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Home » Recipes » Dessert » Candies & Other Confections

Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding)

By Trang Doan - Jan 17, 2025 (updated Feb 6, 2025) - This post may contain affiliate links.

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3 glass serving cups on a tray with haupia coconut pudding garnished with toasted coconut.

My soft-set Haupia recipe is ridiculously good and uses just 4 simple ingredients! This Hawaiian coconut pudding is made using coconut milk thickened with cornstarch. My small batch recipe makes 3 to 4 servings but can be scaled up easily to serve a big crowd too.

3 cups of Haupia pudding on a tray with small spoons.

My first time encountering Haupia was from a McDonald’s on Maui. I know you’re probably thinking why on earth would you go to McDonald while vacationing in Hawaii. But it’s kind of a special destination truly, you have to get the pies if nothing else from there. I’ve tried the Haupia and Ube hand pies and really wished they would bring those to the mainland!

There were quite a few treats I created that were inspired by my trips to Hawaii. This Haupia recipe is one of them. I’ve also got these Hawaiian oatmeal chocolate chip coffee cookies with coconut and macadamias, and these Honolulu cookie company inspired chocolate chip macadamia shortbread cookies, as well as this macadamia coconut granola!

Table of Contents
  • What is Haupia?
  • Helpful tools
  • Ingredients and substitutions
  • How to make Haupia
  • For hard-set haupia
  • Storage
  • 📖 Recipe card

What is Haupia?

First of all, if you don’t already know, Haupia is a coconut milk base Hawaiian dessert. Based on an older Hawaiian dessert cookbook I own, the pudding is traditionally cooked to an almost gelatin consistency, and then served in blocks like this jello cream cheese dessert.

In my Haupia recipe, coconut milk is thickened with cornstarch only to a pudding consistency and served in pretty cups. I really like the presentation in the serving cups, which makes it very convenient and perfect for special occasions too. But I will give you both options for making soft-set and hard-set Haupia.

Haupia in serving cups on a tray.

Helpful tools

This recipe is very simple and you don’t need any special equipment. You’ll need a saucepan to cook the pudding, the size will depend on whether you’re making a small or large batch.

For soft-set Haupia, you’ll need a few serving cups to transfer the pudding to. You can use ice cream cups, crème brûlée ramekins, panna cotta moulds, or a variety of vintage tea cups.

For hard-set Haupia, you’ll need a loaf pan for a smaller batch and a square baking pan for a larger batch.

Ingredients and substitutions

As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:

Ingredients for making Haupia on a white counter top.
  1. Coconut milk – you’ll need full fat canned coconut milk or coconut cream. I don’t have favorite brand, any will work. Coconut cream will yield a richer pudding.
  2. Sugar – granulated sugar is called for but you can use brown sugar too if you want to impart a deeper and richer flavor to the pudding like the coconut sauce I made for these tropical “cinnamon rolls” with macadamia and coconut.
  3. Cornstarch – this is used to thicken the haupia. You can substitute arrowroot starch or agar agar powder, but cornstarch is the cheapest and most common thickener that you likely already have in your pantry.
  4. Salt – just a pinch to enhance the sweetness in the pudding.
  5. Toasted coconut (optional) – I used toasted sweetened coconut flakes to garnish my pudding cups for additional texture and coconut flavor. This is totally optional but it adds a little something extra.

How to make Haupia

The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Make a cornstarch slurry

Measure out ¼ cup of the coconut water at the bottom of the can, whisk in the cornstarch until smooth.

Adding cornstarch into coconut milk to make a cornstarch slurry.

Tip: Cornstarch needs to be dissolved in cold or room temperature liquid. If you add cornstarch directly to hot liquid, it will not dissolve and become lumpy.

Cook the pudding

Heat the rest of the coconut milk with sugar and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat until simmering. Stream in the cornstarch mixture and stir continuously until the liquid thickens, this should take only a few minutes.

Adding cornstarch slurry and cooking haupia on the stove top.

Transfer the pudding to serving cups, allow them to cool to room temperature and refrigerate further before serving. For garnish, I like to toast some sweetened shredded coconut in a skillet until lightly brown and sprinkle over the Haupia.

For hard-set haupia

To get hard-set Haupia that you can cut into squares, continue to cook the pudding after it starts to thicken for another 7 – 10 minutes until the mixture turns translucent and seems to want to stick together in one big blob. Not quite a scientific description but if you just stick to cooking it for at least a total of 10 minutes after you stream in the cornstarch, this should work.

You can transfer this to a small loaf pan, allow it to cool and then refrigerate to set further before cutting it up. If you’re using a 9”x5” loaf pan, this will yield a thin layer of less than ½”. I recommend doubling the recipe to yield a more substantial thickness or you can use a smaller container, like a tupperware, to set it in.

Storage

Keep your haupia pudding refrigerated and eat within a couple of days for the best flavor. The longer they are kept in the fridge the harder they will become and will also lose their flavor, so it is best to eat them as soon as possible. That’s why this recipe only makes a small batch!

