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This delicious old-fashioned Tapioca Pudding recipe is one of my favorite classic desserts and only requires the simplest ingredients, including small tapioca pearls, milk, cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
If you love homemade pudding be sure to try my Banana Pudding, Baked Rice Pudding, Bread Pudding, or Sticky Toffee Pudding!
There are a few recipes that were instrumental in sparking my love for cooking at a very young age, and Tapioca Pudding is one of them–along with my mom's spaghetti sauce, German pancakes, and Belgian Waffles. These recipes are so easy to make that I could follow the instructions on my own, and what kid doesn't love tapioca pudding, with fun chewy pearls?
This is a great dessert to make ahead of time, and you can serve it warm or cold. For more classic desserts, try my Peach Cobbler, Apple Crisp, or Grandma's Oatmeal Cake!
What is Tapioca?
Tapioca is a starch that comes from the cassava root and formed into little pearls that gives tapioca pudding its signature texture and is naturally gluten-free. The natural starch tapioca flour is often used as a thickening agent, like for my Blueberry Pie.
Ingredients Needed:
- Small tapioca pearls:The distinguishing ingredient in tapioca pudding, and be sure to buy the small ones for this recipe. They're hard little beads that will cook until tender, thickening the pudding and creating a fun texture.
- Milk and cream: for the base creaminess of the pudding.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetness.
- Eggs: for thickening.
- Salt
- Vanilla
How to make Tapioca Pudding:
Cook Tapioca: Add milk, cream, sugar and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then stir in tapioca and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring often for about 45 minutes.
Temper the Eggs: Add the eggs to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add a spoonful of hot tapioca mixture to the beaten eggs, stirring well as you pour it in. Repeat with another few spoonfuls of hot tapioca, stirring after each. This helps temper the eggs and bring them to a warm temperature without “scrambling” them.
Simmer Pudding: Add tempered egg mixture to the saucepan with tapioca and stir well to combine. Cook for 2-5 more minutes, just until thickened (keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Let Cool and Serve: Transfer to a serving bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (to keep it from forming a rubbery skin on the surface). Allow to cool before serving. Serve warm or chilled.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: This tapioca recipe is a great dessert to make ahead of time! Just store in the refrigerator with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: Homemade tapioca pudding freezes well as long as you allow it to cool completely. Store in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Freeze for up to two months. Thaw completely before serving.
Recipe Variations:
- Minute Tapioca:
- 2 3/4 cups 2% or whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons minute/instant tapioca
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the milk and egg to a medium saucepan and whisk well to combine. Stir in sugar and tapioca and let sit for 5 minutes. Turn heat to medium and bring mixture to a bubbling, full boil (stirring constantly, being careful not to let it burn!). Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding and cool for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
- Chocolate Tapioca Pudding: Add ½ cup of chopped semi-sweet chocolate after adding the eggs. Cook for 2-5 more minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Coconut Tapioca Pudding: Swap out the milk for coconut milk.
- Vegan Tapioca Pudding: Substitute the milk for coconut, almond milk, or your favorite plant-based milk and swap out the heavy cream for full fat canned coconut milk.
Tapioca Pudding
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup small pearl tapioca*, (not instant tapioca)
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add milk, cream, sugar and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then stir in tapioca and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring often, until mixture has slightly thickened, and the tapioca pearls have plumped and softened, about 45 minutes.
- Add the eggs to a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add a spoonful of hot tapioca mixture to the beaten eggs, stirring well as you pour it in. Repeat with another few spoonfuls of hot tapioca, stirring after each. (This helps temper the eggs and bring them to a warm temperature without "scrambling" them.)
- Add tempered egg mixture to the saucepan with tapioca and stir well to combine. Cook for 2-5 more minutes, just until thickened (keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (to keep it from forming a rubbery skin on the surface). Allow it to cool before serving. Serve either warm or chilled.
Notes
-
- 2 3/4 cups 2% or whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons minute/instant tapioca
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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*I originally shared this recipe on September 2016. Updated October 2018 and March 2022.
Another poster here mentioned that she thought this was the same recipe as is on the package of Bob’s Red Mill small pearl tapioca. It is not at all the same recipe that is on the bag of Bob’s Red Mill small pearl that I just purchased 2 days ago!
First, it uses no heavy cream. It calls for soaking the pearls in 3 cups of water for ½ hour, and adding whatever water is left to the milk/salt mixture, and to that, adding only ¼ C. of the (½ C) of sugar, before starting to cook.
In addition, his recipe says to separate the 2 eggs. After the milk mixture has come to a full boil, stir in the 2 lightly-stirred yolks. Return to heat and cook over very low heat, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. (The
recipe does not call for tempering the egg yolks with the milk mixture, which seemed odd to me, but I followed the instructions since it was my first time using this recipe.)
Meantime, it says to whip the 2 egg whites with ¼ C sugar (i.e.half of the total sugar in the recipe) to soft peaks and fold it gently in to the boiling mixture, then stir the entire mixture (seems odd after folding the whites in carefully!) while cooking on low for another 3 minutes until the pudding has thickened somewhat. Let cool, then add the vanilla.
Verdict: made more of a soup than a pudding; literally needed to use a soup spoon to eat it–it was no thicker than a standard bechamel or white sauce, if that. I let it sit in the fridge for several hours, but it did not thicken in the least. Also, even though I tried to stir the whipped egg whites enough to combine them with the cooked mixture before cooking it for the final time, as per the recipe, there were egg-white peak-lumps throughout the mixture while it cooked, even though I did not particularly notice them in the chilled “pudding” itself.)
The flavor was good, though a bit sweet for my taste. The pearls were cooked fully, but all int all Bob’s Red Mill recipe printed on the package was a great disappointment. My family GREATLY preferred the more standard type of tapioca pudding.you have posted here is, I think, exactly like the one from my Grandma that I used to use but sadly lost . I will be making it tomorrow! Thank you . 🙂
I just made the Bob’s Red Mill recipe too! I regret it lol, it was like a bechamel sauce! And my tapiocas dissolved. I did learn after that adding tapiocas to boiling liquid sets the pearls. I will never ever ever add whipped egg whites to tapioca pudding again, we shall save that for mousse.
Looking forward to trying to this recipe to say the least!
If using the pearls that soak overnight what qty of milk should I use instead?
if you’re using the pearls that soak overnight, you’ll want to soak them in water, drain well, then use the same amount of milk as the recipe calls for (3 1/2 cups milk + 1/2 cup cream). the overnight soak just helps them cook faster, it doesn’t mean you need less milk