Strawberry & Plum Dairy Free Fruit Rice Pudding

Fresh local strawberries will be available in June at Ottawa's Farmers' Markets.

Strawberry Season will be starting next month in Ottawa, ON. Keep an eye on your local Farmers Markets.

This flavor is always popular with young kids. The fruits shine through in this Rice Pudding Recipe. There is very little prep and only a handful of ingredients. If you have an immersion or upright blender, this is a fast and easy, no fuss flavor! It is great as a breakfast or lunchbox snack. Try it with some finely chopped candied ginger on top!

You can play around with the variety of plum that you use. For this recipe, I use a dark plum with a sweet flesh and skin. If you choose a tart skinned plum like a yellow plum, you will have a slightly more tart end result. Fresh strawberries, better yet, local in season ones, are the best for color and great taste but frozen ones will work just as easily.

What you will need:

2 medium sized posts with lids, a strainer that fits inside of a bowl, a long metal spoon, a rubber spatula, a wire whisk (if you have one), a heat proof/food safe container with lid, a paring knife, a small cutting board, measuring spoons & cups, a kitchen scale (if you have one)

Ingredients:

35 oz strawberries

21 oz dark plum

15 oz Calrose medium grain rice

13 oz light brown sugar

1 + 7 oz coconut milk (14 oz in a regular can)

1/4 tsp ground dry ginger

If you use tart plums for this recipe you may want to adjust the sugar content up by a few ounces.

I based the sugar content for this Strawberry & Plum Fruit Rice Pudding Recipe on using Dark Plums.

Directions:

Place the Calrose rice in the strainer that fits inside of a bowl. Rinse the rice under running water. Strain and repeat 2 more times. Set aside to drain.
Wash the whole plums using a light dish soap and rinse them under running water. If using fresh strawberries, remove the stem and rinse under running water. Remove the pit from the plums (keep skin on the plums) and chop the strawberries and plums into medium sized pieces.
In a medium sized pot, place the rinsed strawberries, plums, 12 oz of water and 13 oz light brown sugar. Place over a medium heat and bring to a medium boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook another 15 to 20 minutes, covered.
In a second medium sized pot place 32 oz of water and 1 oz of coconut milk. Bring to a boil, covered. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and add the rinsed and drained Calrose rice. Stir to ensure that the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot. Place a timer for 20 minutes and cook, covered.
When the fruit has softened, using an immersion blender, puree the fruit sauce until smooth. Add the 7 oz of coconut milk, 7 oz of water and the dry ginger. Bring fruit sauce back up to a medium boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook, covered.
After the 20 minutes, turn the rice heat off and allow the rice to continue to cook and to absorb more liquid for an additional 10 minutes, covered. After the 10 minutes rest time, empty the hot cooked Calrose rice into the fruit sauce.
Blend the cooked rice into the sauce using a wire whisk. Break up any clumps of cooked rice. Bring the sauce back to a medium boil. Then, turn off the heat and empty the Strawberry & Plum Fruit Rice Pudding into a heat proof/food safe container. Cover and allow to cool on the counter or on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes.
You can now place your fruit rice pudding in the fridge to cool completely. It will keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Or, you many choose to portion and package some of your rice pudding into freezer grade containers to freeze and enjoy at a later time. They keep well frozen for months.
Consult our How to Freeze & Thaw Blog Post for best results. Consult our Simply Fruit Rice Puddings: Basic Ingredients post and our Basic Cooking Techniques Blog Posts for more tips and tricks on making your very own fruit rice pudding. Enjoy!