This easy mango sago recipe is a delicious and refreshing tapioca pudding perfect for cooling off when the weather starts to warm up! If you like this sweet, creamy gluten-free dessert you've gotta try Chè Thái!
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This mango sago recipe is essentially a Southeast Asian spin on tapioca pudding. It's made with fresh fruit and is often served over ice, making it delightfully refreshing!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Mango sago can be made with only 4 ingredients: mango, tapioca pearls, condensed milk, and coconut milk.
- You can keep it super simple or dress it up with fun ingredients like jellies, fruits, and more!
- This recipe is just the thing to beat the heat on a hot summer day!
- Mango sago pudding is so easy to make, perfect if you're new to the kitchen or want a fun dessert to make with the kids.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Condensed milk: For a vegan alternative you can use condensed coconut milk.
- Coconut milk: You could use an alternative milk but it will lack that distinct coconut taste, so I wouldn't recommend it.
- Sago pearls: Or small tapioca pearls like you'd use for any tapioca pudding.
- Fruit: Fresh mangos are a must but you can also add strawberries, peaches, or other fruits. Mango pomelo sago is a popular variation!
- Optional ingredients: I like to add attap fruit or toddy palm seed, which are both a sort of gelatinous fruit/seed from palm trees. Coconut jellies are often added as well, but I chose to add coconut sport instead.
*See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients
How To Make Mango Sago
Step 1: Boil 6 cups of water, then add sago pearls. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir, cover, and let sit for another 15 minutes until pearls are translucent.
Pro Tip: It's okay if there are some pearls here and there that are still white. Even if they aren't translucent they should be soft by now and will become translucent over time.
Step 2: Strain tapioca pearls and rinse with cold water until pearls are no longer hot and excess starch is removed. Add to a large bowl along with coconut milk, and stir to combine.
Step 3: Peel and slice 1 ripe mango, then add to a blender along with condensed milk and blend until smooth.
Step 4: Add mango mixture to the bowl along with coconut sport and attap fruit. Dice remaining mango into chunks along with strawberries and add to bowl. Stir to combine.
Step 5: Mix ice into individual servings if you want to enjoy it immediately, otherwise cover and chill in the fridge for 4 hours. If you wish, serve topped with diced fruit and a sprig of mint.
If you have leftover mangos, try my new mango habanero salsa!
Recipe FAQs
Mango sago originated in Southeast Asia and is said to have been invented in the mid-1980s by a Hong Kong restaurant, Lei Garden, when they opened a new branch in Singapore.
Sago is derived from the pith of the sago palm, a tropical palm native to Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. Sago palm starch is believed to have been used in local cuisine for over 5000 years.
Mango sago typically includes condensed milk and therefore is not vegan, but it can easily be made vegan by substituting it with condensed coconut milk instead.
Pro Tips
- Sago pearls will expand quite a bit so make sure you add enough water to accommodate them!
- This mango sago recipe is thick like a pudding but is sometimes served with more liquid, almost like a drink or a cold soup. To achieve this, you can either reduce the amount of tapioca by half, add more coconut milk, or you can serve it over ice, which will thin it out as it melts.
- For a more intense mango flavor and richer color, you can blend an additional mango or two.
- Pudding will become thicker after sitting in the fridge.
- While mango sago pudding is best served cold, the lower the temperature the less sweet it will taste. You may want to add a drizzle of condensed milk for added sweetness before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate.
More Refreshing Desserts To Try
Recipe
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Boil 6 cups of water, then add sago pearls. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir, cover, and let sit for another 15 minutes until pearls are translucent.
- Strain tapioca pearls and rinse with cold water until pearls are no longer hot and excess starch is removed. Add to a large bowl along with coconut milk, and stir to combine.
- Peel and slice 1 ripe mango, then add to a blender along with condensed milk and blend until smooth.
- Add mango mixture to the bowl along with coconut sport and attap fruit. Dice remaining mango into chunks along with strawberries and add to bowl. Stir to combine.
- Mix ice into individual servings if you want to enjoy it immediately, otherwise cover and chill in the fridge for 4 hours. If you wish, serve topped with diced fruit and a sprig of mint.
Nutrition
Notes
- It's okay if there are some pearls here and there that are still white. Even if they aren't translucent they should be soft by now and will become translucent over time.
- Sago pearls will expand quite a bit so make sure you add enough water to accommodate them!
- This mango sago recipe is thick like a pudding but is sometimes served with more liquid, almost like a drink or a cold soup. To achieve this, you can either reduce the amount of tapioca by half, add more coconut milk, or you can serve it over ice, which will thin it out as it melts.
- For a more intense mango flavor and richer color, you can blend an additional mango or two.
- Mango sago will become thicker after sitting in the fridge.
- While mango sago pudding is best served cold, the lower the temperature the less sweet it will taste. You may want to add a drizzle of condensed milk for added sweetness before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate.
Hilda Sterner says
We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!