How to Cook Tapioca

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Last Updated: May 12, 2024 Tested

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Tapioca takes on many forms. You can cook the little pearls and create your own homemade boba, you can serve them up in a pudding, and you can even add it to texturize pies, jellies, and stews! We'll cover all these methods -- and you'll never be at a loss for what to do with that tapioca in your pantry ever again.

Ingredients

Preparing Tapioca Boba

1/4 cup tapioca pearls
2 cups water
Cream (optional)

Preparing Tapioca Pudding

3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup quick-cooking tapioca
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

(Makes 6 servings)

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Preparing Tapioca Boba

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1
Put the water and boba in a saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. Keep stirring! You don't want the boba to stick to the bottom of the pan. And be sure to keep a 8:1 ratio of water to boba; in other words, if you have 1/4 cup of boba, use 2 cups of water. Only need 1/8 cup? Then 1 cup of water will suffice.
- Some recipes call for pre-soaking your boba. This depends on the brand and type of pearls you've bought. Some will start disintegrating in the soak, while others might benefit from it. If you can, buy boba that only has one ingredient: tapioca. Those are the best quality, soak or no soak.^{[1]
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Continue cooking the boba for another 12-15 minutes, stirring every 5 or so. When the time is up, remove the pan from heat, cover, and let the boba steep for another 15 minutes.

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3
Sweeten to taste, and eat alone or with cream. Boba can be enjoyed by themselves, but they're also a great addition to just about anything, though the first image that pops into mind is tea.
- If you're looking to make bubbles for bubble tea, create a simple syrup for the bubbles to soak in. 1/2 cup boiling water with 1/2 cup sugar will create a sweet gel for them to sop up more flavor.^{[2]
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Boba are best within a few hours. Place them in your simple syrup, if need be, in the fridge and let cool for about 15 minutes. That should be just the right amount of time to gain some sweetness and yet still have the right consistency. Or just eat them when they're cool out of the pan!

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Preparing Tapioca Pudding

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1
In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, tapioca, sugar, and salt to a boil. Stir it constantly over medium heat. Once it hits a boil, reduce the heat to low, stir, and cook 5 minutes longer.
- If you don't have the quick-cooking kind of tapioca, you can soak your tapioca overnight in water. Then throw this mixture into a slow cooker for 2 hours to get the tapioca to the right consistency.
Keep whisking until it's fully combined. Then, stir the egg-milk-tapioca mixture back into the rest of the tapioca until it's well mixed.
Once it's simmering, cook it, stirring regularly, for a couple of minutes longer until the pudding becomes thick enough to evenly coat the back of your spoon. Basically, when it starts looking like pudding.
4
Take your pudding off the stove and stir in the vanilla. Then it's ready to go! It can be served hot or poured into serving dishes and refrigerated several hours until cold. Garnish it with whipped cream, pistachios, walnuts, or raisins if desired.
- You can keep a skin from forming on top if you press plastic wrap onto the surface while chilling. And it won't dry out!
- If the pudding's too stiff when serving, add a bit of milk or cream to make it be more palatable.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Tapioca in Recipes

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1
Use as a thickener. The possibilities are nearly endless: tapioca can thicken everything from pie fillings to soups and stews. And as for desserts, it can keep them fluffy without adding too much extra sugar and carbs. Just make sure to allow the tapioca time to soak in the flavor of whatever dish you're adding it to.
- Quick-cooking tapioca is ideal for an addition to these dishes. Old-fashioned tapioca has a starker flavor that might end up contrasting with the flavor you're intending for.
If you'd like to add an interesting twist to your jam or jelly, tapioca is where it's at. It can absorb the fruity sweetness and add interesting texture and volume. Add in the tapioca near the end of your cooking cycle so the tapioca doesn't overcook but yet still retains flavor.
Make bubble tea. Because who doesn't love bubble tea? It's like eating and drinking your meal all at once, which is totally killing two birds with one stone. It's cheaper and healthier when you make it yourself, too!
Turns out quick-cooking tapioca can serve as a substitute for cornmeal or flour. The ratio for cornstarch is 1:1, but the ratio for flour is 2:1; that is, 2 parts tapioca to 1 part flour. For diet restrictions and taste preferences, this can be quite the lifesaver!

Community Q&A

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Question

When I make tapioca, there is always some raw powder in the middle. How do I keep that from happening?

Community Answer

My recommendation is to cook it longer. It also depends how big your tapioca is; for example, I have had to cook bigger tapioca balls longer than smaller tapioca balls.

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How long will dry tapioca keep?

Community Answer

Dry tapioca should have an extremely long shelf life. If you keep it in a sealed container in a cool, dry place, it should last as long as you want it to.

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Question

I was wondering if I can substitute gelatin with tapioca pearls (ground down to powder) when I make gummie candies?

Caeiia

Top Answerer

No, it's not the right texture.

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Tips

If you have quick-cooking tapioca but don't like the grainy-ness of it, run it through your blender or food processor first. That'll get rid of that consistency you don't care for.

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