Discover the rich flavors of New Mexico with this easy Panocha recipe! A traditional sprouted wheat pudding made with panocha flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
Traditionally served during Lent and Easter, this sweet, comforting dessert is a true taste of Southwest heritage.
My introduction to panocha came during a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I picked up a bag of panocha flour from Casados Farms which produces Traditional New Mexico foods.
I love delving into the regional cuisines of the places that I visit, so I was super excited to bring this home with me and put it to good use to make panocha!
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What Is Panocha?
Panocha is a type of sprouted whole wheat flour, and is typically used to make a traditional New Mexican dessert also called panocha.
This dessert is a delicious thick and sweet pudding made with panocha and all purpose flours, butter, sugar, and water, and can include warming spices like cinnamon and cloves.
This sprouted wheat pudding was a staple dessert traditionally enjoyed during Lent, Easter, or Christmas.
It also typically involved cooking it for a long time over a low and slow heat, sometimes in empty lard or coffee cans.
Why You Will Love This Panocha Recipe!
You'll love this easy panocha recipe because:
- I've cut down on the amount of mixing normally required, as well as the amount of time required. The traditional panocha recipe involves more mixing and time than this recipe.
- The hands on time is about 20 minutes, and the rest of the time your panocha will be baking in your oven
- This recipe is easy to follow and makes about 10 servings so you can treat family and friends to this delicious pudding!
- You'll be delighted with the delicious flavors of the panocha flour combined with the rich sugary buttery cinnamon flavors which combine to make a taste which is out of this world!
So are you ready to make this sweet treat that will delight your taste buds? Let's get to it!
🥘 Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients to make this pudding like dessert. They are:
- Panocha flour - sprouted whole wheat flour
- All purpose white flour
- Salted butter
- Water
- Light brown sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
The panocha flour may be difficult to find so I've linked to The Fruit Basket Albuquerque which sells it at a great price.
You will be able to purchase all the other simple ingredients at your local grocery store.
🔪 Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200F. Butter your casserole dish with a small amount of butter, then melt the stick of butter in your large saucepan on medium low heat.
Add the brown sugar to the melted butter, and stir continuously for around 6 minutes (on medium low heat). Meanwhile, boil 4 cups of water in your small saucepan.
Taking care not to burn yourself, add the boiling water to the sugar and butter mixture. Stir to incorporate the water into the mixture for around 1 minute.
Now add the panocha flour, followed by the all purpose flour, and stir this continuously for around 5 minutes. Then add the cinnamon and stir to combine.
Add the mixture to your buttered casserole dish and then bake for 3 hours.
A little crust should develop on the top of your panocha at the end of the 3 hrs.
And that's it! Behold your beautiful panocha!
🎥 Video
Suggestions For Serving
Now it's time to enjoy your traditional pudding from New Mexico!
You can serve this at room temperature, cold, or even warm it's all good!
One recommendation is to add a little whipped cream to your dessert to make it even more heavenly.
Another great way to enjoy this is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
I hope you enjoy this traditional New Mexican dessert recipe! If so, please rate this recipe and comment below, I would love to hear from you!
FAQ
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator, and enjoy within a week! I don't think it will last that long though!
Panocha is a sprouted whole what flour, as well as a traditional thick pudding like New Mexican dessert made with panocha flour.
Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other New Mexican recipes that you may enjoy:
- New Mexico Pork Blue Corn Posole Recipe
- Homemade New Mexico Green Chile Sauce
- Easy Cheesy New Mexico Calabacitas
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Cheers!
Grace
Easy And Delicious New Mexican Panocha Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Casserole dish for baking the panocha, I used size 8" x 10"
- 1 large saucepan for combining/cooking the ingredients prior to baking
- 1 small saucepan for boiling the water
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter use salted butter (this is 1 stick of butter); plus a little extra butter for buttering your casserole dish
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 4 cups water boil the water for use in this recipe
- 2 cups panocha flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 ts ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200F. Butter your casserole dish with a small amount of butter, then melt the stick of butter in your large saucepan on medium low heat.
- Add the brown sugar to the melted butter, and stir continuously for around 6 minutes (on medium low heat). Meanwhile, boil 4 cups of water in your small saucepan.
- Taking care not to burn yourself, add the boiling water to the sugar and butter mixture. Stir to incorporate the water into the mixture for around 1 minute.
- Now add the panocha flour, followed by the all purpose flour, and stir this continuously for around 5 minutes. Then add the cinnamon and stir to combine.
- Add the mixture to your buttered casserole dish and then bake for 3 hours. A little crust should develop on the top of your panocha at the end of the 3 hrs.
- Enjoy! Serve this at room temperature, cold, or even warm it's all good!
Grace
I really enjoyed making and trying this traditional New Mexican dessert. It's a delicious pudding like sweet that I would love to treat myself and my family to at Christmas and Lent. Such an easy recipe!