Haupia coconut pudding on a spoon.

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📖 Recipe card

Haupia in serving cups on a tray.

4-Ingredient Soft and Creamy Haupia

My Haupia recipe is an easy coconut pudding made entirely from coconut milk and thickened with cornstarch. This simple treat is ridiculously good and quick to make.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes minutes
Refrigeration Time: 4 hours hours
Total Time: 18 minutes minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Author: Trang

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • Pudding Cups

Ingredients

  • 1 can unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 oz, 400 ml)
  • 3 tablespoon cornstarch (24 g)
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar (45 g)
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon sweetened shredded coconut (or more for garnish, toasted, optional)
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Instructions

  • Add the cornstarch to ¼ cup of the coconut water at the bottom of the coconut milk can and stir until dissolved.
  • Add the rest of the coconut milk to a small saucepan along with the sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until all of the sugar dissolves. Slowly stream in the cornstarch mixture while whisking and continue to cook, stirring constantly.

For soft set pudding

  • Cook the mixture for just a few minutes until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Pour pudding into 3 or 4 small serving cups or ramekins. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate to set further if desired, 1 – 2 hours.

For hard set pudding

  • Cook the mixture for at least 10 minutes after adding in the cornstarch, stirring constantly. The mixture will turn more translucent and will want to stick together in one big blob.
  • Line a loaf pan or a smaller container with a piece of parchment paper, allowing the ends to drape over the side of the pan. Transfer the pudding into the container, using a spatula to scrape it out if necessary. Let cool and then refrigerate to set further, 2 – 4 hours.
  • Cut into blocks before serving, this could yield 8 – 10 smaller snack size portions depending on how you cut it.
  • Toast the sweetened shredded coconut in a skillet over medium heat until lightly brown and fragrant. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon over the haupia cup just before serving. You can sprinkle this on the haupia square too.

Notes

If making hard set haupia, I recommend doubling the recipe to get thicker squares when cut. One batch of this recipe yields a thinner layer of less than ½” when set in a 9”x5” loaf pan. So doubling will yield a more substantial thickness. Or you can use a smaller container like a tupperware to set it in.

Nutrition

Serving: 116g | Calories: 266kcal
Course: Dessert, Pudding
Cuisine: Hawaiian
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?If you made this recipe and loved it, please leave a comment and give us a 5 STAR review. Thank you!!

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Comments

  1. Katie

    February 04, 2025 at 9:35 am

    5 stars
    Sweet, smooth, creamy, fatty – absolute perfection!! Exactly like homemade Haupia pudding on the islands…not jello like, but pudding like!! Yum!

    Reply
    • Trang Doan

      February 04, 2025 at 2:39 pm

      Thank you so much Katie!!!

      Reply
  2. Stacey McFadden

    January 16, 2021 at 5:55 pm

    5 stars
    My mother recalls haupia pudding from her childhood. I made this for her and it brought back lots of fond memories of growing up in Hawai’i. Though the haupia she knew was the thick version cut into squares I made it soft in little pudding cups. She had nothing but nice things to say about it and I even found her licking the pot! Thank you for a simple but elegant dessert and for a pleasant stroll down memory lane with my 86 year old mother.

    Reply
    • Trang Doan

      January 17, 2021 at 11:34 am

      Awe Stacey, this so sweet! I’m so happy to hear this brings a bit of joy to your mom. Thank you so much for this, your comment made my day and reminded me exactly why I’m writing this blog.

      Reply
  3. Marie

    April 25, 2019 at 4:12 am

    5 stars
    I’d never heard of Haupia before I found this recipe. I love the pudding texture and that sweet coconut flavour is amazing.

    Reply
    • Trang

      April 25, 2019 at 6:15 am

      I’m happy to hear you loved these 🙂

      Reply
  4. Melissa Griffiths

    April 03, 2019 at 12:34 pm

    Oooooo I wanna try this!!

    Reply
    • Trang

      April 03, 2019 at 2:48 pm

      It’s so easy to make, I hope you’ll love it!

      Reply
    • Vanessa

      June 25, 2019 at 1:57 pm

      How do I scale this up to lets say a crowd of say 40 people?

      Reply
      • Trang

        June 25, 2019 at 3:35 pm

        Depends on how much you want to make each serving, do you want it to be bite size dessert for 40? Or do you want to make full size pudding cup for 40? For such a big crowd, I suggest making the hard set pudding in a 9×13 pyrex and cut it up into cubes. I would 5x or 6x the recipe, this much should probably fit in the 9×13 pan fully. If that’s not enough, make more and use multiple pans. The cooking time will need to be lengthened when you’re cooking big batch, watch for the texture marker like when it starts to thicken and when it’s pulling together for the hard set pudding. Let me know if you have any other questions.

        Reply

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Hi! I’m Trang and welcome to my blog. This is where I share recipes from my kitchen. From cookies to cupcakes, to pies and ice cream, to treats for your fur babies, I hope you’ll find something you like and stay a while. Read More…

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