Mango Sago is a refreshing and satisfying summer dessert, with juicy chunks of mango and a mango/coconut milk tapioca pudding. The glug of heavenly condensed milk doesn’t hurt either!
Inspired by Honeymoon Dessert
This is another dessert copycat off the menu of famed Asian dessert chain, Honeymoon Dessert. (Though you may have seen mango sago elsewhere as well.) Until they expand to the US, we’ll have to keep whipping up our own at home!
When we lived in Beijing, we spent countless lazy summer afternoons in big air conditioned malls, enjoying a bowl of Honeymoon Dessert concoctions with red beans, sticky rice, vanilla and green tea ice cream, grass jelly, mango, and tapioca.
We also indulged in Honeymoon dessert during our last visit to Hong Kong. See our travel post on the Top 10 Things to Do in Hong Kong. Satisfying our cravings at Honeymoon Dessert was thing #7!
If you’re looking for more Honeymoon Dessert-style recipes, check out our Mango Black Sticky Rice Dessert and Grass Jelly Dessert recipes.
An Easy & Healthy Summer Dessert
Mango sago is a delicious tropical-tasting dessert, and it’s also quite healthy! If you wanted to make this vegan, you can simply replace the condensed milk with simple syrup or agave.
It’s also so easy to make. Much easier than a cake, I think! The hardest part is peeling and cutting the mango. You might think cooking tapioca is difficult, but not so! I just boiled these tiny tapioca in boiling water for about 15 minutes.
To see pictures of the type of tapioca I used here, check out our Coconut Tapioca Dessert recipe.
If you like your Mango Sago cold, chill the mango mixture for an hour before adding the tapioca. Just keep in mind that colder temperatures reduce the sweetness, so you may need to add more condensed milk to taste if serving this very cold.
Mango Sago Recipe Instructions
In a pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the mini pearl tapioca (don’t add it before the water is at a full boil!). Stir and bring it to boil again.
Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the tapioca is completely transparent, which means they’re fully cooked.
(A common mistake is to take them off the heat while they still have a small white dot at the center. They should be completely translucent.)
When the tapioca is cooked through, drain, rinse in cold water to cool, then soak in a bowl of cold water and set aside.
Peel the mango, trimming to remove the center pit. Set aside a large handful of nice chunks for topping. The rest will be blended.
In a blender, add the coconut milk, condensed milk, vanilla extract, and mango.
Blend until smooth, and transfer to a large bowl. At this stage, if you like your dessert cold, chill the mango mixture for at least an hour before adding the tapioca.
When you’re ready to serve, pour the mango mixture into serving bowls.
Drain the cooked tapioca, and add to the mango mixture. Top with mango chunks.
Mango Sago
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup small-sized uncooked tapioca (about 60g)
- 3 ripe mangos (about 1 kg)
- 200 ml unsweetened coconut milk (1/2 of a 13.5 oz. can)
- 60 ml sweetened condensed milk (1/4 cup, or more to taste if you like it sweeter)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the mini pearl tapioca (don’t add it before the water is at a full boil!). Stir and bring it to boil again. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the tapioca is completely transparent, which means they’re fully cooked.
- When the tapioca is cooked through, drain, rinse in cold water to cool, then soak in a bowl of cold water and set aside.
- Meanwhile, peel the mango, trimming to remove the center pit. Set aside a large handful of nice chunks for topping. The rest will be blended.
- In a blender, add the coconut milk, condensed milk, vanilla extract, and mango. Blend until smooth, and transfer to a large bowl. At this stage, if you like your dessert cold, chill the mango mixture for at least an hour before adding the tapioca.
- When you’re ready to serve, drain the cooked tapioca, and add to the mango mixture. Scoop into individual bowls and top with mango chunks.
nutrition facts
I’m confused! This is supposed to be at sago dessert but then the ingredients call for tapioca. What’s happening?
It’s not a mistake :-)
Delicious! Tastes like my mom’s version! I followed everything except I just added more mango chunks because I like it more on the chunky side. Yum-yum!
Nice!
No words to describe
Thank you so much for your “no words”, Menaka.
Thank you for this recipe. Loved it!! Super easy to make. I accidentally grabbed the almond extract instead of vanilla and it was a refreshing taste. I also didn’t have regular condensed milk but had coconut milk condensed milk (for the vegans in our family) and was equally delicious.
Thank you for your comment, Jenny. I bet coconut milk works great too.
Delicious! Made this last night and this recipe tastes exactly what my grandma used to make! I should’ve got the recipe from her years ago. I definitely will make this again and again!
That’s wonderful, Anna, thank you for your lovely comment.
It was really good. Nice mango and milky flavor. I like using big tapioca balls for chewiness.
So glad you liked it.
This was excellent! Thank you for the recipe. I also added a little bit of toasted coconut to the top – not sure it needed it, but sure looked pretty.
The toasted coconut addition sounds wonderful. It adds another layer of flavor and texture.
Delicious and easy
Thank you for your kind comment :-)
Can it be made the day before? Mixing the mango and sago together and left in the fridge?
I’d deter you from doing that, Mish. This dish requires a good amount of effort, and it’s best made fresh.
such an easy way to use over ripped mangoes which I would throw away otherwise as I only eat still green ones but this was fabulous taste and so easy to prepare. thx
That’s great, so glad you enjoyed it.