Coconut Rice is a simple side dish recipe that is slightly sweet with a subtle hint of coconut. This delicious rice recipe is easily made on the stovetop with coconut milk and a little bit of sugar.
Coconut Rice is amazing! We love to eat rice with a lot of different meals, and I love how this rice recipe has a little bit more flavor than regular rice. I’m not a huge fan of coconut in most recipes, but I absolutely love this rice. Has just the right amount of sweetness and flavor and pairs perfectly with so many different things!
What is coconut rice?
Coconut rice is made by adding just a couple of simple ingredients to regular rice. Even though it is simple, the difference in taste is absolutely incredible! Coconut rice is made by cooking rice in milk, coconut milk and a little bit of sugar. That’s it!
What do you serve with rice?
Coconut Rice is the perfect side dish for just about any type of meat. Salmon, pork, ham, chicken….it’s all good! We love making grilled chicken or steak and serving the rice with it. Add a side of veggies – Orange Glazed Carrots or Sugared Asparagus are both delicious. And don’t forget dessert! Mandarin Orange Cake with Pineapple Frosting or Easy Homemade Vanilla Cake are both fantastic options.
Ingredients in Coconut Rice
Rice – Regular long-grain rice works the best, but other varieties of rice work well too. I’ve never tried using brown rice, but I’m guessing that would work if you increased the liquid even a little bit more. This recipe already calls for more than twice the liquid that rice usually requires, so you shouldn’t need too much additional liquid to cook brown rice.
Coconut Milk – If you’ve never purchased coconut milk before, it is not refrigerated and comes in a box or a can. Can typically be found in the grocery store near other Asian foods. Sometimes there are fresh varieties in the refrigerated section as well. Coconut milk typically comes in regular, sweetened or low-fat varieties and any of them work well in this recipe. I usually use the regular kind because you also add some sugar to the recipe which adds plenty of sweetness.
Sugar – Just regular granulated sugar. Just a little bit!
Milk – Any type of milk works. I usually just use 1% or 2% or whatever I’ve got in the fridge but you can use a dairy-free alternative if you prefer, or even just more coconut milk if you really like the flavor!
How to make Coconut Rice
Clean the rice. If you’ve never done that before, it’s easy! Place the rice in a mesh strainer and rinse for about 45-60 seconds.
In a saucepan, combine the rice, coconut milk, sugar and milk. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Serve immediately.
Can you make coconut rice in an Instant Pot?
Generally milk doesn’t work very well in an Instant Pot because it tends to curdle. I haven’t tried this recipe in an Instant Pot because I’m worried about that and making it on the stove is so easy to do.
Is coconut rice dairy-free?
The coconut milk is dairy free, but the recipe also calls for a bit of regular milk. You can easily swap this out with more coconut milk or even another type of dairy-free milk (almond milk, rice milk, etc).
COCONUT RICE
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 4 cups coconut milk
- 2 TBSP sugar
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Clean the rice. (I rinsed mine in a mesh strainer for about 45-60 seconds)
- In a saucepan, combine the rice, coconut milk, sugar and milk.
- Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cover with a lid, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy!
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Our favorite main dish recipes that pair well with rice!
- Pork Tenderloin
- Grilled Flank Steak
- Garlic Butter Pan Fried Steak
- Crockpot Ham
- Easy Beef and Broccoli
- Bacon Wrapped Pork Filet
- Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken
- Grilled Honey Chicken with Pineapple
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
- Easy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
- Sweet & Spicy Grilled Sticky Chicken
- Cheesy Grilled Pineapple Chicken
Coconut Rice is a simple side dish recipe that is slightly sweet with a subtle hint of coconut. This delicious rice recipe is easily made on the stovetop with coconut milk and a little bit of sugar.
Brittany says
This sounds soon good! It would probably be super tasty with some grilled teriyaki chicken! Thanks for the recipe! Pinning!
Sinea says
This sounds so good. Pinned it to my Side Dishes board. Have you shared this at my Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop on Ducks ‘n a Row yet? If you haven’t, will you?
Colleen says
I need to make this! I wonder if it would work in the rice cooker🤔
Jessica says
I haven’t tried it in a rice cooker before, let me know how it goes!!