a lid on the pot and turn heat to down to low. Allow rice to simmer for 15 minutes, or until most of the water has been absorbed.

STEP 3: Crack the egg into a mixing bowl and whisk it well. If you’re working with younger children, you may wish to have them initially crack the egg into a smaller prep bowl and then transfer to the mixing bowl.

A child prepares arroz con leche, following a recipe found in Cooking Class Global Feast!: 44 Recipes That Celebrate the World’s Cultures by Deanna F. Cook.
As part of a unit study on Mexico, a child prepares arroz con leche following the recipe in Cooking Class Global Feast!: 44 Recipes That Celebrate the World’s Cultures by Deanna F. Cook.
A child whisks an egg while preparing arroz con leche following the recipe found in Cooking Class Global Feast!: 44 Recipes That Celebrate the World’s Cultures.

STEP 4: Add the milk and sugar to the mixing bowl. Stir well.

A child stirs the ingredients together while preparing arroz con leche as part of a  unit study on Mexico.

STEP 5: Once your rice is finished cooking, remove the cinnamon stick. Then pour the egg, milk, and sugar mixture over the cooked rice.

Arroz con Leche Mexicano is a fun, kid-friendly dessert to prepare together. We followed the recipe found in the book Cooking Class Global Feast! during our study of Mexico as part of the Global Explorers Club.

STEP 6: Bring the rice pudding to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and allow the pudding to cook until it thickens, stirring often. It took about 30 minutes for our pudding to thicken.

STEP 7: Once the pudding has thickened, add the vanilla and raisins.

A child is preparing arroz con leche as part of a unit study on Mexico.
Children prepare arroz con leche together, following a recipe in Cooking Class Global Feast!: 44 Recipes That Celebrate the World’s Cultures.

STEP 7: It’s time to eat! You may enjoy arroz con leche warm or cold.

Arroz con leche

For more global recipes, check out the book Cooking Class Global Feast: 44 Recipes That Celebrate the World’s Cultures. In addition to all the cooking fun your family will enjoy using this cookbook, you’ll also receive the following extras:

  • Country flag stickers that can be used to make toothpick flags’
  • A global food passport
  • Flash cards that teach you how to say “I’m hungry” in different languages around the world

If you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Do you prefer to eat arroz con leche warm or cold? Please share your experiences below!

Check out more resources for Mexico:

The Global Explorers Club

Mexico

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