This honeydew sago is a refreshing tapioca pudding made with fresh honeydew and coconut milk. It's perfect for the warmer months and it's so easy to make!

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This honeydew sago pudding is going to be one of your best summer dessert recipes. It's delightfully light and sweet with honeydew flavour and a fun bubbly texture in every bite.
It's a dessert that's not fussy and so easy to make. You can serve it in a bowl like typical tapioca pudding or you can serve it in a glass and drink it like bubble tea. It's one of my favourite easy Asian dessert recipes to make. If you want to try a different flavour variation, try my mango sago recipe!
Why you'll love this recipe
- This honeydew sago is so refreshing and cooling! Perfect for the warmer months.
- It's not too sweet and delicious with honeydew and coconut flavours!
- This recipe is so quick and easy to make! You only need a few ingredients.
Tools you'll need
- Blender - You'll need a blender to blend up the honeydew in this recipe. Use any brand of blender you have. If you use a small bullet blender, you may need to blend it in batches.
- Fine mesh sieve - Since tapioca pearls are so small, you'll need a large fine mesh sieve to drain the water from them without losing them all down the sink.
Ingredients
- Honeydew - You'll need a small or medium ripe honeydew melon. Ripe honeydews are sweeter and have a stronger honeydew flavour.
- Coconut milk - Use one can of coconut milk. You can use any kind but I prefer full-fat coconut milk like the Aroy-D brand.
- Granulated sugar - You can adjust the amount of sugar to your liking.
- Tapioca pearls - Use small tapioca pearls or sago. They're usually sold at Asian grocery stores or in the Asian food aisle in a clear bag of tiny white beads.
How to make honeydew sago
Scoop and cut honeydew - Cut the honeydew in half. Use a small melon baller to scoop out balls from one half of the honeydew. Set them aside. Add the remainder of the honeydew to a blender.
Blend - Cut the other half of the honeydew into chunks and add them to the blender. Add coconut milk and sugar to the blender and blend until smooth.
Chill - Transfer the blended honeydew milk to a large mixing bowl. Let it chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
Cook tapioca pearls - Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in the tapioca pearls and stir immediately to prevent clumping. Boil uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and let it sit for another 10 minutes until the tapioca pearls are translucent all the way through.
Mix together - Drain the water with a fine mesh sieve and rinse the tapioca pearls in cold water. Add the cooked tapioca pearls to the chilled honeydew milk. Stir to mix together.
Serve - Serve cold by scooping the sago into individual bowls or glasses. Top with the honeydew melon balls or stir them into the pudding.
Storage
You can store this honeydew sago in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days. It will thicken slightly the longer it sits because of the tapioca starch but it's still delicious.
Tips & tricks
- Keep the cooked tapioca pearls submerged in cold water. If you're not using them right away, this prevents them from drying out and clumping together.
- Serve this honeydew sago cold. Chill the honeydew milk after you've blended it or chill the whole dish before serving. It's best served cold so that it's extra refreshing. If it's not cold enough or if you want to thin it out, you add some ice cubes into each serving bowl.
Frequently asked questions
Tapioca and sago are different things but the terms are now usually used interchangeably. Because sago is an uncommon ingredient that is harder to find and harder to use, when people refer to sago, they usually mean tapioca. Thus, tapioca pudding and sago refer to the same dish but the name sago has stuck.
Sago pudding can be served both hot or cold and it's delicious both ways. For this honeydew sago, I prefer it served cold because it's fruity and refreshing. Sago puddings made with heartier ingredients like taro tend to be better served hot.
Yes, you can either make the entire recipe and store the honeydew sago in the fridge the day before you serve it or you can make the honeydew milk ahead of time and cook the tapioca pearls right before serving.
More tapioca recipes to try
Recipe
Honeydew Sago
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 1 small honeydew
- 400 g coconut milk (1 can)
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 200 g tapioca pearls
Instructions
- Cut the honeydew in half. Use a small melon baller to scoop out balls from one half of the honeydew. Set them aside. Add the remainder of the honeydew to a blender.
- Cut the other half of the honeydew into chunks and add them to the blender. Add coconut milk and sugar to the blender and blend until smooth. Transfer the blended honeydew milk to a large mixing bowl. Let it chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in the tapioca pearls and stir immediately to prevent clumping. Boil uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and let it sit for another 10 minutes until the tapioca pearls are translucent all the way through.
- Drain the water with a fine mesh sieve and rinse the tapioca pearls in cold water. Add the cooked tapioca pearls to the chilled honeydew milk.
- Stir to mix together. Serve cold by scooping the sago into individual bowls or glasses. You can stir in some ice cubes if you want it colder. Top with the honeydew melon balls or stir them into the pudding.
Joyce
Thank you for such a great recipe! Super refreshing and a much healthier option than cakes or cookies. I made it with cantaloupe becuase that's all I had and I didn't even have to add any sugar to it. I doubled the amount of sago though because I thought the original amount was too little for the amount of coconut milk used (400 mL).