Norwegian Porridge, aka Risengrynsgrøt, is a one-pot rice meal prepared and enjoyed on Christmas day in the Scandinavian regions in Europe.
Nonetheless, you can make the Norwegian porridge for breakfast any time of the year!
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What is the Norwegian Porridge?
The Norwegians Porridge is a common lunch dish on Christmas day in the Scandinavian countries.
They call this milk rice porridge Risengrynsgrøt in Norway and Risengrøt in Denmark.
It turns out this rice porridge is common under another name in Sweden, Finland, and Iceland as well. I can't confirm this as Norwegians mentioned Denmark as another country.
So, while we just call it a Norwegian Porridge, this rice pudding actually belongs to a many people in the Scandinavian region.
The Norwegian porridge is prepared with short grain rice such as Paella rice/ Risotto rice.
This particular rice porridge belongs to the Scandinavian region but does come close to other rice puddings around the world such as the French riz au lait, the Indian Kheer or the Spanish Arroz con Leche.
Norwegian Porridge is a big deal in that sense because it's not a dessert, but rather instead the main meal.
The original and traditional Risengrynsgrøt is a savory main course dish. A norwegian reader, @kimgiertsen, mentioned that they also eat the porridge before going to church on Christmas day.
He also shared...
Many people take an almond, remove its skin and put it in the rice porridge.
This is a Christmas game, the person who gets the almond in his or her porridge is supposed to hide it, often in their mouth.
After everyone has finished their porridge, someone asks “Who has the almond”?
The lucky person wins a small gift., typically a marzipan pig figurine.
Ingredients
- Short Grain Rice
- Water
- Salt
- Milk
- Sugar
- Cinnamon Ground
- Butter
From what I was told, is that the very traditional Norwegian Porridge does not mention the use of sugar.
However, this changed in time and some people started to add some sugar to their porridge. So, you can add sugar to your Risengrynsgrøt if you like.
Preparation Overview
Step 1
Rinse the rice thoroughly, then cook it with water and salt until it boils.
Step 2
Add all the milk and sugar, stir well, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the porridge thickens and the rice is soft.
Step 3
Serve hot with cinnamon and butter, and enjoy your creamy homemade Risengrynsgrøt.
📖 Recipe
Norwegian Porridge Recipe (Risengrynsgrøt)
Ingredients
To cook the Norwegian porridge:
- 1 cup Short Grain Rice
- 1 cup Water
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 5 cups Milk
- 2 Tablespoon Sugar
For each bowl:
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon Ground
- 1 dollop Tablespoon Butter
Instructions
- Wash your rice until the water is clear then take to the pot with the water and heat up. Let cook, add salt and bring to a boil.1 cup Short Grain Rice, 1 cup Water, ½ Teaspoon Salt
- Then add all the milk to the rice and sugar if you make it sweet. Mix well and simmer slowly for 20–40 minutes. Remember, the longer you let it cook slowly on the heat, the better the Norwegian porridge will turn out. Make sure to stir occasionally so that the content doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. The porridge will slowly thicken while it is simmering.5 cups Milk, 2 Tablespoon Sugar
- The porridge is ready when it has thickened, turned very creamy and when the rice is properly well cooked and soft.
- Then add some hot porridge into a bowl, sprinkle some cinnamon on it and add the butter into the center of the bowl on the porridge. Then you just need to make the whole contend and enjoy your homemade Risengrynsgrøt!1 Teaspoon Cinnamon Ground, 1 dollop Tablespoon Butter
Notes
Nutrition
Tips
Most Norwegian will tell you to cook it for about 45 minutes.
In fact, I got the suggestion to first cook the Risengrynsgrøt on the stove until the rice boils with the milk. Then to cover and transfer the whole content to the oven to further bake it there for a total of 45 minutes or until the whole content is super creamy.
I thought a one-pot dish would be more useful as I try to avoid washing too many dishes, and you know, I like to keep it simple if possible.
While 45 minutes is the suggested cooking time, I only cook my rice porridge for about 20 minutes.
The longer you slow cook the rice pudding on the stove, the better the Norwegian porridge turns out!
The result in general should be that the rice is soft and never al dente. The Risengrynsgrøt needs to be creamy and thick.
After cooking the rice porridge, pour some into a bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon powder and add a spoon full of butter into the center and serve it that way.
The butter is then mixed in, and yes, I know I took a gigantic dollop of butter in the video, but I will tell you, the taste was incredible!
Other Scandinavian Christmas Food Traditions
Norwegians mostly associate the Norwegians' porridge with Risengrynsgrøt and not Rømmegrøt, which is another pudding, but the main difference is that it's prepared without rice and with sour cream.
Julekake is another Christmas specialty prepared in Norway for Christmas. It's a spicy and fruity soft bread loaf.
