Easy Instant Pot tapioca pudding recipe that takes less than 15 minutes and requires less work than on the stovetop. Great pressure cooker tapioca pudding.
Yes we are back with this easy Instant Pot tapioca pudding recipe, yet another favorite Instant Pot dessert recipe! It came out fabulous and only took about 15 minutes! I grew up with tapioca pudding. It’s now one of our favorites and added to the list Instant Pot recipes with many others you’ve got to try on our site. Let us know what you think! (originally published 2/17, affiliate links present)
- My oldest daughter LOVED our Instant Pot rice pudding!
Then she said we should figure out an easy Instant Pot tapioca pudding recipe too.
Tapioca pudding great either warm or cold in my opinion with just a dash of nutmeg on top. It’s such a simple dessert really and mostly milk so I love that my kids like it (they aren’t big milk drinkers anymore but this is a great way to get some into them).
- If you’ve made tapioca on the stove top you know that it’s really milk, sugar, tapioca and an egg.
Making it in the Instant Pot is no different as far as the ingredients go, just of course the timing, the pan, and what settings to use is what you need to know.
If you’ve heard about Instant Pots but don’t have one yet I share my love for them because it has really made dinnertime much easier in our house, and allowed us to eat together more often (the goal right).
With both of us working full time it’s fabulous to be able to cook what would normally take a an hour or so for less than 20 minutes, seriously!
- There are a few versions but this is the one I have and love.
This is what you need to make this version of pot in pot Instant Pot Tapioca Pudding Recipe (another version below)
There are two ways, PIP (pot in pot) method is below and second way you put directly into your pressure cooker pot:
- Pot for inside your IP to use the PIP (pot in pot) method for this – You MUST use this pot for it to work (sen below)
- 2 3/4 c. Milk
- haven’t tried with coconut milk but should work
- 1 Egg
- 4 Tbsp. Tapioca – use Minute tapioca
- 1 Tsp. Vanilla
- 1/3 c. refined sugar
Directions for Instant Pot tapioca pudding recipe Pot In Pot method:
- Pour 2 c water into your Instant Pot and put a trivet inside
- Add the sugar, vanilla, milk, and Minute tapioca into the BOTTOM of the 2 stackable pots
- Add an egg and whisk together for 1-2 minutes so all of it is combined well & sugar begins to dissolve
- Put the top pot on top of your lower filled pot
- Put the lid on the top pot
- Secure the locking device so both pots are tightly together
- Lower your pot on to your trivet, must be low trivet so lid will shut
- Put your lid on and close your steam valve
- Put your IP on manual, pressure high for 5 minutes.
- Do a natural release for 4 minutes before releasing steam
- Pour Instant Pot tapioca pudding in your bottom bowl/container into a separate cool bowl
- Put bowl in fridge, it will continue to thicken as it cools
Here is the second (and best) way to make Instant Pot tapioca pudding. We do it right in our Instant Pot and there’s no need to soak the tapioca pearls beforehand.
Video is here and full recipe is in recipe card below:
- I HIGHLY suggest you get a non stick pot to make this and other recipes!
- Add this brand of small pearl tapioca or this large tapioca and water into your pot (exact directions below in recipe card)
- After that has pressure cooking you switch to saute and in a small bowl whisk your milk and egg yolks
- Then add your sugar and salt if you’d like. Stir until dissolved
- Stir in vanilla
- Remove pot and serve!!
Optional items are a dash of cinnamon inside or on top of your Instant Pot pudding, nutmeg is good too, and a few raisins has been a favorite topping too.
Looking for more Instant Pot dessert recipes?
- Pressure cooker brownies
- Instant Pot pineapple upside down cake
- This Instant Pot rice pudding is the bomb, you’ve gotta’ make it after this tapioca
Here is the recipe for making tapioca in your Instant Pot. It’s a short cook time and if you follow it precisely it turns out so good. Immediately after it’s done I transfer to small bowls and refrigerate to cool before eating.
Instant Pot Tapioca Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add tapioca pearls and water into your Instant Pot (directly inside, this is not the PIP method that is above). Stir
- Close lid and steam valve and set to pressure high for 5 minutes. Whisk together your egg yolks and milk in a small bowl so they are ready. Then do a quick release when done.
- Turn pot OFF using the cancel button (important step so you don't get the burn notification). Use a wooden spoon to scrape bits of stuck on tapioca off bottom of pot.
