Oatmeal gets top breakfast billing on many healthy blogs, but I’m here to sing the praises of another oft forgotten whole grain that is inexpensive and readily available: brown rice. Hearty, gentler on the stomach, gluten-free, and might I add, delicious, brown rice makes for a warm and hearty meal. Of course, there is that time issue; brown rice takes 40 minutes to cook, while oats are ready in mere minutes. But whole grain rice has one major advantage over oats. It works very well as leftovers and reheats beautifully, which makes recipes like this breakfast risotto pure heaven in the colder months.
Rather than nuking the rice, I cook it hot cereal-style on the stove top for a warm and creamy breakfast risotto. The inspiration for this recipe is from The 4-Ingredient Vegan, but my version adds some flavorings for a few more than four ingredients. At first, I defied her serving size and upped it to a full cup of brown rice. Wow, I quickly discovered just how filling brown rice can be! Though low in calories and fat, the recipe below provides ample morning fuel. Of course, if you want to “beef” it up more, you can add some chopped nuts, or even stir in a little protein powder.
Special Diet Notes & Options: Breakfast Risotto
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, peanut-free, soy-free, tree nut-free, vegan and vegetarian. I originally used an allergy-friendly hemp milk alternative when making this recipe, but your favorite variety (coconut, rice, almond, sunflower, etc.) will work great – as long as it meets your dietary needs.
How Sweet it Is: Note that the milk alternative I used for creating this breakfast risotto was sweetened, and that this is a somewhat indulgent breakfast risotto. I wanted to point this out since I typically use unsweetened milk alternatives in my recipes. Using an unsweetened variety will change the flavor slightly, which may be perfect for you, or may prompt you to add just a touch more sweetener (of your choice). Also, don’t hesitate to use part stevia, if desired, to lower the overall sugars. I have enjoyed this breakfast risotto with less sweetener but a few drops of vanilla liquid stevia.
- ⅔ cup leftover short grain brown rice
- ½ cup vanilla dairy-free milk alternative, your choice of type
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- Generous pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, or desired sweetener to taste
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, optional
- Bring all but the flaxseed to a boil in a saucepan or small skillet.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until most of the liquid is soaked up and the rice reaches your desired tenderness.
- Remove from heat and stir in ground flaxseed, if using. Serve hot.
8 Comments
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Tried this twice. Didn’t like it 🙁 Felt like I was eating dinner rice with milk poured over. Even tried to boil the uncooked rice in milk. I was hoping to find a new favorite breakfast meal.
Hi Connie, I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy it. It sounds from your description like the milk alternative didn’t cook out. You shouldn’t end up with excess liquid – it should all be absorbed.
Oh… thanks 🙂
Is there a mistake in the ingridients or am I missing anything? 2/3 cup rice to 1/2 cup liquid?
Hi Libby, it is correct – it is cooked rice, not uncooked rice.
I have made this twice now and it’s SO good! I used brown sugar since that’s how I used to enjoy my oatmeal. 🙂 I added chopped apples too. It helps to let it sit, covered, removed from heat, if all the liquid is not absorbed after 15 minutes on the stove. I cooked brown rice the other day just so I could have this for breakfast!
Awesome – glad you like it Bethany! I’m a brown sugar gal, too 🙂