This recipe for Danish rice pudding is a very traditional and famous dish in Denmark. In Denmark we call this dish Risengrød which directly translated simply means Rice pudding. Risengrød is mostly served in the month of December and especially in the time around the Christmas days. In many families a large batch of rice pudding is made the 23rd of December where some of it is eaten for dinner and the rest is saved for the 24th. On the day of Christmas eve the rice pudding is mixed with vanilla, whipped cream and almonds and it's served as the famous and very delicious Christmas dessert Risalamande.
See also: Christmas Recipe for traditional Danish Butter Cookies
There are slightly different ways of making this rice pudding, however, this is the recipe my mother always used when I was a kid and it's the one we use today. Risengroed is very easy to make, you only need four different ingredients, rice, milk, water and some salt - all the ingredients are pouring into a large sauce pan and boiled for about 35 minutes. However, you do have to remember to stir in the pudding once in a while so that the rice don't burn to the bottom of the sauce pan. Personally we prefer to eat the rice pudding with cinnamon sugar and a tablespoon of butter as topping. Cinnamon sugar is simply just sugar and cinnamon mixed in the ratio of 4:1.
If you are making this rice pudding for the Danish dessert Risalamande we suggest that you add the vanilla from 1-2 vanilla beans and the empty bean to the rice pudding while boiling it. Also leave out the salt.
Ingredients
- 2.25 dl short-grained white rice pudding rice
- 1 dl water
- 1 liter milk
- 1 tsp salt
Cinnamon-Sugar
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Pour the water and the rice in a large sauce pan. Add salt, heat it up and let it boil for about 2 minutes.
- Pour the milk into the sauce pan and let it boil while stirring.
- Let the rice pudding boil lightly/simmer for about 35 minutes under a lid. Remember to stir in the pudding regularly so that the rice does not burn to the bottom of the sauce pan.
- Make some cinnamon sugar by mixing the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Notes
Lise
This worked out perfectly. Thank you from South Africa!
Kim Nielsen
Hi Lise, that is just super. Thanks for your comment :) Regards Kim
Lise
Every year I come back to this recipe. Works perfectly every time! Thank you.
Marc Ahlen
Although I am from New Mexico, USA, my great grandfather was from Denmark. My family has lost all its traditions from Denmark so we have begun to make new traditions and enjoy making foods from Denmark. We made Kringle yesterday and will be making this rice pudding today. Thank you for posting this.
Kim Nielsen
Hi Marc. Nice to hear from you - it really sounds like a great idea of bringing back some of your old danish roots. I hope you are going to enjoy the rice pudding - it is a really popular danish dish especially during the Christmas time. Regards Kim
Lynda Jensen
My childhood ☺️. Mange tak og glædlig jul!
Kim Nielsen
Thanks. And glædelig jul 🙂
Kirsten Nielsen
Hello Kim! Thank you for creating this blog. So many foods from my childhood you have given back to me. The chocolate oatmeal balls were ones my dad made every Christmas when we were kids, but he quit making them when we all moved out of the house, and now he has passed away he won't be making them anymore. So, I am going to restart the tradition and my grandchildren will be helping me make them this weekend. A pre-Christmas trial to make sure we get them just right! Glaedelig Jul!
Kim Nielsen
Hi Kirsten. That is a nice story and it sounds really great that you are going to continue the tradition. I guess it is a nice way of bringing back some good memories each Christmas. Regards Kim
Julie Phillips
Hi Kim,
Each Christmas my family picks a different country that celebrates some type of holiday in the winter. We have the kids vote on which country to pick then make a traditional meal and learn about some of the customs/traditions of that particular country. The kids picked Denmark this year so I'm looking forward to learning more about your country and trying the wonderful dishes. I'm in charge of the Risengrod and very excited to try this! Thanks for sharing this traditional recipe!
Julie
Kim Nielsen
Hi Julie. What a wonderful tradition you have - such a great way to learn about another country. I hope that you will like the Risengrod. Actually, it is Risengrod which are served to Santa Claus when her is delivering presents for the kids - like cookies and milk which are served in the states :-)
Bent Christensen
Hi Kim I was born in Denmark but have lived most of my life in New Zealand I have never forgotten how special Christmas was in Denmark when I was young , I have continued with the Danish Christmas tradition with my Kiwi family and they all love it and are introducing it to their own families . From making our own red cabbage to baking Danish Christmas cookies but the risengrood is definitely the favourite I sometimes make it as a treat during the year.
Kim Nielsen
Hi Bent. Thanks for your comment. It's always nice to keep some of the old and good traditions. And a side note; New Zealand is a country high on my list of countries I want to visit in the future.
