It is no secret that I have a serious love for all things coconut! Coconut milk, coconut oil, whipped coconut cream, vegan ice cream with coconut milk, piña coladas, chocolate coconut cups, and so on and on and on… It is fair to say I go through more coconut milk, coconut oil, shredded coconut and coconut chips than I actually care to admit.
When I stumbled upon this recipe on The Kitchn, I realized right away it was right up my alley, but of course, I of course tweaked it a little to add in even more coconut goodness. A creamy, coconutty, tapioca treat… YUM! The beautiful golden brown, toasted coconut on top brings a nice contrasting crispy texture to this super creamy decadent dessert, it was hard to not eat the whole bowl while it was on the counter cooling. I absolutely love tapioca pudding, always have, however Mark can’t get down with the texture of the little tapioca balls (he thinks bubble tea is one of the grossest things in the world), so I got to enjoy this myself over a couple of days. I definitely wasn’t sad about it.
[print_this]Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Toasted Coconut Chips – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free
Recipe Via (and slightly adapted) from The Kitchn
Serves 4
- 2 cups almond milk, divided
- 1/3 cup tapioca pearls
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or agave syrup – you could also use honey if you aren’t vegan)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch with 1 tablespoon water mixed in
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Toasted coconut chips for garnish
In a large glass bowl, add the tapioca pearls and 1 cup of almond milk, stir then cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 4 hours). When it has soak for at least 4 hours, add the additional almond milk and the chilled tapioca/almond milk mixture to a medium saucepan, over a medium heat. Once the pudding is boiling, pour in the coconut milk, vanilla and maple syrup. Cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, constantly stirring.
Finally, lower the heat and add in the tapioca starch mixture and salt, stirring and cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Cool in a glass bowl for at least an hour before serving. You can serve it a little warm or fully chilled. Garnish with toasted coconut chips.[/print_this]
31 Responses
Looks amazing Beth! I have a love affair with coconut too 😉
Thanks Gabby! Coconut addicts unite!! 🙂
Oh Beth, this looks to die for. The toasted coconut on top is totally what sells it for me! 😉
Thanks Sarah! Toasted coconut on everything forever! That’s what I think 🙂
This looks so amazing. Like silky smooth and so tasty! I am like you, I love a lllll things coconut. I cannot wait to try this.
Thanks Katie, it is just as amazing as it looks, maybe more actually! I hope you enjoy this if you try it.
Haha oh man, I haven’t had tapioca pearls every either! I’ve just never gotten around to it… jeez. First polenta, now this. I need to get on it!
Ha wow that is also surprising to me Leanne. I wish you lived nearer, I would make you a dinner with polenta and a tapioca pudding for dessert 😉
I’d be soooo down with that!
Hi, this looks delicious! I am curious, do you mean the coconut milk in the can or the carton. Also, is there a good substitute for tapioca starch (like xanthan gum)? Thanks!
Hi Kathleen, thanks! I used canned coconut milk, but the kind in the carton should work too. As far as a substitute for the tapioca, you could use another starch like potato, arrow root or even corn starch.
WOW! I’ve just finished a bowl of this pudding and it was fantastic! First time ever to make anything with tapioca, just can’t believe 1/3 cup made so much and it cooked so fast. I used creamy coconut milk and left out the starch, the texture was somewhat lighter than in your pictures. I didn’t have any maple syrup, but anyway I wanted to try it with date paste…and it was sooo good. Coconut pudding with toffee flavour, amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, definitely making it again.
Thanks for sharing and again I am so happy you liked it and I love the date paste suggestion. I have to see if I can find some tapioca pearls around here so I can try this again your way. Thanks for taking time to stop by and share your thoughts.
Today I made a chocolate version, also with date paste as sweetener. Love it!:)
That sounds amazing Adriana. I will have to try it. I love the idea of using the date paste as a sweetener too. Thanks so much for sharing!
I grew up eating tapioca and adore chocolate tapioca. The coconut version is amazing with dark chocolate incorporated.
That sounds amazing Sara. Do you add pieces of dark chocolate or cocoa powder?
This was sooo good and I used Chia seeds instead of tapioca and it turned out amazing!!! I just added a bit more than the original recipe.
Found this on pinterest looking for vegan recipes for breastfeeding- supposedly tapioca is really good for making quality breastmilk- I will try this recipe! thank you 🙂
Hello everyone!
I made this recipe (and followed it) and my pudding turned out to be a gunky paste! It’s almost like glue. Any advice
Hey Anastashia, weird. Sorry that happened to you. Did you follow the recipe exactly as is? You split the almond milk and soaked them in some of the almond milk, then added the additional almond milk later and the coconut milk? You only used 1 TEASPOON of tapioca starch correct? With 1 TABLESPOON of water? Using too much of the starch or not including enough liquid somewhere else is all I can think of that would cause it to be thick like glue.
Thanks so much for sharing this, combine my absolute favourite foods, coconut and tapioca pudding!
[…] Get the recipe at Tasty Yummies […]
Where do you find Tapioca starch? I find the tapioca pearls….
This looks and sounds amazing. I am all about the coconut, too! I use coconut milk for everything – am alergic to almonds so Almond Milk is a no go for me. Do you see any reason why coconut milk from a carton couldn’t be substituted for the almond milk?
I think the coconut milk would work just fine.
I’ll try it and let you know. Thanks!
Hello!
I would love to try this. Where do you get tapioca pearls? I am unfamiliar with this but do love tapioca pudding!!
Thank you 🙂
Wow Beth! I’m a registered nutritionist and have looked over your recipes and I am seriously impressed! It is no easy task coming up with so many healthy recipes that are tasty delicious and healthy but you have done an amazing job! I never “follow” anyone but you and your amazing recipes will be regularly visited by me! So happy to see someone else with such a love for truly healthy food that also leaves some un-regimented room to change a recipe or add (organic dairy if you like) so that everyone is happy. That is after all the goal right? Make them happy and healthy without hardened rules that leave people feeling guilty because they want a slice of bread or a bit of butter now and then as a treat. Take care and thanks for such amazing recipes!
Wow, this was very easy to make……. and delicious. The toasted coconut really adds to the texture. I used almond/coconut milk and potato starch. Only cooked it for 12 minutes and an extra 3…..it was getting thin know and no need to cook it longer. Definitively on my list for future dessert for company.
Looks delicious! I don’t think I’ve made tapioca pudding since my Dad passed away. Thanks for reminding me how good it was. I love that it is gluten-free too!