A light and refreshing dessert that’s perfect with any meal or summer entertainment.
I’ve started making coconut tapioca recently for my vegan friends, and have quickly found out that everyone goes crazy for it, including me (although that doesn’t really count because I go crazy for almost anything with sugar in it). It’s the perfect treat after a heavy meal and wonderfully refreshing on a hot summer day.
Tapioca is made of little pearls that give a nice texture to desserts and other foods and drinks. It isn’t popular in some parts of the world, but it definitely should be!
A common way to use tapioca in dessert is combining it with coconut milk and topping with exotic fruit, caramelized bananas, or berries. Some recipes use a lot of liquid to make it more like a soup, and some (like my recipe) use less to make it thicker and creamier.
Here’s my recipe for mango sago (mango tapioca pudding) if you’d like to know how to combine fruit right into the pudding itself.
There are many different ways to cook tapioca, but this recipe is really simple to make if you just follow the instructions. It yields an utterly delicious result that’s not too sweet and has a thick pudding-like consistency.
Coconut Tapioca (vegan)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (60 g/2 oz) small pearl tapioca
- 2 ⅔ cups (640 ml) coconut milk (or substitute some of it with whole milk or coconut cream)
- ⅓ cup (60 g/2 oz) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Sliced fresh fruit such as mango , melon, pineapple, lychee
- Coconut chips , optional
Instructions
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Place tapioca and coconut milk in a medium saucepan and let soak for 30 minutes.
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Add sugar and salt to the tapioca mixture, and heat over medium heat until it reaches a simmer. Reduce heat to low and let simmer very gently for 15 minutes until tapioca pearls are transparent and the mixture has thickened. Be sure to stir frequently so that the tapioca doesn’t stick to the bottom. Once done, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
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Pour into cups and place in the refrigerator until completely chilled, at least 3 hours. The pudding will thicken after refrigeration.
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Serve with sliced fresh fruit/fruit puree and coconut chips if desired.
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Tapioca is best the same day it’s made, but will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
