Easy tapioca pudding recipe with caramel! If you love homemade tapioca pudding, then you may enjoy this 5 ingredient easy tapioca pudding recipe. Easy to make, it can be enjoyed warm or cold.
This old-fashioned creamy caramel tapioca pudding with caramel sauce is the best tapioca pudding recipe I’ve ever made!
What is tapioca anyway?
Tapioca pudding is one of the puddings that are true comfort food. I had no idea that tapioca comes from cassava roots. Did you know this? I order Boba tea all of the time and it never occurred to me to ask.
My daughter is the one who inspired me to create this caramel tapioca recipe. She loves tapioca pudding and often asks me to buy it when she comes grocery shopping with me. The ingredients in grocery store tapioca pudding are not great and I know we can make it more healthy here at home.
(*If you are a true caramel addict, you MUST try this Miso Caramel Mousse or this Gluten Free Caramel Apple Cake! These caramel recipes are the best.)
Steps to Make this homemade tapioca pudding recipe:
My daughter and I opted to buy the small tapioca pearls. The instructions said to soak them in water overnight, so we set this up before bedtime. This is what they look like after the soaking (above). See how puffy they are?
I do not own a double boiler, so I just put water into a large saucepan and then put a smaller one inside. Heat the milk and caramel on low heat until it is warm.
Add the tapioca and allow to very gently boil over medium-low heat. It will thicken quickly. Whisk frequently to avoid it getting stuck on the bottom of the pot.
This homemade tapioca pudding really thickens up after adding the egg yolk and sugar combination.
If you like the homemade tapioca pudding, here are more delicious pudding recipes to Try:
(*Please note this post has affiliate links. Ordering through my site will not change the price you pay. A tiny commission will come to Fearless Dining to help offset the cost of running this blog. I truly appreciate the support.)
Tools Needed for The Best Tapioca Pudding Recipe:
- Whisk. This is the best way to keep puddings smooth and creamy when you are making pudding.
- Tapioca beads. Soak these overnight and they will be ready to go into any pudding recipe :-).
How to Make Easy Tapioca Pudding:
Caramel Tapioca Pudding
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup small tapioca pearls
- 2 1/2 cups milk, I used raw whole milk for this so it would be really creamy.
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup caramel
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 egg yolks
Instructions
- Soak tapioca pearls overnight in a bowl of water.
- Drain pearls.
- In a double broiler, or two different sized sauce pans like I did in the photo above.
- Add milk, caramel, vanilla, and salt to double broiler and heat until warm.
- Add tapioca pearls and heat until and tiny bubbles appear.
- Do not boil.
- In a small bowl, add egg yolks and sugar.
- Mix well.
- Use a soup ladle to scoop up a bit of the hot tapioca mixture.
- Add very slowly to the egg mixture while whisking quickly to blend it.
- Add a little more tapioca mixture and repeat twice more.
- Pour egg mixture into tapioca mixture and whisk quickly to blend it all in.
- Cook on low, uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Serve warm or cold.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: gAmount Per Serving:Calories: 238 Saturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 75mg Carbohydrates: 42g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 28g Protein: 5g
I really think this is the best tapioca pudding recipe, but give this Gluten Free Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce a try next!
More Puddings and Mousse Recipes To Try!
-
- Miso Caramel Mousse
-
- White Chocolate Mocha Mousse
-
- Warm Cardamom and Coconut Rice Pudding
-
- GF Matcha Chia Pudding
-
- Easy Fresh Raspberry Mousse
-
- Cherry and Coconut Chia Pudding
Jennifer
May 25, 2018 at 5:03 pmYou said you edited the recipe where can I find the edited copy?
Sandi Gaertner
May 26, 2018 at 9:54 amHi Jennifer, The edited copy is the only one there.
Patty K-P
March 9, 2018 at 9:23 amI go weak at the knees for tapioca pudding! With that caramel sauce…I’m melting 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
March 9, 2018 at 9:58 amLOL, you and my daughter both go weak at the knees over tapioca pudding.
Nancy Buchanan
March 9, 2018 at 8:48 amTapioca pudding is one of my all time favorite desserts. Can’t believe I’ve never thought about adding caramel!! Absolutely brilliant idea – now, I’m off to go make this tapioca!!!!
