Passion Fruit and Coconut Tapioca Pudding Recipe

Rochelle Anderson
March 3, 2021
The Story Behind The Recipe

Tapioca pudding was one of my dad’s favorite desserts. Hawaii and all of its wonderful flavors were also a favorite of his. I enjoyed creating this recipe as I thought about my dad. He would have really enjoyed his tapioca with passion fruit and coconut. So those are the star ingredients in this recipe.

What is Tapioca?

If your like me you are probably wondering what tapioca is? Well, I did a bit of research on the Googles and found out that it is the starch from the root of the cassava plant.

Cassava Plant by Rochelle for www.davinehawaii.com — Cassava Plant is what Tapioca Pearls are made from.

So what is a cassava plant? Cassava is a calorie-rich vegetable that contains lots of carbohydrates along with key vitamins and minerals. It is a good source of vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin.

To make the pearls the root is peeled and grated to capture the milky fluid. The starch is then soaked in water for several days, kneaded, and strained to remove impurities. It is then sifted and dried. The finished product is either sold as flour or pressed into flakes or the “pearls” that we are familiar with. The “pearls” are what I used to make this tapioca pudding. These small translucent balls expand when introduced to moisture.

Tapioca is naturally gluten free. So those of you that have a gluten allergy or sensitivity can enjoy this dessert. The tapioca flour can be used as a binder in baked goods as a replacement for wheat flour.

I used a store bought minute tapioca and canned coconut milk for this recipe. They are both easy to find at any grocery store. I also used our 100% pure passion fruit puree.

I’ve topped the one above with some fresh berries. Use whatever fruit you have on hand or no fruit at all. The passion fruit and coconut combined create a wonderful flavor profile alone. I just like how it looks with the fruit added.

The photo below I added some thinned jelly and a dollop of vanilla yogurt. If you like a stronger passion fruit flavor you can use our passion fruit jelly.