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Colombian · Caribbean

Arroz con coco

Vegetarian

A caramel-brown, gently sweet-and-savoury rice from Colombia's Caribbean coast, cooked in coconut milk that is first reduced to toasty 'titoté' with raisins. Classic with fried fish.

Arroz con coco is a Colombian rice dish, ready in about 1 hour and made with coconut milk and long-grain white rice. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Colombian arroz con coco, brown caramelised coconut rice with raisins
Photo: Adriblanco / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
5 min
Cook
50 min
Rest
5 min
Total
1 h
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
478

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Simmer 400 ml of the coconut milk (opens in a new tab) in a heavy pot, stirring, until the water evaporates and the coconut oil separates; keep cooking until the solids turn deep golden-brown (titoté), 15–20 minutes.

    Stir constantly at the end — the solids go from brown to burnt quickly.

  2. Step 2

    Add the sugar (opens in a new tab) and raisins (opens in a new tab) and stir until the sugar melts. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk (opens in a new tab), the water and the salt and bring to a boil.

    • 4 min
    • medium-high heat

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the rice and boil uncovered until the liquid drops to the level of the rice. Cover tightly and cook on low for 20 minutes.

    • 25 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    Rest 5 minutes, then fluff and serve.

    • 1 min

    Food safety: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour.

About this dish

Origin
Colombia · Well documentedTypical of the Caribbean coast (Cartagena, Barranquilla); coconut rice is eaten across the region.Also popular in PanamaMore food from Colombia
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Rice dishes · Side dishes
Cooking method
Simmered, Steamed
Taste
sweet & savoury, nutty, creamy
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Coconut milk · Long-grain white rice · Sugar · Raisins
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Steaming · Bhunao

Allergens

  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom raisins

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

478 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 262 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 6%
  • Carbohydrate 55%
  • Fat 39%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy478 kcal182 kcal
Protein7 g2.7 g
Carbohydrate66.9 g25.5 g
Net carbohydrate——
Sugars——
Added sugars4.2 g1.6 g
Fibre——
Fat21.4 g8.2 g
Saturated fat18.7 g7.1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium603 mg230 mg
Salt equivalent1.5 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
354 mg
Calcium
50 mg
Iron
6.3 mg
Magnesium
66 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
1 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
272 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Common mistakes

  • Stopping before the coconut solids brown — the colour and toasty flavour come from the titoté.

Serve with

  • With fried whole fish (mojarra frita), patacones and a tomato-onion salad.

Storage

  • Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat covered with a splash of water.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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