- Now turn your pressure cooker to saute. Add some of the hot pudding into your bowl with milk and whisk so it can temper the mixture.
- Once the pudding starts boiling slowly pour 1/2 the egg/milk mixture in stirring consistently so the egg cooks and pudding doesn't burn. (I like using a wooden spoon during this process), then add 2nd half.
- Slowly sprinkle in sugar and stir consistently until dissolved. Add vanilla.
- Turn pressure cooker off, remove pot so it doesn't continue to cook, pour pudding into bowls immediately. Refrigerate
- Allow to cool in fridge to thicken up more (or eat immediately if you prefer).
Jennifer says
Can I use regular, not instant, tapioca pearls with the first PIP method? I always get a Burn notice when I cook in the liner and thought I might have better luck PIP.
Mary Lynn says
Good morning, Typical Mom and thank you for all these Instant Pot recipes!
I made the tapioca pudding this morning and would like to point out for newbies to tapioca pudding, this recipe will allow you to make the pudding quickly and WILL taste fine but the texture is very different from tapioca pudding made the traditional way (stove top).
I think forcing all that water into the tapioca (I used large pearl) under pressure explains the strange texture of Instant Pot tapioca. When I ladle the pudding out of the pot, it is very stringy and glue-like. This has never been my experience when making it the traditional way.
Again, it does taste the same so, but if you can simply remember to soak tapioca overnight the stove top method is just as easy and quick.
Kris Kisatsky says
Step 5 of the Instant Pot recipe (NOT P.I.P) says: Once the pudding starts boiling slowly pour 1/2 the egg/milk mixture in stirring consistently so the egg cooks and pudding doesn’t burn. (I like using a wooden spoon during this process)
What do you do with the remaining 1/2 of the egg/milk mixture? Did you forget a step? Do I throw it out? lol. Looking forward to trying with my new Bella multi-cooker.
The Typical Mom says
Half, stir until incorporated, then add other half, stir
Kris Kisatsky says
Thank you! Going to attempt it tonight!
Kathleen Gereski says
Hi. I’ve had good and bad luck with the pot in pot version. I use the pot you recommend, but sometimes, it seems to “overflow” and I get a watery gooey mess on the bottom of the outer pot liner pot. What am I doing wrong?
Also, at one point, the egg seemed to scramble. Ugh. I wonder if you have any insights. I cut back to one cup water in the insert, that seem to help, but when I went down to 3/4 cup water, it overflowed again. Do you know if cooking on low pressure could/would make a difference? Thank you!
The Typical Mom says
Pot in pot is trickier as you must ensure top is very secure. Did you try directly in pot using a non stick inner pot? That is the way to go and how we make it almost every time.
Kathleen G. says
Thank you for your response. I guess I’m finally figuring out the pot in pot is not going to work consistently. Made it for my elderly mom last weekend it came out perfect. I am going to invest in a non-stick pot tonight!
coca says
The recipe for instant bread and bread you share is quite meticulous and easy to understand. I have learned a lot from this recipe. Thanks very much.
Elizabeth says
This was an epic failure. Did not use the PIP method. I wasted the ingredients. I consider myself a very good cook. Back to the stove method as this doesn’t really save you time anyway IMO. Sorry.
alyssa says
I was so excited to find this recipe because tapioca pudding is my FAVORITE. Making it in the pressure cooker was such a time saver!! Never making it any other way again. Thanks
Taylor says
So easy and delicious! Love that it takes less than 10 minutes!
Sharon says
I tried the quick tapioca in the regular pot twice and it was a sticky mess. Used sauté to heat water to get rid of mess.
I got the pot in pot and did exactly what you recommended and IP never went to timing. Got burnmessage as water was all gone. Tapioca looks done and is in fridge. Decided to do the water test and it worked perfectly so I am wondering what happened. IP did lock but don’t know why this recipe did not work? Any ideas?
The Typical Mom says
As stated you cannot do the quick tapioca in the pot itself, have to use the pans in the post I show. I have never had the pot in pot issue you stated. All I can think is there wasn’t enough water put in?? Hard to guess without being there. Just made regular tapioca, not minute, in pot last night once again and was great. Use the tapioca balls I list in the post if you want to do it directly inside the pot.
Carla H says
I have had times when I noticed before getting a burn notice that the I P wasn’t sealing properly. When I opened it up the seal wasn’t proberly seated. Straightened it out and was fine after that. Hope this helps.
