This Ginataang Bilo-Bilo recipe includes sticky rice balls, tropical fruits, and root vegetables simmered in creamy coconut milk. Also called ginataang halo-halo or ginataan, it is a sweet soup-like dessert or snack (merienda) from the Philippines. This warm treat is naturally purple and a whole lot of fun to eat!
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What is Ginataang Bilo Bilo?
Ginataang Bilo-Bilo is a warm, dessert soup with chewy rice balls (bilo-bilo) made from glutinous or sticky rice flour. It also includes root vegetables or tubers like sweet potatoes (kamote), ube (purple yam), and cassava (kamoteng kahoy).
Tropical fruits like jackfruit (langka) and saba bananas (saging na saba) add natural sweetness to the mix, while sago pearls are just fun to eat. This dish is cooked together in a sweet coconut milk mixture with pandan leaves or ginger.
Ingredients you'll need
Notes and substitutions
- Glutinous rice flour: This is also called sweet rice flour—not sweet and contains no gluten. It gets sticky and chewy when cooked, unlike regular rice flour.
- Coconut milk (gata): Fresh is always best, but full-fat coconut milk in cans and cartons is a suitable alternative. You can also use coconut cream for a thicker consistency.
- Pandan leaves: Knotting them helps release their aroma. You can also use vanilla, pandan, or ube extract. Sometimes, I like using fresh ginger for a warm, spicy touch.
- Root vegetables and more: I've used cassava, saba bananas, jackfruit, and purple sweet potatoes because I like the purple color they add. However, feel free to get creative! You can use other types of sweet potatoes or tubers like taro or purple yam (ube). Corn also makes a good addition. If you like a stronger ube flavor, use ube extract.
Get your ingredients ready. Chop the root vegetables into even pieces to cook quickly and evenly.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Cook sago
In a saucepan, bring about 3 cups of water to a boil. Once it's boiling, add the sago pearls. Cook until they turn translucent, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. This typically takes about 20 minutes.
Drain them and set aside. If they clump together, soak them in hot water and break them apart. For details on cooking sago, refer to my how to make sago guide.
Step 2: Make bilo bilo
In a bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with 1 cup of water. You can add more water as needed until you get a pliable consistency similar to Play-Doh.
Pinch off small pieces of the dough and roll them into small balls, roughly the size of marbles, between your palms. Place these balls onto a plate, making sure they are not touching each other.
Step 3: Boil coconut milk
In a 4.5-quart heavy-bottomed pot, combine 2 (13.5-oz) cans of coconut milk, 2 cups of water, a pinch of salt, and the knotted pandan leaves. Set it over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
Step 4: Add the tubers
Add the cassava pieces and cook for about 5 minutes. Then, add the purple sweet potatoes and stir together.
Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. As they simmer, the color from the sweet potatoes will naturally bleed into the mixture.
Make sure to cut the root vegetables into roughly the same size pieces to make sure they cook evenly. For tips on preparing cassava, you can check out my how to prepare cassava guide.
Step 5: Add the fruits
Add the saba bananas and jackfruit, then mix together. Cover and let them cook for about 10 minutes or until they slightly soften.
Step 6: Add the bilo bilo
Turn up the heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Gently drop the glutinous rice balls one at a time. Wait a bit before stirring to keep the rice balls from breaking apart.
Once they float to the surface and become slightly translucent, which would take about 5 minutes, mix them together. Add more water, if needed.
Step 7: Add sago and sugar
Add the cooked sago and sugar, then adjust the sweetness to your taste. The sauce should have thickened by now and the root vegetables should be tender. Turn off the heat.
Before serving, don't forget to take out the pandan leaves. This popular Filipino favorite dessert is great warm, but some like it cold too. Keep in mind, it will thicken as it cools.
Recipe FAQs
This often happens if the dough is too wet. Your glutinous rice flour mixture should be firm enough to easily shape into balls. When cooking them, add the balls to the boiling coconut milk but don’t stir right away. Wait until they float to the top, which shows they’re cooked through and have set. This helps prevent them from breaking apart.
Ginataang Bilo Bilo is best enjoyed fresh. For leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 2-3 days. To reheat, use the microwave or warm them on the stove over low heat. Add a bit of coconut milk or water if it seems too thick.
Filipino recipes with coconut milk
- Maja Blanca: Creamy coconut pudding with sweet corn kernels thickened with cornstarch, then topped with latik (caramelized coconut curds).
