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Buko Pandan

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Buko Pandan a traditional Filipino Dessert made with agar-agar, coconut strings, pearls, evaporated milk, and condensed milk.  This is a refreshing dessert to eat on a warm day. 

Buko Pandan in a small cup with a spoon

Buko Pandan is a traditional Filipino Dessert which is a staple dessert for most Filipino get togethers- and that’s how I discovered this delicious dessert!

If you ever visit the Philippines, purchase the Buko Pandan from Chow King, it is so good.  They top the Buko Pandan with coconut ice cream and it’s so delicious.  

I remember when I visited the Philippines in 2009, the week I was to leave, I visited the mall everyday to eat Buko Pandan.  *sigh* Which brings me to announce, I will be visiting the Philippines next summer 2015!  YEY!! I will be going with my church and we will be doing health seminars and VBS.  I cannot wait to go back!!

 

Buko Pandan a traditional Filipino Dessert a Fool Proof Recipe | Includes Video Tutorial

Tips on How to Make the Best Buko Pandan

  • In this recipe, if you cannot find agar-agar, you can use green gelatin.
  • If you just have the clear version of gelatin on hand, you can just put in a few drops of green food color after you dissolve it in hot water.
  • If you are in the Philippines, I am sure you are so lucky to get the best of fresh buko flesh. Go ahead and use them! I am sure they taste so much better than the frozen ones!
  • If you are using fresh buko flesh, don’t forget to drain the buko juice from the flesh completely, as the buko juice has the tendency to spoil desserts faster when included in buko desserts like Buko Pandan.
  • The cooking time of tapioca pearls vary. When you use the bigger sizes, it usually takes 25-30 minutes to cook it. It is always best to taste it before draining it to make sure it is completely cooked.
  • One tip to know if tapioca pearls are cooked already: it has to be translucent, soft and just has a bit of white part in the middle of each pearl.
  • For a creamier Buko Pandan, you can add in your favorite all-purpose cream. I like using Nestle Cream

filipino dessert buko pandan in a small glass cup

How to Make Buko Pandan:

Gather all ingredients- sliced young coconut, agar-agar, tapioca pearls, pandan flavor/extract, evaporated milk, condensed milk, and gelatin. You will also need water to cook the tapioca pearls in.

Feel free to use substitutes if what I used in my recipe is not found in your local grocery stores:

Buko Pandan ingredients

Start by dissolving the gelatin and/or the agar-agar. Just follow the directions indicated in the packaging. In this recipe, I did not add sugar as I will add condensed milk later:

Dissolved gelatin for buko pandan recipe

Pour the dissolved gelatin and or agar-agar in a flat container and let it cool until it solidifies:

pouring dissolved gelatin in a flat glass container for buko pandan recipe

Slice the coconut flesh like what I did, or you can even slice them into smaller and thinner strips so you can have more coconut flesh distributed evenly when you mix it with the other ingredients:

sliced buko or coconut flesh

Cooking the tapioca pearls is so easy to do. Just boil water into a deep pan and when it starts boiling rapidly, pour the tapioca pearls and continuously stir it to prevent the pearls from sticking together:

cooking tapioca pearls in boiling water

After about 10-15 minutes, the tapioca pearls are cooked. You only need the cooked tapioca pearls so completely drain all the water from the pan. Let the tapioca pearls cool and if you are in a hurry, you can place it in the refrigerator:

draining cooked tapioca pearls

Now, this is the exciting part!

In a large mixing bowl, add in the cooled tapioca pearls, condensed milk, and evaporated milk:

pouring milk into tapioca pearls

Remember that we let the dissolved gelatin cool earlier? Here it is! Slice them into smaller squares and the easiest way to transfer them into the mixing bowl is to spoon it out, just like what I did. It doesn’t have to come out in perfect squares as no one would notice them while they eat this delicious treat 🙂

sliced gelatin

Add in the buko or coconut strips into the mixing bowl and mix thoroughly:

mixing coconut or buko with other ingredients

We are almost done, Simply Bakers! Add the pandan flavoring and mix it well:

adding buko pandan flavor

The pandan flavor makes this dessert so fragrant you’re going to want to eat it now- but remember to be patient because it tastes better chilled.

filipino dessert buko pandan tropical


For a step-by-step tutorial of the Buko Pandan recipe, you can watch my video tutorial below.


More Filipino Desserts that are Easy to Make:

Cassava Cake

Shakoy

Halo Halo

Turon

Happy Baking!

Print

Buko Pandan

Buko Pandan in clear glass cups

★★★★★

5 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Lainey
  • Category: Dessert
Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 packet of Agar-Agar
  • 2 bags shredded young coconut
  • 2/3 cups mini green tapioca pearls
  • 1 can condensed milk
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon pandan
  • 1 can nestle cream (optional)

Instructions

  1. Follow the ingredients to make Agar-Agar.
  2. To make the tapioca pearls, boil 2 cups water, when water is boiling add tapioca pearls and boil for 15 minutes. Make to keep stirring or the tapioca pearls will stick together. Once tapioca pearls are soft, strain and allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes.
  3. In a large bowl, add tapioca pearls, shredded young coconut, condensed milk, evaporated milk, nestle cream, and mix until well combined. Add pandan and continue mixing. Allow the buko pandan to chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

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Buko Pandan

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Category: 1 Bowl Recipes, Christmas & Winter, Desserts, Filipino Recipes, No Bake Recipes

Comments

  1. Blessie says

    04.21.2015 at 2:05 am

    Hi! I’m a Filipino and I’m glad you like Philippines! 😀 Please enjoy your stay this summer at our country and I hope you’ll enjoy various Filipino dishes and confections as well. Thank you for recreating some Filipino recipes! You make us proud! 😀

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      11.07.2017 at 12:04 pm

      Hi Blessie! Just saw this comment! Thank you so much, I did enjoy it when I went. I will be back next summer. Can’t wait!!

      Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    01.08.2018 at 9:18 pm

    How many servings it’s in the recipe??? Thanks

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      06.24.2018 at 3:28 pm

      It makes about 4-6 large servings. Sorry for the late reply!

      Reply
  3. Sheryl says

    08.08.2018 at 1:00 am

    Where to buy the agar agar

    Reply
    • Anonymous says

      10.06.2018 at 2:58 pm

      At you nearby asian market.

      Reply
    • Rose says

      01.03.2019 at 9:46 pm

      Aloha Sheryl!

      Sorry for the late reply……. it’s also labeled KANTEN in the supermarkets’ Asian/Ethnic aisles and maybe even the Asian markets/stores. Hope you’ve found it by now!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    • Lainey says

      01.30.2019 at 6:03 am

      Hey, Sheryl! You can buy them at grocery stores and if you have an Asian store nearby, I am sure they have agar-agar. I apologize for the late reply… I am excited to see your Buko Pandan version.

      Reply
  4. Kimberly Charisse Balbin Huerta says

    08.09.2018 at 4:19 pm

    Buko pandan is so delicious, but I don’t know how to make it 😅
    Thank you so much for your recipe 😍
    Ma’am I would like to ask if there’s a blue colored agar-agar ? Or people just poured some food color?
    I wanted to make buko pandan with blue colored agar-agar for my daughter’s 5th birthday.
    Thank you 🙏

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      01.30.2019 at 6:06 am

      Hi Kimberly! I really apologize, I just saw your comment. I haven’t seen blue agar-agar but definitely, you can put any food color you like. xx

      Reply
  5. Martha says

    09.30.2018 at 10:43 pm

    yummy

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      01.30.2019 at 6:06 am

      Thank you so much, Martha!

      Reply
  6. Janelle says

    09.30.2018 at 10:44 pm

    I need more of this!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      01.30.2019 at 6:08 am

      Hey, Janelle! Thank you! Hope you check out my other recipes!

      Reply
  7. Glendale says

    11.13.2018 at 6:10 am

    Make some more yummy and easy recipes! I love them, Lainey!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      01.30.2019 at 5:59 am

      Aww, thanks Glendale! For sure I will! Don’t forget to check out my blog and YouTube channel for new recipes 🙂

      Reply
  8. Michelle says

    11.13.2018 at 6:35 pm

    Can i make this night before serving?
    Thank you for this recipe.

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      11.29.2018 at 8:39 pm

      Hi Michelle,
      Yes you can make this the night before, but place it in your fridge. Thanks for swinging by.

      Reply
  9. Rose says

    01.03.2019 at 9:46 pm

    Aloha Sheryl!

    Sorry for the late reply……. it’s also labeled KANTEN in the supermarkets’ Asian/Ethnic aisles and maybe even the Asian markets/stores. Hope you’ve found it by now!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  10. Cindy says

    01.30.2019 at 4:21 pm

    What green gelatin did you use?

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      02.04.2019 at 4:21 am

      Hey, Cindy! I used the brand Jell-o but you can use any that is available at the groceries near you. Please tag me on any of my social media with your buko pandan photos 🙂 Thank you so much!

      Reply
  11. Pam says

    02.26.2019 at 7:54 pm

    Can you add food color to the plain tapioca pearls?

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      02.26.2019 at 9:28 pm

      Hi Pam! For the white ones, I am not sure if the food color sticks to it when added, but I know that there are colored ones available in the groceries. I see red, yellow, and green tapioca pearls. Hope my answer helps 🙂 xx Lainey

      Reply
  12. jiamaila says

    03.22.2019 at 3:20 am

    Hello maam whats the ml measuremnt Nestle Cream? I habe just in a Box Type Nestle Cream. . Als also zur other ingredients in ml measurements ..Thank you ☺

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      03.23.2019 at 8:36 am

      Hi Jiamaila! For this recipe, I used the Nestle cream (250ml). Hope you make an awesome version of this Buko Pandan recipe. Don’t hesitate to ask more questions if you need to 🙂 Thank you!

      Reply
  13. Anonymous says

    07.22.2019 at 8:17 pm

    how long that buko pandan last?

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      08.21.2019 at 9:01 pm

      Hi there! The buko pandan lasts for at most 1 day in the chiller. The buko makes it prone to a quick wastage. But if you place it in the freezer, this delicious dessert could last up to 3 days max. Thank you!

      Reply
  14. Kim says

    08.02.2019 at 7:37 am

    hi there! how long is the shelf life?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      08.21.2019 at 9:01 pm

      Hi Kim! The buko pandan lasts for at most 1 day in the chiller. The buko makes it prone to a quick wastage. But if you place it in the freezer, this delicious dessert could last up to 3 days max. Thank you!

      Reply
  15. Sierra says

    08.13.2019 at 5:38 pm

    Hi! What is the exact measurement for the agar agar? Mine comes in one large package rather than small individual packets

    Reply
    • Lainey says

      08.21.2019 at 9:03 pm

      Hi there Sierra! The quantity of the agar-agar would depend on the quantity of your buko shreds. You can put in half of the buko quantity or same measurement as your buko shreds.

      Reply

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