I have always LOVED tapioca pudding. Actually, any type of pudding – I don’t discriminate! Once I gave up health-harming dairy and animal foods however (best choice I ever made, btw), I figured tapioca pudding was a thing of the past since the traditional recipe calls for milk and eggs. WRONG! I tinkered with a few ingredients and ended up with what I feel is a great alternative. I try my best not to consume or prepare things with refined sugar, but I must confess – I did use some here, the few times I made this. Next time I will try date or coconut sugar, which aren’t refined in the highly processed way white sugar is. They may alter taste somewhat, and color, but it’s worth trying.
UPDATE!!! I tried date sugar and it was an epic fail. I do NOT recommend it. I also tried Sucanat, which is dried sugar cane juice. Much better result than date sugar but not nearly as good as white sugar. It gave it a tan hue, and sort of a molasses flavor, which tastes nice but the texture ends up much thicker and not as creamy as white sugar. Next I will try raw/turbinado sugar, which I’m guessing will have the same result as Sucanat. When choosing white sugar, organic is a must! Not only is it free of pesticides, it is vegan. Why do you care about vegan sugar? Well, regular, refined white sugar requires the use of animal bone char in processing. Gross? Definitely. Due to health concerns, the FDA prohibits the use of bones from the United States’ meat industry. Further, the bones are required to come from animals that die of natural causes. While this makes theoretical sense, the ridiculous reality is bone char is predominantly imported from countries like Brazil, India, Pakistan and Nigeria and there is no warranty to the American consumer that the bone char used is indeed from ‘clean’ animals. I don’t know about you, but I like my sugar without potentially contaminated bone char!
- In a heavy bottom pan, soak tapioca (I like the small pearls) in 1 cup of water for 1/2-1 hour, or until water is absorbed.
- To the tapioca add 3 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk , sugar, and 1/8 tsp salt.
- Cook on med-low 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium and cook 10-20 minutes until desired thickness is reached, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat when thick and stir in 1 tsp vanilla, and top with freshly ground nutmeg.
- Can be eaten warm but I prefer it cold. Pudding will also set up more once refrigerated.
