Cardamom Rice Kheer
Kheer is a slow-simmered Indian rice pudding, served at festivals and family celebrations across the country. This version cooks the rice in coconut milk scented with cardamom and saffron, so it keeps the rich, creamy character of the original without any dairy.
By Vegan Cook. Published 1 November 2026
Ingredients
Serves 4.
- 75 gbasmati rice, or a short-grain rice for a thicker pudding
- 1 tin (400 ml)full-fat coconut milk
- 500 mlrice milk or oat milk
- 4 tbspsugar, or jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) for a deeper, caramel flavour
- 4green cardamom pods, lightly crushed, or 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 pinchsaffron threads, optional
- 1 pinchsalt
- 2 tbspraisins, optional
- to servetoasted coconut flakes, or chopped pistachios if nuts are not a concern
Cookware
- Heavy-based saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Small bowl
Method
Read each step end-to-end before starting.
- 01
Rinse the rice
Rinse the rice once or twice in cold water and drain it well. A brief rinse removes dust and broken fragments while leaving enough starch on the grains to thicken the pudding later.
- 02
Steep the saffron
If you are using saffron, crumble the threads into 2 tablespoons of warm rice milk in a small bowl and leave them to steep. This draws out their golden colour and delicate floral aroma.
- 03
Simmer the rice
Pour the coconut milk and the rice milk into the saucepan, add the cardamom and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Stir in the rice, then lower the heat so the surface barely trembles. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the grains are completely soft and the liquid has thickened and reduced by about a third. Regular stirring matters here, because coconut milk catches and scorches easily on the base of the pan.
- 04
Sweeten
Add the sugar or jaggery, the salt, the raisins and the saffron with its soaking liquid. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. The sugar goes in only once the rice is soft, because sugar added earlier slows the grains from softening.
- 05
Finish and serve
Remove the cardamom pods if you used whole ones. Kheer thickens a great deal as it cools, so take it off the heat while it is still slightly looser than you would like. Serve it warm, or chill it for a few hours and serve it cold, loosening it with a splash of rice milk if it has set too firmly. Scatter over the toasted coconut or pistachios just before serving.
Allergen profile
Every recipe here is fully plant-based. Cross-contamination risk depends on your kitchen, so check all packaging.
Swap note
Naturally free of gluten, soy and nuts when made with rice milk. Oat milk works too, but choose one labelled gluten-free if that matters to you. Pistachios are a tree nut, so use toasted coconut instead if you are cooking for someone with a nut allergy.