Brown rice pudding recipe is a healthier way to enjoy rice pudding for breakfast, without the guilt! Naturally sweetened with mashed bananas (and an optional honey drizzle), it's great for adults and toddlers!
I'm pulling this recipe for brown rice pudding out of the archives, dusting it off, and proclaiming it baby food. But also: Mama food, too. Belly-pleasing, soul-soothing, and perfect when Mama and baby both have a cold but one of us still has to take care of the other one.
Yikes, friends, it's been a long week.
You know it's bad when you don't mind when baby wakes up in the middle of the night because at least you get to sit in her room with the humidifier. I'm telling you--a humidifier is amazing. I'm not sure the science behind it, but anytime Camille has a runny nose, I crank that thing all the way up during her nap and she's almost instantly better.
Whole grain baby food.
But let's talk whole grains.
When Camille was an itty bitty baby (ok, 7-8 months old), she would eat all kinds of grains because I pureed them. Oats were easy, amaranth was common, barley, millet, quinoa--it all went in her belly. It made me so happy. Whole grains are some of the healthiest foods for you--rich in B vitamins and great for your blood sugar. Fast forward to today, and I now have an awesome eater (seriously, she ate sauerkraut the other day and begged for more)...but she is VERY into feeding herself. I can hardly offer her a bite of anything. We're definitely in the 'do it myself' phase.
This is troublesome for whole grains. She can't quite wield a spoon, and so picking up tiny grains of quinoa or brown rice is near impossible. How are we supposed to get the good stuff in their bellies, Mamas?
Now that she's over the age of 1 and can handle a small amount of texture, porridge came to mind. Slow cooked whole grain porridge, especially this delicious brown rice pudding.
Brown rice pudding is a healthy take on rice pudding.
I had a pot of leftover brown rice from the night before, and I remembered this recipe from my archives. It is perfectly suitable for baby because it has no added sugar--just a mashed banana. You can top it with honey or maple syrup, if you like. I am unbelievably thrilled that Camille can eat honey now--isn't that silly?
If your baby isn't quite ready for the texture of this brown rice pudding, make it with powdered oatmeal or powdered rice cereal. If your babe is younger than 1, don't use honey. Never give honey to infants, ok?
When Camille was under 1, she ate this brown rice pudding sweetened with nothing but mashed banana. The maple syrup or honey on top is really just for me.
This brown rice pudding is easy to throw together with leftover rice. I always cook double the amount of brown rice I need when I'm making stir-fry for dinner during the week. A little milk (or whatever nut you squeeze hard enough to get a milk-like substance out of), a drizzle of honey, and your favorite fruit and nuts to top. A handful of this, a handful of that. It's warm, filling, and a totally guilt-free dessert for breakfast.
We're working on our iron levels, since we're not big meat-eaters in our house. Dried figs and pumpkin seeds are great vegetarian sources of iron for mom and baby!
Mix up the fruit and nuts for your topping, but don't leave out the mashed banana for sweetness and texture---it makes the rice pudding creamy without cream.
Rice baby food recipes
If you're looking for more baby food recipes, I have an entire section of the site devoted to them: Baby Food Recipes. I also have a great ebook that will help you ease into feeding babes solid foods when they're ready: Hip Hip Purée: My Recipes for Feeding Bébé.
I'm a big proponent of whole grains for babies. I used the fortified cereal powders a lot when Camille was little. I prefer to buy the organic boxed version of powdered baby cereal because they're fortified with vitamins and minerals. I've seen some recipes on the internet for grinding your own grains for baby cereal, and I really they're missing nutritional components.
The baby cereals we loved were made by Earth's Best.
Fortified food products are an important part of our lives. Grocery store items like parboiled rice, fortified milk, juice, and cereals make it easy to make sure we hit our recommended daily requirements for nutrition.
Breakfast Rice Pudding
A brown rice pudding that's perfect for breakfast
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice (cold)
- 1 cup milk (any kind)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 banana (half mashed, half sliced)
- garnishes: dried fruits, nuts, extra honey
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the brown rice, milk, butter, and cinnamon. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the mashed banana half and the honey. Cook about 1 minute to thicken.
- Divide between two bowls, and top with your choice of garnishes and the remaining banana slices. I used dried Mission figs and pepitas for the photos.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 569Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 156mgCarbohydrates: 98gFiber: 7gSugar: 45gProtein: 12g
Julie says
Oh oh oh!! Raises hand!! My Poppee (my great-grandfather) taught me how to eat rice like this for breakfast (minus the banana). I thought for years that everyone knew how to make this (and loved it as much as I do). Throwing out leftover rice in my house is a way to get on my poop list, because I'll eat it like this for breakfast, or lunch or just as a snack. Yum. (Is this a southern thing? I never know).
Lottie says
I'm a self confessed breakfast junkie myself and have to say, this looks amazing!
Will definitely be trying this out soon :)
Ashley says
I just made this using leftover brown basmati rice and coconut milk. It is really good! Even my four year old gobbled it up! Thanks for a new recipe to add to my breakfast repetoire!
Rusti says
Very nice idea! You can probably add an egg to that if you wanted.
Brittany says
This was absolutely delish! I cut the recipe in half because hubby can't fathom the idea of rice for breakfast... Unless it's a bowl of rice and beans lol. I had to cook my rice from scratch but it was so worth it! Next time I make a big batch I'll leave out the onion and garlic so I can use it for breakfast as well. I ended up add dried cranberries and pepitas on top. Yum! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Wilma D says
I have cooked a batch of brown rice and it was looking at me this morning when I opened the fridge door. I found your recipe and it was exactly what I wanted.
It was easy and so delicious!! I added raisins and maple syrup instead of honey.
I saved a small portion for later. Thanks so much for sharing.
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats says
Wow! I have been looking for something different to make in the morning. My go to is yogurt parfait but in the fall I want something warm and comforting AND something that will give me energy before my workout. This is perfect!
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer says
Sooooo impressed with this recipe! I do not like eating bananas on their own (something about the texture) but this is a meal where I would have no issues indulging. So creative!
Becky Hardin | The Cookie Rookie says
What a hearty idea. Love it
Katalina @ Peas & Peonies says
I love brown rice so much, would've never thought to make a pudding out of it, but it looks so perfectly creamy and delicious.