Donna says
For the 1st recipe (with the double pans stacked) can I double the recipe and fill the top and bottom pans? Will it turn out? Thank you!
Kathleen G. says
Did you get an answer? I have the same question. Thanks.
Jennifer says
This is the BEST tapioca pudding ever! I love that I can make it in my Instant Pot!! My family loved it!
Veena Azmanov says
Tapioca sounds so healthy and definitely need to try this recipe. Love the Instant Pot option too.
Dannii says
This brings back memories of desserts I used to eat when I was a kid. I am going to have to make it soon for the nostalgia.
Meagen Brosius says
It never ceases to amaze me what I can do with the Instant Pot! Another delicious recipe that we love making with our favorite kitchen tool 🙂
Aimee Shugarman says
LOVED this tapioca recipe. Added a pinch of cinnamon on top and it was perfection 🙂
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen says
Such a great traditional recipe! I love that you’ve made it in the Instant Pot, look forward to trying this!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
I haven’t had this type of pudding since I was a kid and I have no idea why. I need to give this a try. I have had my instant pot for a year and I’ve never made dessert in it!
Jocelyn says
I tried the second recipe using regular tapioca and not instant tapioca. As the pudding reached pressure, the burn warning displayed, so I cancelled the process and turned off the Instant Pot. I released all the pressure, had some difficulty removing the lid, and the pudding was a frothy mess. Tapioca adhered to the bottom of the pot and I had to soak the pot for quite a while to remove the tapioca. What went wrong? I will try again tomorrow but am not feeling hopeful. Should I have soaked the tapioca before putting in the instant pot?
The Typical Mom says
I have made it that way multiple times, and show this method in the video as well and have never had an issue. No I don’t soak the tapioca. Make sure seal on inside of lid is on securely, nothing stuck to bottom of pot and don’t set it for longer than posted for the first step which is just tapioca and water.
June says
Do you think on the pot in pot method you could put pudding in both pans for a double batch? Just made the single batch and it was perfect.
Steve S says
Will this work for soy milk? I normally cook with that in the microwave but would like to try in the Instant pot. I normally cook the soy-tapioca, throw in fridge to harden, then put some frozen wild blueberries on top. Next morning it is like blueberry ice cream for breakfast.
The Typical Mom says
I haven’t used soy milk with this one yet. My guess is that it would be fine. If you try it let me know!
Patti says
This is how I remember tapioca throughout my life, growing up and making it as an adult. Thanks so much for sharing this, some say Minute tapioca doesn’t work in the pc. I’ve tried pearl and maybe I just don’t like pearl even though I soak it overnight. So I finally got a box of Minute to try in my instant pot. Winner! Because my husband is allergic to eggs, I have to be very careful, so what I did was leave the egg out and whisked the egg well, released pressure naturally after 12 minutes on high, (I used a heavy solid trivet from ekovana that has handles, so thought it might need more time.). I then added the whisked egg to the pudding, stirring constantly as I added it, then put the cover back on the pudding and put back into the pc for two minutes, gave it another natural release, stirred butter and vanilla in and put it in the fridge. Served with NYT’s recipe for tart cherry sauce. The pudding has a better texture than stove top and no standing over the stove stirring! After trying several pearl recipes, I really wondered if this wouldn’t be so good either. My go to now, the ingredients are the same as on the box.
The Typical Mom says
So glad you liked it, I agree much better than watching it.
Carol Smith says
Did you put the ingredients directly in the instant pot or use pot in pot method?
Melissa says
Did the measurements for the PIP method get deleted somehow? I can see the method and ingredients listed but not the amounts. My sister recommended this recipe, so I assumed the measurements were the same as the not PIP method since that was all that was listed and it turned out like glue! My sister went back and looked and said that it had changed and when she made it it called for a lot more milk and a lot less tapioca (minute). She said the original was excellent. I’d really love to give it another try with correct measurements.
The Typical Mom says
Sorry about that, when I updated the post it went a little wonky and amounts for PIP method didn’t transfer. Fixed and PIP method is updated correctly now.
Melissa says
Thanks so much!!
Lynne says
I noticed on the second recipe that it calls for 2 egg yolks. When I read the directions, it said add egg and yolks. I’m confused! Do I use the whites or not? Thank u
The Typical Mom says
Sorry, typo. Fixed. First recipe uses the whole egg, the second just uses egg yolks.
