I love all things tropical. I love the weather, I love the music, I love the FOOD. I often day dream of a prince charming who owns a jet and insists on flying me to Jamaica every weekend just to sit on the beach, drink rum cocktails, and eat delicious food. Of course, I'm not just going to sit around and wait for that to happen, so I'll just make the delicious food at home until it does. Ha. Right.

Anyway, I digress.

I'm not huge on desserts but every now and then I crave something sweet. This dessert fits the bill because it's not super sweet, it's just subtly creamy and sweet with chunks of sweet mango. Plus, it's just really pretty.

Normally this dessert would be made with short grain sticky rice, but since I already had jasmine rice (and can't get enough of that floral aroma), I just used that instead. So, if you're expecting a sticky mango coconut rice like you've had in a Thai restaurant (or in Thailand, for that matter), this is not it. This is just my convenient interpretation of that. Still delicious, if I do say so myself.

Oh, and I'm betting that you might be able to do better on the price than I did here. I've bought coconut milk for half that cost before, and sometimes during the summer mangoes go on sale for $0.99 each. Good luck!

Mango Coconut Jasmine Rice

Total Recipe cost: $4.79
Servings Per Recipe: 6 (about 3/4 cup each)
Cost per serving: $0.80
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 35 min. Total: 45 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1.5 cups	dry jasmine rice	$0.66
1 (15 oz.) can	coconut milk	$2.38
1 cup	water	$0.00
1/2 tsp	salt	$0.02
1/4 cup	honey	$0.44
1 large	mango	$1.29
TOTAL		$4.79

STEP 1: Place the jasmine rice in a medium pot. Rinse 3-4 times with cool water, draining off as much water as possible after the last rinse. Add the can of coconut milk and one cup of water. Place a lid on top and bring up to a full boil over medium/high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil immediately turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 20 minutes (do not remove the lid during this time).

STEP 2: While the pot is simmering, cube the mango. For a step by step image tutorial on how to cut a mango, click here.

STEP 3: After the rice has simmered for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit, undisturbed, for an additional 10 minutes. Once it has rested, remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Slowly drizzle the honey over top while fluffing to mix it in. Add the cubed mango and stir again. Serve warm.

Step By Step Photos

Begin by placing the dry jasmine rice in a pot. Rinse a few times with cool water or until the water runs mostly clear. You can use the lid to help hold the rice back as you pour out the rinse water. Remove as much water as possible after the last rinse.


To the rinsed rice, add one can of coconut milk and one cup of water. I usually use light coconut milk for my savory coconut rice, but I think the next time that I make the mango coconut rice I'll use full fat coconut milk to make it more dessert-like. Place a lid on top and bring the pot up to a rolling boil. AS SOON as it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let it simmer for 20 minutes. For more detailed pictures of this process, see the Savory Coconut Rice post.


While the rice is cooking, cube the mango. Mangoes are a mystery to many, many people. So, if you've never cut into one before, be sure to check out this picture tutorial so that you get the most flesh off of the little guy.


After the rice has simmered for 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit, undisturbed for an additional ten to let it finish steaming. Once it's absorbed all of the moisture, fluff it with a fork, drizzle on the honey and fluff again to mix it in.


At this point you have a creamy, slightly sweet rice that is already delicious. It makes me wonder what other types of fruit would be good in there... pineapple? Stirring in a bit of flaked coconut would probably also be awesome.


Add your cubed mango pieces...


And then it's ready to go. I like this dessert better warm than cold.


Totally tropical! Take a little tropical vacay in your back yard this summer ;)