Traditional rice porridge | Finnish Christmas Breakfast

Traditional Finnish rice porridge is the best breakfast for Christmas morning. Perfect hot dish to start the slow mood on Christmas Day. Rice porridge goes for all ages, and the toppings can be tweaked endlessly. Find my tips on how not to burn the milk while cooking under the next header!

Tips for making

• Milk boils over really easily. Keep the heat low and use a big enough pot to avoid constantly worrying about it.
• Milk burns as well quite easily so keep the heat low and stir occasionally or constantly.
• You can use a double boiler if you want to make the porridge less active and worry that it burns. Just notice that the cooking time will be a bit longer though more passive.
• To speed up the process, heat the milk before adding it to the porridge base.

Ingredients you need for Finnish rice porridge

• Porridge rice
• Milk, whole milk gives the richest flavor, use that if you want to obtain a creamy rice pudding, but I use most commonly also semi-skimmed milk, for everyday brekfast.
• Salt
• Butter
• Water

You can find the exact measurements on the recipe card.

Tools you may need

• Large pot
• Spoon for stirring
• Measuring cups

How to make Finnish rice porridge

Step one: Star the porridge base

Melt the butter in the pot on a medium-high heat. When it has melted add rice and let it cook slightly. Pour water in and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes stirring to let the rice absorb the water. 

Step two: Add milk to the porridge base

Pour the milk into the porridge base. If you want you can save a bit to serve it with the porridge. If you want to speed up the process, you can also heat the milk before adding it to the pot.

Stir more in the beginning to not let the milk burn in the bottom of the pot. While you have been stirring for a while and the porridge has started to form you can continue stirring occasionally. But do keep an eye on the porridge, this is a good time to take a book or a podcast or spend some time in the kitchen with dishes and every few minutes stir the porridge a bit. 

Keep the heat low preventing the milk from boiling over. Cook for about 45 minutes.

Step three: Add the salt

When porridge has good consistency – it is a bit loose but easy to spoon – the final step is to season the porridge with salt to your liking.

Serving the Finnish porridge on Christmas morning

Serve the rice porridge traditionally with cinnamon, sugar, and milk. I also use honey and almond butter untraditionally. Make sure to try those, too!

Storage

Rice porridge has the best flavor when eaten right after making it, but it can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. When reheating, heat it hot and add milk or water to loosen the consistency.

If you have too much porridge, it is easy to use for making Carelian pies, and rice pastries with rye crust, to use up the leftover rice. Stay tuned for the recipe!

How to tweak this recipe

You can tweak the recipe by swapping or adding the ingredients or by adding different toppings.

Swap or add the ingredients

• Use whole milk or cream for an even creamier texture.
• Use plant-based milk, like oat milk, to make dairy-free rice porridge.
• Use coconut milk instead of cow milk and decorate with coconut flakes.
• Add a cinnamon stick to the pot when cooking to give a beautiful flavor to your rice porridge.
• Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract for a vanilla rice porridge.

Tweak with different toppings

• Sprinkle some dried fruits on the portion.
• Chop some nuts and sprinkle on the top
• If you want to serve the porridge as a sweet dessert, top it with cane sugar, honey, or some chocolate sauce!
• Pour some whole milk, fruit juice, or fruit broth into the portion.

Have you done this recipe?

Tag me on Instagram with @blue.tea.tile, I would love to know how it turned out!

You can find the recipe card below!

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