Sandra says
Please Help, I just made your Tapioca using the Pip method. Followed all instructions to letter . The tapioca came out very runny. The tapioca came out all on the bottom of pan not mixed though mixture. Even after in refrigerator over night did not help much the runny consistency. What went wrong? Would love to get it right! Thank you. Sandra Dana
chris says
you say for non PIP method to use NOT minute tapioca, however later on you said to use the stuff in the red box, is there NOT minute tapioca that is also in the red box? is it ok to use minit if its all i have?
The Typical Mom says
You can try, I just do it this way. One with not Minute tapioca and the other method without. Let me know how yours turns out.
Emily says
Could anyone tell me if once done can the tapioca pudding be put into a pie shell? I can’t find a straight tapioca pudding pie recipe and not sure if my pudding is too watery for the pie crust
Cassandra says
I’m not sure about tapioca as a pie itself. However, you can use uncooked tapioca pearls in a pie filling (such as peach). The pearls will cook just fine when cooking the pie.
Mimi says
I made this as directed but found it too liquidy, so I put it back in for an additional 4 min and it came out perfect.
I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and wisked after the 1st cook, great texture.
The Typical Mom says
Thanks for your tips, everyone prefers a different texture.
MaryJo says
First time making it, turned out well! I followed the directions exactly. Nor burn, no boil over. Will make this again! Even tasted great right out of the pot, warm!
The Typical Mom says
Awesome!!
MaryJo says
First time making it, turned out well! I followed the directions exactly. Nor burn, no boil over. Will make this again! Even tasted great right out of the pot, warm!
Jo-Ann Haddix says
I prefer cooking my Tapioca in the microwave. Same recipe. Cook for 6 minutes on High in 8qt bowl. Then watch for whale cooking for 4 more minutes. Turn off power if it starts to run over and restart as needed. 12 Minutes total cook time. Add vanilla last.
Linda Carlson says
Mine boiled over the pan I used Do you cover the pan
The Typical Mom says
Yes try covering with foil.
Monica says
Mine did too and I had it covered.
Geraldine Lucas says
I used PIP and mine has a cover also used a rack that elevated the pan a couple of inches so bottom would not get too hot. Turned out fine but texture is different than stovetop.
Amy Cielenski says
Have you made a larger batch in the IP? My family loves tapioca so much I generally make it with just over 8 cups of milk. Would it just need more time in the IP?
The Typical Mom says
It may, I haven’t doubled it yet. My rice pudding in the IP doesn’t work as well doubled so I usually don’t.
A says
I, too, followed the recipe exactly as stated. I made it twice, each time it burned on the bottom.
Geraldine Lucas says
I used a rack made for eggs that elevated it about 2″ from the bottom and turned out fine.
The Typical Mom says
So glad you loved it
Ashley says
I just got my instant pot and tapioca is one of my favorite desserts! When doing the pot in a pot method for this recipe do you still need to add water to the bottom of the instant pot? Do you cover the pot inside? And how much bigger did the bowl with the tapioca in it need to be then when the tapioca is just added? Thank you so much for the feedback and I’m excited to try this recipe!
The Typical Mom says
I haven’t done pot in pot yet for this one but yes always add about 2 c. of water to the bottom if you are using this method to cook in the IP.
Carol says
My instant pot did not come to pressure
Jan says
Did you close the valve?
Rosemary says
I followed this recipe but added the egg at the beginning after beating it with the milk. I couldn’t see any reason not to! I used the PIP method (Pot In Pot) so no worries about burning it. It turned out perfect!
Meg says
The egg chunks are a little weird. Has anyone ever tried it without adding the egg?
The Typical Mom says
Add very slowly to avoid chunks.
Rosemary says
I added the egg at the beginning after beating it with the milk.
Illume Eltanin says
Could the egg be tempered and added all at once, instead of 1/4 at a time?
Karen says
I’ve never cooked tapioca with eggs. Is it necessary? Does it add additional flavor? Thanks!
Suzanne says
Did you use instant tapioca?
The Typical Mom says
Yes, in the red box.
Jane M Reding says
Followed exactly, burned on bottom. I wonder if pot in pot would work?
Joy Reding says
From another J(Joy) Reding, had to reply. 🙂
Mine didn’t burn at all; used Pam organic spray. Maybe you need more of a coating?
Labbie1 says
Mine got dark on the bottom as well. It doesn’t taste burned but has the dark chunks from the bottom. I think I will try the PIP to see if that will work better as well. Tastes good though!