Coconut Rice Kheer

Recipe: Coconut Rice Kheer
Coconut Rice Kheer is a creamy, tasty vegan kheer or rice pudding that is made with fresh coconut, rice and coconut milk. Add a bit of cardamom or cinnamon powder for that spice flavour and some chopped nuts for a bit of crunch. Actually, this gluten free kheer is so easy to make and perfect for those who follow a vegan diet. However, it is a delicious alternate for those who don’t follow a vegan diet.
What Is Kheer?
Kheer is the Indian way of preparing a rice pudding. Basmati rice or short grain rice is allowed to cook in milk till it is done and appears thick and creamy. Spices, nuts and dried fruits are added and served hot or cold. However, it is common to find kheer made with other grains, fruits and vegetables other than rice. My all time favourite is Sabudana Kheer.
Theme: Vegan Recipes
This month for the Shhh Cooking Secretly group Radha who blogs at Magical Ingredients suggested we make Vegan Recipes. Her creamy unique vegan jackfruit kofta curry is a must try recipe. What I like is that she has got the creaminess of the curry base by using cashewnut yogurt.
What Is A Vegan Diet?
A vegan diet is where no animal products are used in cooking, be it meat, fish, eggs, dairy products. In other words, it is a plant based diet. In fact, the whole concept of this diet is to minimize or stop exploitation and cruelty of animals. Nowadays it is easier to find ready made vegan cheese, milk, fake meat, etc.
Check Out Some Vegan Recipes On My Blog














My Partner
As this group largely is a partner dependent group, each month we pair up participants. They give them 2 secret ingredients to use in their dish. Once the dish is ready, the photo is posted on our FB group. Then other participants try and guess the two secret ingredients. For this purpose, my partner is Sasmita. She blogs at First Timer Cook. Her photos are simply beautiful. I had indicated to Sasmita that I would like to make a vegan dessert. Accordingly, she gave me coconut milk and cardamom. As hers is a savoury dish I suggested she uses onion and broccoli. With those two ingredients she has made finger licking, crispy Broccoli Balls using an air fryer.
Ingredients Required For Coconut Rice Kheer
Rice – I usually use basmati rice. However, feel free to use short grain rice or any other rice of your choice.
Water – to wash and soak the rice in. Also need some to cook the rice.
Fresh Coconut – shredded.
Coconut Milk – I have used canned coconut milk as it tends to be thicker. I used Renuka brand coconut cream which actually has the consistency of thick coconut milk.
Oil– generally rice is stir fried in ghee before adding milk. As this is a vegan recipe, I have used avocado oil. Use any odourless oil or coconut oil.
Beet Sugar – many of the refined sugar are refined with bone char and therefore not suitable for a vegan diet. Or use coconut sugar. If you use coconut sugar, the colour of the kheer will be a bit dark.
Nuts – mixed nuts, chopped. Add nuts of your choice.
Cardamom Powder – elachi. Add according to your taste. Can replace it with cinnamon powder.
Watch How To Make Vegan Coconut Rice Kheer

