Julie Clark
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Quick Tapioca Pudding Recipe
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The best ever, quick tapioca pudding recipe that is ready in only 25 minutes. You’ll love the simple vanilla flavor in this old fashioned recipe. You may also like our baked custard!
Matt has fond memories of eating tapioca pudding when he was a kid at his grandma’s house. If I ever ask him what dessert I should make, sometimes he’ll answer baked custard, but most times? It’s this Quick Tapioca Pudding recipe. This homemade tapioca pudding recipe comes from his family and makes a great dessert or afternoon snack.
What is quick cooking minute tapioca?
Tapioca is a starch extracted from the cassava root. Unfortunately it doesn’t really have any protein, fiber or nutrients. It’s pretty much all carbs. However, it is gluten-free which means when it is ground into a flour makes it a great alternative to wheat. People use tapioca in bubble tea, desserts and as a thickening agent.
This easy tapioca pudding recipe calls for quick cook tapioca (Minute Tapioca pearls), which makes this classic dessert ready in under 25 minutes. Tapioca pearls tend to be large and need to be soaked before using in a recipe, but quick cooking tapioca are small tapioca pearls and will cook more quickly than the large pearls.
How to Make Quick Tapioca Pudding
This isn’t quite an “instant tapioca pudding”, but it’s about as quick as you can get by making it from scratch at home.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk, tapioca pearls and sugar. Bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring constantly so the milk does not scorch on the bottom of the pan.
- Once the tapioca mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook and stir for an additional 5 minutes.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and use a fork to whisk them together.
- Remove 1 cup of hot milk mixture. Drizzle two tablespoons of the hot milk mixture into the beaten eggs. Whisk well. Continue to add the hot milk, 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking well with each addition. This is called “tempering”. The reason behind tempering the eggs (adding a hot mixture to beaten eggs very slowly) is so that eggs do not cook too quickly. If you poured the eggs right into all of the hot milk, you’d end up with what looks like scrambled eggs in your tapioca pudding and nobody wants that texture.
- Stir the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the hot milk. Cook and stir for 2 minutes over medium heat until the pudding thickens. When it is done it should coat the back of a metal spoon. The exact thickness of the pudding is up to you! Some like it a little runnier, some like it thicker.
- Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Or coconut extract. Or even lemon. You get the idea. Add whatever flavor you’d like!
Serve the pudding either hot or cold. Once it comes to room temperature, be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.
Crockpot Tapioca Pudding
Did you know you can make tapioca pudding in the crockpot? There are a few changes to make if you choose to make this recipe in the slow cooker:
- Don’t use minute tapioca. Use small pearl tapioca…the kind you normally would need to soak. Except if you use the slow cooker, you don’t have to soak it!
- Be sure to beat the eggs before adding them into the slow cooker. You want them to be well whisked to break them up so that the pudding cooks evenly.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. Watch it VERY CLOSELY. Every slow cooker is different! This is not necessarily a “fix and forget” recipe.
- Stir the mixture often so that it slow cooks evenly.
- You can easily double this recipe for the slow cooker. However, it may take longer to cook!
Why is my minute tapioca pudding runny?
First, make sure you use whole milk. You want that extra fat to make the pudding creamy.
Second, if it still seems runny, cook it a little longer.
Quick Tapioca Pudding Recipe
The best ever, quick tapioca pudding recipe that is ready in only 25 minutes. You'll love the simple vanilla flavor in this old fashioned recipe.
Servings 6
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup quick cooking tapioca minute tapioca
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk, tapioca pearls and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly so the milk does not scorch on the bottom of the pan. 3 cups whole milk, ½ cup quick cooking tapioca, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to low. Cook and stir for an additional 5 minutes.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and use a fork to whisk them together. 2 large eggs
- Remove 1 cup of hot milk mixture. Add two tablespoons of the hot milk mixture into the beaten eggs. Whisk well. Continue to add the hot milk, 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking well with each addition.
- Stir the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the hot milk. Cook and stir for 2 minutes over medium heat until the pudding thickens. When it is done it should coat the back of a metal spoon.
- Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the vanilla. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Serve hot tapioca, or refrigerate for later and serve cold.
Video
Notes
- Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container.
- To freeze, allow the leftovers to cool completely, then place in an airtight container and place in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks. The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 6, with 1 serving being ⅙ of the pudding. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Calories: 209kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 184mg | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS! I used 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup instead of the sugar, and 1 + 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and our farm fresh eggs. It is some of the best tapioca I’ve had in my life! Grammy-approved, too, and she is a tapioca expert. Fabulous instructions! Thank you!!
Would skim milk still work?
It’s delicious, made it with almond milk and a bit of maple syrup.
Just made in a pot, pretty easy and I had a cup of coconut milk in the fridge and added 2 cups 2% and it is delicious!! Thank you!