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Make tapioca pearls (boba pearls) at home with just three ingredients! Follow my simple method to make boba perfect for bubble tea, taro milk tea, and more delicious bubble tea varieties!
In this post, I’ll walk you through a simple DIY for making tapioca pearls, including how to cook them with dark brown sugar, and a simple brown sugar bubble milk tea recipe. Once you master the art of making boba pearls at home, you can customize them with flavors like mango (see Mango Tapioca Pearls) and add them to your favorite bubble tea, milk tea, or other fruity drinks for that perfect chewy texture. They also make a fantastic topping for desserts like puddings and shaved ice.
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What are tapioca pearls?
Tapioca pearls are small, chewy, dark brown balls made from tapioca starch, brown sugar, and hot water. Once cooked, they are spooned into milk bubble tea and other drinks.
Making and using these boba pearls requires two techniques. First, you need to make the tapioca dough and form the dried pearls. Once these are ready, you have to cook them before you can use them in your drink.
Watch the tapioca pearls video
Ingredients
- Tapioca flour: This is also known as tapioca starch.
- Sugar: For an authentic taste, you can try to find Taiwanese brown sugar (“black sugar”). However, brown sugar, muscovado, or white sugar will work. Depending on what sugar you use, the balls’ color and caramel-like flavor might differ a bit.
- Water
- To make the boba drink: White or brown sugar and your favorite tea, iced tea, flavored milk, or juice/smoothie. I often use this Blue Milk from Star Wars recipe to wow my guests.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make boba
Make tapioca dough: Start by heating the water and sugar in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is almost boiling. Remove from the heat.
Add about one tablespoon of the tapioca starch and stir until well combined. Make sure there are no lumps. Then, place over low heat and stir until the mixture starts thickening like a paste.
Once it becomes thicker, remove from the heat. Add the rest of the tapioca starch and mix well until you obtain a sticky, shaggy dough.
Then, on a lightly floured surface (floured with tapioca starch), knead the dough until it becomes smooth and uniform. Knead the dough while it’s still warm so it’s pliable. Tapioca dough can be very sticky, so sprinkle some extra starch if needed.
Shape the dough into pearls: It’s more convenient to work with half of the dough at a time. So, make sure to cover the other half so it doesn’t dry out (use a wrap or a damp towel).
Roll the dough into thin, long rod-like pieces. Each roll should be quite thin, as the tapioca pearls will expand when cooked later. Then, cut the rolls into small pieces and roll each piece into a tiny ball.
Place the rolled pearls in a bowl and dust them with tapioca starch to avoid sticking. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Now, you have your dried tapioca pearls ready. Make sure each boba pearl is coated with tapioca starch to prevent them from sticking together. At this point, you can choose to store them (see the notes below for more information).
Cook the tapioca pearls in boiling water: In a large saucepan, boil enough water to cover your tapioca pearls (at least 4 cups of water per cup of dry pearls). Carefully add the tapioca pearls to the boiling water and stir well to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot or to each other. Cover the pot and boil for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat and let them rest for another 20 minutes. The boba pearls will become chewy and almost translucent.
Finally, drain the tapioca pearls and quickly place them in cold water to prevent sticking. Alternatively, you can put them in sugar syrup to prevent sticking and add sweetness and flavor. For a quick and extra special treat, cook the tapioca pearls in brown sugar.
Cook the tapioca pearls in brown sugar: To make the brown sugar tapioca peals, first warm up the brown sugar over medium heat for a couple of minutes. The sugar only needs to be warmed up, not completely melted.
Add the boba and stir well to coat all the pearls with the melting sugar.
Make bubble milk tea: To make bubble milk tea, use black tea or other herbal teas, flavored milk, and even juices as the base. You might also enjoy my classic bubble tea recipe.
If using tea, make it as you would typically in warming water, adding milk to dilute it. Chill the tea in the fridge. Pour warm brown sugar boba pearls into a glass, coat the walls with melted sugar, add ice cubes, pour in the tea, and serve with a boba straw.
Tips and notes for success
- Boiling Hot Mixture: Make sure the water and sugar mixture is boiling when adding the tapioca starch. This helps incorporate the starch properly and form a sticky dough.
- Stir Quickly: Stir quickly and thoroughly when you add the first tablespoon of tapioca starch. Remove from heat and add the rest all at once, mixing swiftly to prevent clumps and ensure a smooth dough.
- Knead While Warm: Knead the dough while still warm to keep it soft and easy to work with. If it becomes too hard, reheat it gently in the microwave for a few seconds.
- Dough Texture: The dough should be smooth and slightly sticky but not too wet. If it’s overly wet, sprinkle extra tapioca starch to reduce the stickiness. It should stick slightly to the surface but come off cleanly when picked up.
- Keep Dough Covered: To prevent the dough from drying out, cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap while shaping the pearls. If working with half the dough, make sure the other half is covered.
- Roll Small Pearls: Roll the dough into small, even-sized pearls, as they will expand during cooking. Remember to coat them lightly with tapioca starch so they won’t stick together.
- Boil, rest, and strain: Boil the pearls for about 20 minutes, then let them sit in the hot water for another 20 minutes to achieve the perfect chewy texture. Then, strain and quickly place them in cold water or sugar syrup to prevent stickiness.
- Storage: Uncooked pearls can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. Cooked pearls can be kept in simple syrup in the fridge for a few days or frozen.
If you love this recipe, try these out!
If you try this homemade boba recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
Homemade Tapioca Pearls (Boba) + Video!
