Wheat Berry Pudding

Rice is a grain, and wheat is a grain, so it makes total sense that if you can make rice pudding, you can also make wheat pudding. This recipe was born out of my $20 budget week scramble, and you know what they say about necessity being the mother of invention? It's true. 

How do you cook wheat berries? In the same way you'd cook rice. Like I said, a grain is a grain is a grain. For this recipe, I used about 2 cups of cooked wheat berries, which is about 3/4 cup uncooked berries simmered on low heat with about 1 1/2 cups water, give or take, until the water is all gone. It's not as finicky as rice and very forgiving in that you almost can't overcook it or ruin it with too much water.

My hot take is that wheat berry pudding is even better than rice pudding because the texture of the grains stand up so well to a longer cooking time, remaining bouncy and chewy even after a long cooking time. It tastes pretty good cold too, which isn't always true for leftover rice pudding. Add in those chunks of sweet potato and pumpkin for extra creamy bites and I think we've got a winner on our hands.

The cardamom and rosewater are optional—and let's be honest, the cinnamon is too—but I loved this combo so very much. You can switch in other spices and flavorings at will, and I will do my best to forgive you.