Winter & Christmas

Risengrød

Risengrød is Danish rice porridge at its simplest: short-grain rice cooked slowly in milk until thick and creamy. It is served warm with a knob of butter in the middle and plenty of cinnamon sugar on top.

Plate of rice porridge topped with a knob of butter and cinnamon
Photo: KEN / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Preparation
5 min
Cooking/baking time
45 min
Servings
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

Porridge

To serve

Method

  1. Bring the rice and water to the boil in a heavy-based pan and boil for about 2 minutes.
  2. Pour in the milk and bring back to the boil, stirring.
  3. Cover and leave the rice to cook over the lowest heat for 35–40 minutes. Stir now and then so nothing sticks to the bottom.
  4. Season with salt. If the porridge is too thick, stir in a little more milk.
  5. Divide between plates, put a knob of butter in the middle and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

The story behind the dish

Risengrød is part of the Nordic Christmas tradition. Rice is cooked with milk and a little salt and served warm with butter, cinnamon and sugar.

In Scandinavia, rice porridge is first recorded in Malmö in 1542. Back then it was cooked with water on ordinary days – milk was kept for feast days.

Enjoy it at Dansk Cottage

A pot of risengrød quietly simmering on the stove while the winter wind sweeps across the island – an evening at the cottage can hardly begin more simply or cosily.

The cottage kitchen · Discover Søby · Experience Ærø

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In the mood for Denmark?

Dansk Cottage near Søby can be booked from spring 2027 – with a spacious kitchen for exactly this kind of dish.

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