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I originally published this on January 11, 2021 but updated it on February 1, 2021 to include more history about the dish among other personal thoughts on the dish itself.
Hello! Today I bring you a tasty vegan Filipino champorado recipe without glutinous rice. This chocolate rice porridge dish was one of my favorite breakfast dishes as a kid in the Philippines and even in the states!
Filipino champorado is different than champurrado, the incredibly delicious hot Mexican chocolate drink. However, Filipino champorado was indeed influenced by the Mexicans when their chocolate (Tagalog: tsokolate) was introduced to the Philippines during the Manila galleon.
Filipino champorado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge breakfast dish in the Philippines that is usually eaten with a side of dried fish (tuyo). It is traditionally made with a glutinous rice, sugar, condensed milk and topped with evaporated milk. Unfortunately for me, that’s a sugar coma waiting to happen. It is unfortunate but true. Believe me, I hate that I have to give up the sweetness of the condensed milk.
So my goal was to make a vegan Filipino champorado recipe that wasn’t too sweet that I could also make with Jasmine rice. Why? Because diabetes does run on both sides of my family and because I don’t make enough glutinous rice dishes consistently to justify keeping it around. It ends up going bad when I inadvertently forget about it and that’s just wasteful. I did want to test the recipe with glutinous rice to have a modification under the notes but I will just make a separate recipe for it when I can. It deserves its own.
I made multiple batches of vegan Filipino champorado to try and get it right. My biggest takeaways are that:
- Not rinsing the Jasmine rice helps it stay starchy and it becomes gummy as it cooks. Which is what I need!
- Using semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips and maple syrup is enough for sweetness and that there’s no need to add granulated sugar or any kind of vegan condensed milk.
I made multiple batches off the vegan Filipino champorado with unsweetened almond milk and one solo batch with oat milk (which has an additional 7g of added sugar per serving!) and that one batch with the oat milk was way too sweet for me and honestly just didn’t go with the seaweed.
For the tuyo, I substituted with seaweed and it’s perfect! Many Filipinos eat the tuyo separately while others mix in the champorado for a combination of sweet and salty flavors.
I do both for my seaweed depending on what I’m feeling that day. So easy to just crush it up into tiny pieces and sprinkle over my bowl of vegan Filipino champorado.
I can imagine some people who get scared of foreign food cringing right now. It’s all good! Try it or not. I don’t care. HAHA! I’m just glad I finally got a vegan Filipino champorado recipe that’s right for me.
Anyway, for all the people who like good food and aren’t haters, I hope you enjoy this vegan Filipino champorado recipe as this dish is very dear to me! Just like the other recipes on this blog, this is the version of this traditional dish that works for my family. Please let me know if you try this dish!
PrintPerfect 6-Ingredient Vegan Filipino Champorado
Quick and easy vegan Filipino champorado recipe. A rice porridge dish from the Philippines. This recipe allows you to make it using Jasmine rice instead of glutinous rice.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 12 small servings or 6 big servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup unrinsed Jasmine rice
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups unsweetened vegan milk – I use almond milk for this one!
- 1 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
- ½ cup maple syrup
- Seaweed strips (for serving on the side or as a topping…I personally like loads but I’m hella Filipina)
Instructions
- Except for the seaweed, put all of the ingredients into a 3 qt saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Once it’s boiling, immediately bring down to a simmer and stir a few times to avoid sticky bottom.
- Let simmer for 30 minutes and remember to stir regularly (for me that’s 3-4 minutes) to avoid sticky bottom. Keep an eye on the pot because sometimes you’ll end up having to adjust the heat depending on where you are in the process. Just make sure it stays at an actual simmer.
- It should be thick at 30 minutes without any sticky bottom if you stirred it regularly and had it at an actual simmer.
- Use a ladle to scoop into bowls. Top with a splash of unsweetened vegan milk to balance out chocolate.
- Enjoy with a generous serving of seaweed strips on the side or even on top if you’re down!
Notes
- Don’t rinse your Jasmine rice as as we want it gummy.
- Make sure your pot is simmering and that it’s not at a rolling boil.
- You have to absolutely stir regularly. Don’t try to multitask away from the pot when you make this. I like to dance around to fun, old school music like Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” when I’m at the stove. If I’m feeling sassy, I’ll listen and get down to some Saweetie or Kreayshawn. If my feet hurt (plantar fasciitis ouch!), I’ll grab a chair or stool and bring it to the stove or even just straight up cook at the table using a tabletop induction burner.
- The seaweed can be eaten separately or it can be a topper for the champorado. Many Filipinos stir their tuyo into the champorado.
- Keep covered to avoid skin at the top. If you end up with any skin, just remove it with a fork or chopsticks and discard.
- Reheat with unsweetened vegan milk. I prefer reheating on the stovetop but microwave is fine too. It’s “okay”.
- Like my other recipes, please adjust to your own preferences in terms of sweetness. This varies from person to person.
This looks amazing! Love the song recommendations for stirring time. A question about the oat milk–is it 7g added sugar because the brand of oat milk you were using is sweetened? So theoretically could I make it with unsweetened oat milk?
Hi, Alli! Yes, you can make it with any kind of vegan milk of any brand so long as it’s unsweetened. If you make it, please let me know how it turns out. And also let me know what song you chose for stirring time. 😊 Good luck! ❤️
This is so good! Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Brody, it is my pleasure. Thank you for trying out my cooking!
Amazing!
★★★★★
Thank you, Kat!