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Rice pudding is a creamy, delicious bit of homemade comfort food. Make it sing of the spring season by adding fresh lilac flowers.
This easy to make dessert has all the texture and comfort you expect of rice pudding with just a hint of floral flavor to make it new and interesting.
Lilac rice pudding is made from simple ingredients that come together in a delightful way perfect for celebrating spring flowers.
Eating Lilacs
Lilacs blossoms are indeed edible and delicious. They also do not taste like they smell. If you’ve eaten lavender – you know it tastes quite a bit like it smells. Lilac flavor is much milder than it’s perfume implies.
Make It Quick
This recipe requires already cooked, leftover rice. A little planning means this can be made rather quickly. Cook extra rice for dinner tonight and use the leftovers for lilac rice pudding tomorrow. If no leftover rice is on hand, simply cook the rice than proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Chill Time
While the pudding can be made in under 30 minutes, it does need a long chill time. Be sure to plan ahead for this chill time.
Make the pudding today and serve tomorrow to take any kind of time worries off the table.
Use Only the Blossoms
Only use the blossoms, the flowers not the stems or leaves here. The stems can be a little bitter, so for this recipe simply snip or the pull lilac blossoms from their stems and collect in a bowl until ready to use.
The snipping of the lilac blossoms does take a little bit of time, but is not hard work and in fact, can be a nice way to relax on the porch for a bit.
Recipe Adaptations
Use any cooked rice favored in your household. I generally use short-grain brown rice but whatever you have on hand will work. Again, just make sure it’s cooked before you begin.
Use regular dairy milk or some nut alternative as desired or required for dietary considerations.
Honey could easily be switched for the maple syrup as a sweetener. If you have some lilac infused honey, this might be good place to try it.
How to Serve
Rice pudding is meant to be a simple dessert, there’s no need to get to fancy here.
You could easily chill the pudding in wine glasses or other single serve containers for ease and for interesting serving at a dinner party.
If you chill in one large bowl, simply scoop servings into bowls before serving. Garnish with fresh lilacs if desired.
How to Store
Keep any leftover rice pudding stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The pudding should stay fresh for up to 5 days.
Lilac Rice Pudding
Use the gorgeous and edible blooms of spring in a tasty and comforting dessert with this delicious and beautiful lilac rice pudding.
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Milk (cow, goat, rice, coconut, almond - any will do)
- 1 ½ Cups Cooked Rice (brown, white, etc.)
- ⅓ Cup Maple Syrup
- 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Lilac Blossoms (1/2 ounce by weight)
Instructions
- In a saucepan, whisk together the milk, maple syrup, and cornstarch. Add the rice and whisk to break up any clumps.
- Over medium heat bring the mixture to a light simmer. Turn down the heat to medium low and cook for about 18 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. At this point, the mixture to coat the back of spoon thickly.
- Add the lilac blossoms and vanilla extract, stir well.
- Remove from heat and pour into serving dish and refrigerate. The pudding will thicken more as it cools.
- Serve chilled.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 200Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 0gSugar: 19gProtein: 6g
We try our best but cannot guarantee that nutrition information is 100% accurate.
Rice pudding is also one of my favorites, and this sounds like an excellent way to make it more glam and restful at the same time. I can’t wait to try this recipe when our lilac blooms!
And we all need more glam now and then, don’t we? Enjoy it!
I had no idea you could eat lilacs! Thanks for this terrific recipe!
Can arrowroot powder be substituted for cornstarch in an equal amount? I love rice pudding!
Probably. I haven’t tested it in this recipe but it does generally work for most things.
@Heidi C, For anyone wondering, I tried it with arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch and it works great
Is there any other flowers you could use in this pudding, lilacs are all done where I am, sadly.