Equipment
- Boba straws when serving
Ingredients
For the Tapioca Pearls
- 3/4 cup tapioca starch plus a bit more for dusting (aka tapioca flour)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar black sugar, muscovado sugar, or even white sugar will work
- 1/4 cup water
For the Brown Sugar Boba Drink
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 4 cups almond milk or any other milk, tea, or drink
Instructions
Make tapioca dough
- In a medium-sized pot, heat 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbsp sugar over medium heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is almost boiling. Remove from the heat.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of the tapioca starch and stir until well combined. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Place over low heat. Stir the mixture until it starts thickening. Once it becomes thicker, like a paste, remove it from the heat.
- Add the rest of the tapioca starch and mix well while it still hot until you obtain a sticky dough.
- Lightly flour your working surface with tapioca starch. Knead the warm dough until it becomes smooth and uniform. Sprinkle some extra starch if needed.
Shape the pearls
- Work with half of the dough and cover the rest so it doesn't dry.
- Roll the dough into thin, long rod-like pieces. Cut the rolls into small pieces and roll each into a tiny ball. The tapioca pearls will expand when cooked, so make small balls.
- Place the rolled pearls in a bowl and dust them with tapioca starch to avoid sticking. Repeat with the rest of the dough.At this point, you can store the dry pearls.
Cook the tapioca pearls
- Boil water in a large saucepan. Use at least 4 cups of water per cup of dry pearls.
- Carefully add the tapioca pearls to the boiling water. Stir well so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot or each other.
- Cover the pot and boil for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat and let them rest for another 20 minutes. The boba pearls will become chewy and almost translucent.
- Drain the boba and quickly place them in cold water to prevent stickiness.At this point, you can enjoy them with your drink or cook them with sugar syrup.
Cook the tapioca pearls in brown sugar
- Warm the brown sugar over medium heat for a couple of minutes – it doesn't have to melt completely, just warm.
- Add the boba and stir well to coat all the pearls with the melting sugar.
Make bubble milk tea
- Prepare your drink of choice. You can keep it in the fridge until ready to use. The simplest way to enjoy these pearls is with some milk or plant-based milk.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of the warm pearls into a cup or glass (use glass for a great visual effect) and roll the cup or glass to coat the walls with melted sugar.
- Add ice cubes (optional) and your drink of choice. Serve with a boba straw, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
they taste so good. i added a tiny bit more brown sugar for some more taste and it worked really well. thanks for a great recipe:)
Thanks for your comment, Maaike. Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
this recipe is very cool. it is also the simplest one i have seen so far. i am thinking of making this for my parents and wanted to find an easy recipe. Thanks!
Thank you for your comment, Vicky. Glad you are enjoyig the recipe.
I definitely messed up parts of this recipe and it still came out great. I was too impatient to let them sit another 20 minutes after boiling but they’re still so good.
Thanks for your comment, Tate. Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Absolutely perfect! I’ve tried soo many that always end up failing. This one is legit!
Thank you for your comment, Nicolle. Glad you are enjoying this recipe.
Hello, I want to make this recipe, but I wanted to know if there’s a way to add fruits into the pearls? Thank you!
Hi Daniel,
I haven’t tried this version yet but you could add pureed or finely chopped fruit at the beginning of the process when you are combining the tapioca flour with sugar and hot water. Don’t add more than 1/2-3/4 cup of fruit. I hope this helps.
Did you end up trying this recipe with fruit added? How did it turn out?
Thanks
Hi there,
You can add fruit or try this mango boba version https://www.alphafoodie.com/how-to-make-mango-boba-pearls/
I love the images but as a reader, I had trouble finding the amounts to put in. (Like how much water and how much brown sugar.)
Thank you for your comment, Jake.
All the amounts are always specified in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. I hope this helps.
Horrible. It just turned into clumps of sugar and water. Where are the measurements? How much do I need to put in? Don’t you list them?
I’m so sorry to hear about that. All of the measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post – where the full method is included. I’ve never had issues with the sugar and water clumping – just make sure to whisk the mixture while the sugar melts into the water and hopefully you have better luck next time!
Can I replace the flour with tapioca starch?
Hi,
Tapioca flour and tapioca starch are the same and you can use either. They are made from the processing and fine grinding of the cassava root. I hope this helps.
Thank you!
I only had white sugar and they turned out looking like gooey little frog eggs. Love it!
Thank you for your comment, Sha!
Thank you for the recipe and a technique. I just want to add that after cutting the dough, I put bunch in my hands and gently rolled/tumbled them and they turned out round. Very quick.
Thank you so much for your comment, Katya. Great tip!
the ingredient measurements are listed at the bottom of the recipe
Thanks for your comment, Krystal. That’s right – the ingredient measurements are always listed at the bottom of the blog page.
It is really good but kinda tasteless, is it normal?
Hi Romane,
It is indeed kind of normal – the tapioca pearls are relatively tasteless on their own (just a bit sweet), which is why they are used in bubble milk teas. The tapioca pearls are able to absorb the milk and flavor of the tea.
This is awesome I can’t wait try it thank you for posting this.
Thank you for your comment, Esther.
I am making this for a lot of people can you double it?
Hi Makayla,
Yes, that’s what I would do too – double it.
very helpful, thank you
Thank you for your comment, Abby.
This is goood
Thank you so much for the feedback, glad to hear you’ve like it 🙂
hi! is it possible to use tapioca starch instead of flour?
Hi Ghada,
Tapioca flour and tapioca starch are the same and you can use either. They are made from the processing and fine grinding of the cassava root, it’s just that different brands use different names. I hope this helps.
How big should you make the pearls?
Hi Anya,
The pearls should be made quite small so they can fit through a large/smoothie straw. Keep in mind that they will expand once cooked, so make them smaller.
If you cook the boba, how long can you keep it out before use?
Hi Yasmin,
It’s best to use the boba a few hours after cooking but they can be kept for 1-2 days, covered with sugar syrup so they don’t stick to each other. I hope this helps.