Stina
Hello Kim,
I am celebrating Danish Christmas in England and fiund all the recipes I needed on Nordic Food & Living!
Thanks so much for publishing this great blog and god jul!
Stina
Kim Nielsen
Hi Stina. You are welcome :-)
michael
Salt goes in at the end normally :)
Eszter
Hi Kim,
Thank you very much for this lovely blog! I'm living in Denmark with my boyfriend and we are very curious about all the traditional Danish meals. We used your page a couple of times to make different kinds of dishes! Today we are making risengrød :)
Kim Nielsen
You are welcome :-) I am glad that you like my page. Risengrød is a great choice if you are looking for some traditional Danish food.
Thomas. J. Janstrom
so easy to make and so very tasty
Aiki
Hi Kim, I am a nanny of a very lovely danish family this year i Want to try some danish traditional food and kids asked me to make Risegrød and i did very Well by follow your recipe .Thank you very much for sharing with all of us.Merry christmas and Happy new year.
Kim Nielsen
I love to read comments like your. I think that it's so funny that I can post a recipe about a traditional Danish dish which can bring joy in another family some other place. I'm happy that you like the Risengrød recipe. Regards Kim (nordicfoodliving.com)
Helga
I'm Icelandic and we eat this meal regularly, we call it Grjónagrautur. But I can't cook it without the rice burning to the bottom of the saucepan so recently I learned how to cook risengrød in the oven. I combine the rice, salt and milk in an oven-safe saucepan (remember the lid must me oven-safe as well), put it on the stove and heat up until the milk starts to boil. Then I put it in the oven on ca 80°c for about an hour. No need to stir and it works perfectly every time. The only downside is that it takes a longer time.
Kirsti
Hi there.
Dane in America currently and trying to find places to get the correct rice for risengrød.
Any suggestions for where to buy them, preferably where it’s not crazy expensive:-)
Same goes for flæskesteg...
Thanks!
Kim Nielsen
I'm not sure where you can buy pudding rice the place that you live. But normally you can buy Flæksesteg from any butcher around the world. You just ask the butcher to leave the skin on. Sometimes it takes the butcher some days to get this cut. Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Janice
Hi. I love your blog. My grandfather was Danish, but he brought none of his traditions with him when he came to America. I have always loved rice pudding, however, and your recipe is the most fuss-free I've found. And delicious. I do add a little sugar to appease my American taste buds.
Kim Nielsen
I'm happy that you like my Nordic blog and that you can use the recipes. Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Meridith
Hi Kim.
I am not Danish. But I love your blog and love love love rice pudding. I’m excited to try both recipes. After I have cooked the recipes on the stovetop I want to. My question is about the rice. Are you using Sushi rice? I’ve never seen “pudding rice” in the US. Is it a sticky rice or just normal short grain rice? I’ve never been successful making rice pudding 😔 so I want to be sure I use the correct ingredients. Thank you so much for writing your blog as it’s very exciting to learn about other cultures and learning how to cook the foods is such an important way to connect.
All the best,
Meridith
Kim Nielsen
Hi Meridith. Thanks for your nice message. I'm happy that you like my blog and Danish recipes. In Denmark we have rice called "pudding rice" they are short, a little chubby, polished rice. They are great for pudding because they do the opposite of normal rice - they will become mushy when cooked. If you search on Google for "Grødris" then you can find pictures from Denmark where you can see how the rice looks like. I hope you will be able to find some good rice for rice pudding the in US. Regards Kim (NordicFoodlIving.com)
Ellie
I made this yesterday and turned out perfect. My only challenge was the pan boiling over a couple of times, so I had to be extremely attentive to it, removing the lid frequently to stir, and lifting the pan off of the burner when I could see the milk beginning to rise. Thank you! My grandparents were raised in Denmark and I love celebrating like they once did.
Birgitte Simen
Danish ex-pat living in Boston here. I’ve made this several times and it turns out great using sushi rice and whole milk. My kids eat it with maple syrup (sigh) but everyone loves it!
Once it boils, use your very lowest burner setting. If you’re on an electric stove, move to a fresh spot at that point or the residual heat will burn the bottom of the rice.
Doris Nielsen Nickel
What type of rice are you using? We've always used a Pearl Rice but can't find it here anymore. Thank you.
Kim Nielsen
In Denmark we have a type of rice called Pudding Rice (Grødris). It is a short grain rice, kind of fat also. They are very similar to risotto rice.
Doris
Thank you! I finally found a store in Alberta that carries Pama rice!
JB
Should mention that at Christmas time, this is usually served with Elf Beer ("Nisseøl"), a light sweet version of "dunkelweizen", the abv of this is low enough (under 2%) for children to have a cup or half a cup with no notable problems, especially as the next day is a holiday, not a school day.