COCONUT RICE KHEER
Ingredients
- ¼ cup rice
- 2 cups water
- ⅓ cup fresh coconut shredded
- 2 cups coconut milk thick
- ¼ -⅓ cup sugar vegan
- 2 tbsp nuts chopped
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or any odourless oil
Instructions
WASH AND SOAK THE RICE
- Wash the rice by adding water, gently rubbing it. Discard the water. Add more water. Repeat this process 3-4 times.
- Add ½ cup water to the washed rice.
- Allow the rice to soak for 20-30 minutes.
- Drain the water out.
PREPARATION OF COCONUT RICE KHEER
- Heat oil in a saucepan over low heat.
- Stir fry the chopped nuts till they are light golden in colour.
- Remove them from the pan into a plate and keep them on the side.
- To the remaining oil add the soaked rice.
- Stir fry for about 1 minute, mixing all the time.
- Add the shredded coconut and stir fry for 30 seconds or so.
- Add 2 cups of water. Mix well.
- Increase the heat to medium and allow the rice to cook.
- Stir it occasionally so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Allow the rice to cook a bit for about 10 minutes.
- By now most of the water will have evaporated.
- Add the sugar and mix well.
- Add the coconut milk.
- Mix well. Allow the kheer to cook in the coconut milk over low heat.
- Do not bring to a rolling boil as you don't want the fat to separate from the coconut milk.
- When the kheer becomes a bit thick after 10 minutes, add the fried nuts and cardamom powder.
- Mix well. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Serve it hot or cold. If you prefer cold kheer, allow it to cool at room temperature. Then put it in the fridge.
Notes
- Cook the rice in water first as you don't want the fat from the coconut milk to separate.
- Make sure you use good quality thick coconut milk. If you get thin coconut milk then reduce the amount of water you use to cook the rice.
- Add nuts of your choice. I used almonds and some pistachio for the topping.
- Soaked rice cooks faster and also makes the kheer more creamier.
Pin For Later
A Little Request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962
23 Comments
Kalyani
February 3, 2023 at 11:28 pm
fab pics and loved the styling of this vegan coconut kheer with rice ! the aesthetics are stunning and bookmarking this to try sometime !
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:39 pm
Thank you so much Kalyani. Enjoy the kheer when you make it.
Broccoli Balls – First Timer Cook dinner – worldbreakingnewsdaily.com
February 4, 2023 at 8:55 am
[…] gave me 2 secret elements Broccoli and Onion; and I gave her Coconut Milk and Cardamom. She ready Coconut Rice Kheer utilizing these secret elements. And as typical, utilizing my two elements I’ve additionally […]
Renu
February 9, 2023 at 8:00 am
Interesting vegan kheer with coconut and coconut milk. Not a fan of coconut milk, but intrigued to try this soon. A question before I make, how is the taste like? I mean do we taste too much of coconut flavour.
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:27 pm
Thanks Renu, I actually added the fresch coconut for more taste. If you don’t like coconut milk, then maybe this is not your cup of tea. Unfortunately, there is no substitute for coconut milk for this particular recipe.
Seema Sriram
February 9, 2023 at 9:47 pm
Wow, this vegan kheer is a delightful treat. I love how smooth it is and the flavours are amazing. I am sure we will keep making this often.
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Thanks Seema, the texture is not too smooth because of the fresh coconut. But it definitely is creamy.
Priya Iyer
February 13, 2023 at 9:16 pm
Beautiful vegan kheer recipe! I love the addition of both fresh coconut and coconut milk – can imagine how flavourful this must have made the dessert!
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:23 pm
Thanks Priya, the fresh coconut adds a delightful bite to the kheer.
Jayashree. T.Rao
February 15, 2023 at 1:46 am
The addition of coconut milk to the kheer not only makes it vegan but lends a good taste. Lovely share.
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:21 pm
Thank you so much Jayashree.
Priya Vj
February 15, 2023 at 9:56 pm
I normally make poha kheer with coconut milk,now I have another delightful kheer to try out . I am certainly going to make this rice kheer with coconut milk for tge next upcoming festival. Next time try to roast the nuts in coconut oil gives some more added aroma to the kheer
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:21 pm
Thanks Priya, I would have loved to use coconut oil but didn’t have any at hand. Will be making the next batch using coconut oil.
Radha
February 15, 2023 at 11:00 pm
YUM! This is a delicious kheer that I have had many times from my childhood days and this is just simple and delicious. No words needed to explain the comfort of this dessert. This is a great recipe that reminds me of the way my mom makes it for me.
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:19 pm
Thanks Radha, am so happy that this kheer recipe brought back childhood memories.
Rafeeda – The Big Sweet Tooth
February 18, 2023 at 12:01 pm
I am so in love with that bowl of kheer, I can imagine how delicious this must have been… Lovely pictures…
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:13 pm
Thank you so much Rafeeda. I loved it as it has coconut and son in law cleaned out the rest.
Anu
February 19, 2023 at 10:22 am
This looks so creamy and delicious. We make a similar one with jaggery and color turns out to be brown. Would like to try these with beet sugar.
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:12 pm
Thanks Anu, if you don’t follow a vegan diet, go ahead and add normal refined sugar. Tastes equally good.
Preethicuisine Preethicuisine
February 20, 2023 at 11:38 pm
Vegan rice Kheer with coconut milk is so flavourful and Delish.I love the idea of adding beet sugar. Will definitely try it next time .
mayurisjikoni
February 22, 2023 at 8:09 pm
Thanks Preethi. Enjoy when you try out the vegan kheer.
Sasmita Sahoo
February 26, 2023 at 10:07 am
Interesting Indian Dessert with a vegan twist !!! With coconut and coconut milk, this must be so flavourful and delish.
mayurisjikoni
February 27, 2023 at 8:12 pm
It sure is Sasmita, thank you.