ALETRIA (PORTUGUESE CAPELLINI PUDDING)

Our take on the creamy Portuguese Christmas dessert made with soy milk, lemon, cinnamon, capellini noodles and a hint of turmeric. Festive, nostalgic and easy to make.

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Overhead view of a large plate of vegan Aletria, a creamy Portuguese Christmas dessert topped with a cinnamon lattice pattern.

Our take on the creamy Portuguese Christmas dessert made with soy milk, lemon, cinnamon, capellini noodles and a hint of turmeric. Festive, nostalgic and easy to make.

Hello everyone, it’s Rita here. We’ve only just stepped into November, but our home is already in full festive mode. We even put up the Christmas tree this past weekend! I could say it was because of this capellini pudding, the recipe we wrote and photographed just a few days ago, but no. We’re like this every year, with or without the pudding gracing our fridge shelves. Though I must admit, decorating the tree and then sitting down to a little bowl of aletria was the perfect snack to kick off the Christmas season.

Aletria is a traditional Portuguese dessert, especially popular at Christmas. It’s similar to rice pudding but made with thin capellini noodles instead, scented with lemon and cinnamon, and often served with a dusting of cinnamon in pretty patterns on top. Every family has their own way of making it, thicker or creamier, more or less sweet, but it’s always on the table during the holidays.

And this recipe? Let’s start with the obvious: it’s vegan. Which means no cow’s milk and no egg yolks. “But how does that even work?” It works beautifully! With soy milk, as creamy and rich as dairy milk, and a touch of cornstarch at the end to make the mixture wonderfully silky and smooth on the tongue. For that characteristic golden colour, just add a pinch of ground turmeric. It doesn’t affect the flavour at all and perfectly solves the paleness issue. Because no one wants a pale pudding.

It’s simple to make, ready in just 15 minutes, and although it’s a lighter version than the traditional one, it’s still sweet enough to deliver that satisfying hit of dopamine! At least for us, who’ve trained our taste buds over the years not to crave more sugar than necessary. The good news for those with a sweet tooth is that you can double the amount of sugar in the recipe if your goal is to fully embrace a little festive sugar coma. And sugar-free? That works too. Just blend the soy milk with about six pitted medjoul dates before adding it to the pan.

This recipe has everything you want in a Christmas menu: it’s delicious, easy, and undeniably traditional.

Overhead shot of ingredients for vegan Aletria: vermicelli nests, lemons, cinnamon stick, turmeric, sugar, vegan butter and soy milk.

Close-up of vegan Aletria cooking in a saucepan, with a spatula stirring the creamy, golden mixture.

Overhead view of vegan Aletria being decorated with cinnamon, with a tattooed hand creating diagonal lines across the surface.

Side view of vegan Aletria on a serving plate, topped with a cinnamon lattice pattern.

Macro shot of vegan Aletria, highlighting the glossy noodles and diagonal cinnamon stripes.

Slice of vegan Aletria on a small white plate with a spoon, with the rest of the dessert and cinnamon in the background.

Close-up of vegan Aletria on a serving plate with a spatula, showing its creamy texture and cinnamon lattice on top.

Close-up of a creamy slice of vegan Aletria, showing its texture and cinnamon decoration, served on a white plate.

Partially eaten slice of vegan Aletria on a white plate with a spoon, showing its creamy texture and cinnamon topping.

Aletria (Portuguese Capellini Pudding)

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8 portions

15 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups (1 litre) soy milk
⅓ cup (65 g) light brown sugar (or up to ⅔ cup if you like it sweeter)
Peel of ½ lemon
1 cinnamon stick
Seeds of ½ a vanilla pod
1 heaping tablespoon unsalted vegan butter
150 g capellini noodles
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
Cinnamon powder

Instructions

Start by gathering, preparing and measuring all of the ingredients. This will improve your dynamic in the kitchen.

In a small cup, combine the cornstarch, turmeric and 1–2 tablespoons of water. Stir until smooth and lump-free, then set aside.
Place the milk, sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon stick, vanilla seeds and vegan butter in a large saucepan over medium–high heat.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to help dissolve the sugar.
Roughly break up the capellini nests with your hands before adding them to the saucepan with the boiling soy milk.
Cook the noodles over medium–low heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Once the noodles are cooked, turn off the heat temporarily. Add the cornstarch, turmeric, and water mixture, stirring quickly and continuously to incorporate.
Turn the heat back on to low and warm gently until the mixture thickens slightly. The result should be fairly creamy and pourable, not thick and dry. Easy to spread into a serving dish.
Remove from the heat and "fish" out the lemon peels and cinnamon stick.
Transfer the pudding to a serving dish or platter, spreading it evenly to create a smooth, level layer.
Dust with cinnamon, creating a pattern or design if you wish.
Place in the fridge to cool down before serving. It sets slightly and you can easily slice it into individual portions.