A few days ago I was in the mood for some rice pudding.

Well, I finally did something about it.

A real delicious something, if you ask me.

This whole rice pudding craving thing actually started a few weeks ago when I saw a creamy rice pudding in LA.  Intrigued by the simple, yet mouth watering options at this tiny LA bakery, I decided to get to work and create a pudding back in Manhattan.

Turns out this pudding is Heaven.

I love the combination of coconut milk and golden raisins so much that I may have to re-create it again for Christmas dessert.

And what’s more fun than personal sized rice pudding cups?

This pudding is perfect for a crowd or – as dessert for one.  Because we all need a bit of creamy rice pudding in our lives every once in awhile, right?

Not to turn all Barefood Contessa on you guys this morning, but did you know what makes rice pudding different than regular plain ol’ pudding?  Rice pudding is more old fashioned and has a heap of healthy fiber. Nice, huh?

The best part? I tossed together a handful of golden raisins and macadamia nuts n’ tossed ’em in!

Whether served as a dessert or snack.

This rice pudding is delish.

Anytime of the day.

Anytime of the year.

Simply delish.

Gluten-free.

And fun to eat.

Golden Raisin Macadamia Rice Pudding

Gluten-Free and Vegetarian

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can lite coconut milk
• ¼ cup stevia
• 2 cups brown rice, cooked
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 medium orange
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. all-spice
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup macadamia nuts, toasted and ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spray a 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, coconut milk, stevia, brown rice, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon, all-spice, golden raisins, spinach and cranberries; mix well.
4. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Cover with foil.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Remove foil, stir and place back into the oven (uncovered) until liquid is absorbed and brown rice is tender, approximately 30-35 more minutes.
6. Set macadamia nuts in the oven on a baking sheet to toast for 10 minutes; remove and transfer to a food processor to grind.  Remove ground nuts from food processor.
7. Sprinkle with ground and toasted macadamia nuts.
8. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.  Serve warm.