- Ginataang Mais: Sweet rice porridge made with sweet corn, glutinous rice, and coconut milk.
- Ginataang Munggo: Sweet rice porridge made with mung beans, glutinous rice, and coconut milk.
- Champorado: Chocolate rice porridge with tablea (cocoa tablets) and coconut milk or evaporated milk.
- Cassava Cake: Baked cassava dessert with grated coconut milk and condensed milk.
- Ginataang Kamoteng Kahoy: Cassava or kamoteng kahoy simmered in coconut milk.
- Ube Halaya: Sweet purple yam jam cooked with coconut milk.
- Espasol: Sweet rice cakes made with toasted glutinous rice flour and sometimes macapuno. Ube Espasol is an ube-flavored variation.
- Ube Kalamay: Sticky, chewy ube rice cakes cooked with coconut milk, then topped with latik.
Other dessert recipes you may like
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📖 Recipe
Ginataang Bilo-Bilo
Equipment
- 4.5-quart heavy-bottomed pot
- Saucepan (for cooking sago)
Ingredients
- 2 cups glutinous rice flour see note
- 2 (13.5-oz) cans coconut milk see note
- Pinch of salt
- 2 pandan leaves rinsed and knotted; see note
- 2 cups water or more
- 8 ounces cassava (about 2 cups small bite-sized pieces) see note
- 8 ounces purple sweet potatoes (about 2 cups small bite-sized pieces) see note
- 8 ounces ripe saba bananas (about 2 cups small bite-sized pieces) see note
- 4 ounces ripe jackfruit (about 1 cup sliced into thin strips) see note
- ⅓ cup raw, mini sago or tapioca pearls (about 1 cup cooked sago) sub: small tapioca pearls
- ½ cup sugar or to taste
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring about 3 cups of water to a boil. Once it's boiling, add the sago. Cook until they turn translucent, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. This typically takes about 20 minutes.Drain and set them aside. If they stick together, soak them in hot water and break them apart.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with 1 cup of water. Add more water as needed to achieve a pliable consistency similar to Play-Doh.Pinch off small pieces of the dough and roll them into small balls, roughly the size of marbles, between your palms. Place these balls onto a plate, making sure they are not touching each other.
- In a large pot, combine the coconut milk, 2 cups of water, a pinch of salt, and the knotted pandan leaves. Set over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
- Add the cassava pieces and cook for about 5 minutes. Then, add the purple sweet potatoes and stir together.Cover and simmer over medium low heat for about 10 minutes. As they simmer, the color from the sweet potatoes will naturally bleed into the mixture.
- Add the saba bananas and jackfruit, then stir together. Cover and allow them to cook for about 10 minutes until they slightly soften.
- Turn up the heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Gently drop the glutinous rice balls one at a time. Avoid stirring immediately to prevent the rice balls from losing their shape.Once they float to the surface and become slightly translucent, which would take about 5 minutes, mix them together. Add more water, if needed.
- Add the cooked sago and sugar, adjusting the sweetness to your taste. The sauce should have thickened by now and the root vegetables should be tender. Then, turn off the heat.Before serving, remember to remove the pandan leaves. Serve warm or cold.
Notes
- Glutinous rice flour: This is also called sweet rice flour—not sweet and contains no gluten. It gets sticky and chewy when cooked, unlike regular rice flour.
- Coconut milk (gata): Fresh is always best, but full-fat coconut milk in cans and cartons is a suitable alternative. You can also use coconut cream for a thicker consistency.
- Pandan leaves: Knotting them helps release their aroma. You can also use vanilla, pandan, or ube extract. Sometimes, I like using fresh ginger for a warm, spicy touch.
- Root vegetables and more: I've used cassava, saba bananas, jack fruit, and purple sweet potatoes because I like the purple color they add. However, feel free to get creative! You can use other types of sweet potatoes or tubers like taro or purple yam (ube). Corn also makes a good addition. If you like a stronger ube flavor, use ube extract.
Patricia
This looks like an upgrade from what i grew up eating, my favorite! Can't wait to try this out!
Nora Reyes
Aw, thanks! The classics always hold a special place in our hearts, right? 🥰 Give this version a try and let me know what you think. Thanks, Patricia.
Theresa
I like how this is purple.. it looks so good and simple to make. I will make this over the weekend. Thanks for the recipe.
Nora Reyes
Hi Theresa! I'm a sucker for colorful dishes too! 💜 I promise it's as tasty as it looks. I hope you like it! =)