Can you freeze rice porridge?

Yes, in airtight containers for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat with extra milk, whisking to break up the texture, which turns slightly grainy after freezing.

What rice can I use instead of grøtris?

Arborio is the closest thing in an American supermarket, and any short-grain or sushi rice works. Avoid long-grain and jasmine rice, which will not release enough starch to thicken.

Can I make risgrøt with something other than whole milk?

Oat milk and full-fat canned coconut milk thinned with water both work, though neither tastes traditional. Skim milk gives a thin, watery porridge.

Can it be made ahead for Christmas Eve?

Cook it earlier in the day, then reheat over low heat with a cup of extra milk and stir in the almond just before serving.

Why is my porridge scorched on the bottom?

The heat was too high or the stirring too infrequent. Milk settles and burns fast, so keep the simmer lazy and scrape the bottom every few minutes.

StarterAI generated

Norwegian Rice Porridge (Risgrøt)

Name: Norwegian Rice Porridge (Risgrøt)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 1.5 cup short-grain rice, about 300 g, Arborio or other round grain; 2 cup water; 6 cup whole milk, about 1.4 l; 1 tsp salt; 1 pieces almond (optional), blanched and peeled, for the Christmas Eve version; 4 tbsp butter, cold, in pieces; 4 tbsp sugar; 2 tsp cinnamon

By MiddagsarkivetOctober 1, 2026

Time: 1 h
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 4 servings

Risgrøt is Norwegian comfort food at its most basic: rice, milk, salt, time. It turns up as a weekday breakfast, as Saturday lunch, and in many families as the fixed starter on Christmas Eve, eaten before the ribbe or the lutefisk arrives. Leftovers are not wasted: cold risgrøt whipped with cream and sugar becomes riskrem, the Christmas dessert.

The almond is the part children remember. One blanched almond goes into the pot, and whoever finds it in their bowl wins a marzipan pig, or at least the right to feel smug. Warn small children that there is a nut in there, and make sure everyone chews rather than inhales.

The rice matters more than anything else. Norwegians use grøtris, a short, starchy round grain. In an American supermarket, reach for Arborio or any short-grain white rice. Long-grain and jasmine stay separate and never thicken properly.

Bowl of Norwegian rice porridge with melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top — AI generated image. The dish has not been photographed.

How to make it

1
Start the rice in water
Bring the water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the rice, stir once, cover and simmer over low heat until the water is absorbed.
10 min
2
Add the milk
Pour in the whole milk, stir well, and bring back to a bare simmer. Keep the heat low enough that the surface only trembles; milk scorches on the bottom the moment you turn your back.
5 min
3
Simmer
Cook partly covered for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and scraping along the bottom of the pot. The porridge is done when the grains are soft all the way through and the whole thing moves slowly off the spoon.
40 min
4
Season
Stir in the salt. Taste: the porridge should be clearly seasoned, since the sugar goes on top at the table, not in the pot.
5
Hide the almond
If you are serving risgrøt as the Christmas Eve starter, push the blanched almond down into the porridge and stir once so no one can see where it went.
6
Serve
Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Ladle the porridge into deep bowls, press a hollow in the middle of each, drop in a piece of cold butter and let it melt. Pass the cinnamon sugar at the table.

A couple of tips

Use the heaviest pot you own and keep the heat low. A thin pan gives you scorched milk and a porridge that tastes of it.

If the porridge stiffens up while people find their seats, stir in a splash of warm milk. It should be pourable, not sliceable.

Save a couple of cups for riskrem: fold cold porridge into whipped cream with a little sugar and serve it with cherry sauce.

What you need

a heavy-bottomed pot

Serving

Serve piping hot in deep bowls with butter and cinnamon sugar, and a glass of cold raspberry or black currant juice alongside. On Christmas Eve it is the starter before the roast, in small portions, because the main course is coming.

Storing it

Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat gently with a generous splash of milk, stirring until creamy again. It thickens hard when cold, which is normal.

Nutrition per serving

Calories	660 kcal
Fat	24 g
of which saturated	14 g
Carbohydrates	91 g
of which sugars	31 g
Fiber	2 g
Protein	17 g
Salt	2 g

Guideline values, worked out from the ingredients.

Questions and answers

Can you freeze rice porridge?: Yes, in airtight containers for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat with extra milk, whisking to break up the texture, which turns slightly grainy after freezing.
What rice can I use instead of grøtris?: Arborio is the closest thing in an American supermarket, and any short-grain or sushi rice works. Avoid long-grain and jasmine rice, which will not release enough starch to thicken.
Can I make risgrøt with something other than whole milk?: Oat milk and full-fat canned coconut milk thinned with water both work, though neither tastes traditional. Skim milk gives a thin, watery porridge.
Can it be made ahead for Christmas Eve?: Cook it earlier in the day, then reheat over low heat with a cup of extra milk and stir in the almond just before serving.
Why is my porridge scorched on the bottom?: The heat was too high or the stirring too infrequent. Milk settles and burns fast, so keep the simmer lazy and scrape the bottom every few minutes.

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How it was made

This recipe was written by a language model. Below is what it cost, how long it took and when each step ran, so you can see how the archive comes about.

Cost: $0.340
Time: 2 min 5 sec
Model calls: 6
Safety check: Passed

Date	Step	Model	Usage	Time	Cost
Oct 1, 2026	Wrote the recipe	anthropic/claude-opus-5	7,341 in · 3,562 out tokens	48.6 sec	$0.126
Oct 1, 2026	Wrote the recipe	anthropic/claude-opus-5	7,341 in · 2,934 out tokens	36 sec	$0.110
Oct 1, 2026	Checked food safety	anthropic/claude-sonnet-5	2,183 in · 19 out tokens	1.6 sec	$0.005
Oct 1, 2026	Made the picture	bfl/flux-2-max	1 image	23 sec	$0.070
Oct 1, 2026	Worked out the nutrition	anthropic/claude-opus-5	1,487 in · 762 out tokens	10.2 sec	$0.026
Oct 1, 2026	Set the collections	anthropic/claude-sonnet-5	1,496 in · 32 out tokens	2.2 sec	$0.003

Norwegian Rice Porridge (Risgrøt)

How to make it

Start the rice in water

Add the milk

Simmer

Season

Hide the almond

Serve