Sandi Gaertner
March 9, 2018 at 10:04 amThank you so much Nancy…we love caramel so any way to add it in…Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Sarah
January 23, 2018 at 6:40 amHi. I am a bit confused by this recipe. Unfortunately I already started it so we will see how it turns out. In the recipe it calls for vanilla but that isn’t listed in the ingredients. Secondly, it says to lower heat a cook an hour but the recipe says total time 25 minutes. So do i cook it for an hour?
Sandi Gaertner
January 23, 2018 at 8:51 pmHi Sarah, that is a bit confusing! I edited the recipe to be more clear, I hope it helps. Thank you so much for pointing this out 🙂
Heather Kinnaird
June 17, 2016 at 9:42 ami absolutely love tapioca, but never make it. This looks so good, I may need to try some today
laura@motherwouldknow
June 16, 2016 at 7:30 pmI’m not a huge pudding fan, but the rest of my family loves it. I should definitely let them try this version – it looks both healthy and beautiful. One question – what do you mean by “caramel” – as in homemade sauce? Or something else?
Sandi Gaertner
June 17, 2016 at 5:40 pmI use Trader Joe’s caramel…I just drizzled it over the top 🙂
Julie at Hostess At Heart
June 16, 2016 at 6:44 pmI love tapioca pudding but have never made it myself. I agree that homemade is best. Pinning!
Sandi Gaertner
June 16, 2016 at 6:56 pmThank you so much Julie
fatima
May 27, 2016 at 11:25 amHi am fatima and I have tried ur tapioca pudding, it’s woow . Tnx
Sandi Gaertner
May 27, 2016 at 5:25 pmWow, thank you so much for letting me know. You made my day.
Stephanie
May 3, 2015 at 8:17 amhow many servings does this make?
Sandi Gaertner
May 3, 2015 at 9:19 amHi Stephanie, It will depend on how much you want per bowl. I ended up with 6 servings total.
Serena
April 29, 2015 at 9:24 pmJust caramel, like the ice cream topping?
Sandi Gaertner
April 30, 2015 at 6:54 amI used Trader Joe’s caramel sauce Serena. It blends in really nicely.
Gwen@SimplyHealthyFamily
April 29, 2015 at 6:15 pmwhat a wonderful treat! I haven’t had rice pudding in ages but this is going to leave me craving it!
Sandi Gaertner
April 29, 2015 at 7:27 pmI hope you enjoy Gwen 🙂
Josie
April 29, 2015 at 5:40 pmLOVE tapioca pudding! I could eat this all day. I bet the caramel is amazing in this! 🙂
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom
April 29, 2015 at 4:49 amI haven’t had Tapioca pudding in years, and as a child had it all the time. This is making me want to rush out to the store to buy some tapioca–looks incredible.
Sandi Gaertner
April 29, 2015 at 10:55 amI hope you enjoy Kristen 🙂
peter @feedyoursoultoo
April 28, 2015 at 10:03 amDon’t know if I like tapioca pudding but seeing this sure makes me think I do. 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
April 28, 2015 at 2:31 pmGive it a try 🙂
Leah
April 28, 2015 at 6:00 amMy husband and dad both LOVE tapioca pudding, but I’ve never tried making it from scratch… now I think I have to! 🙂 It looks delicious and I agree – so much better for you than the store bought versions that contain so many icky additives!
Healing Tomato
April 27, 2015 at 9:12 pmThese Tapioca Pudding looks so very delicious. I love caramel and I love Tapioca. Now, I get to enjoy them both.
Faith (An Edible Mosaic)
April 27, 2015 at 10:17 amI LOVE tapioca pudding and I haven’t had it in ages! I think I have everything needed for this on-hand and I am dying to make it!
Sandi Gaertner
April 27, 2015 at 11:23 amHi Faith, I hope you enjoy this 🙂
Trish
May 4, 2015 at 4:12 amI was told that carmel has traces of gluten in it, so not to use it. Is this not the case? My daughter in law is highly allergic to gluten so I have been afraid to use it.
Sandi Gaertner
May 4, 2015 at 10:02 amI am really sensitive and I have not reacted to Trader Joe’s caramel. That being said, you can easily make your own caramel sauce. Give this recipe a try: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/classic-caramel-sauce-51204230