Sweet Red Bean Soup (vegan, gluten-free, oil-free)
This sweet red bean soup is a classic Chinese dessert that is actually pretty common among most Asian cultures. It’s simple, yet delicious and comforting. It’s a traditional dessert that is subtly sweet, soft, creamy, and studded with small chewy tapioca pearls.
In the Asian culture, beans are mostly enjoyed sweet, not savory. This sweet red bean soup is a dessert that can be eaten hot or cold. I love it warm in the winter and cold in the summer. I crave it all the time and it’s just so comforting to me.
You can add sago (little clear tapioca pearls) for an added smooth and chewy texture to contrast the soft beans. Normally, this soup is sweetened with rock sugar, but you can sub regular brown sugar or coconut sugar too. You can add however much sugar you’d like too. It’s super easy to make, vegan, oil-free, and gluten-free too.
I used the Instant Pot to make this sweet red bean soup. It saves a lot of time but you can also make it on the stove top. Both ways are great and will make the yummiest red bean soup.
If you make this sweet red bean soup, tag me @nutsaboutgreens on Instagram so I can see your creations! Don’t forget to leave a comment below!
Sweet Red Bean Soup (vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, Instant Pot option)
Ingredients
- 14 oz red beans/adzuki beans, dry (400 g)
- 8 cups water
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp sago
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 cup rock sugar, more if you want it sweeter (or sub pure organic cane sugar or organic brown sugar)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Soak the red beans overnight in cold water.
- Drain and rinse beans. Add the beans and 8 cups of water to an Instant Pot (or large pot if not using an instant pot). Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes or simmer on the stove top for 1 hour until beans are soft (you might need to add a cup of water if cooking it on the stove).
- While red beans are cooking, cook the sago. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the sago and simmer for 20 minutes, or until translucent, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse. Set aside.
- Once red beans are done cooking, let it come to a natural release. Then add the sugar, coconut milk, and salt. Stir until well combined and sugar is dissolved. Taste and add more sugar if needed.
- Add the cooked sago and stir until combined. Enjoy hot or cold. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Ooo I love red bean soup! It’s always been one of my favorite desserts. Especially with mochi in it 😉
I’ve never tried it with coconut milk though! Is that a tradition recipe? Sounds neat.
Ooo mochi sounds delicious in it. I love that too! Yes, my mom always puts a can of coconut milk in it. It’s so good! 🙂
Interesting! Next time I have coconut milk in the house I’ll try adding it in! It must be a different regional thing. In Japan, the traditional way is to have red bean soup with mochi. When there is a lot of soup and just a little mochi in the bowl, it’s called oshiruko. And, when there’s a lot of mochi and some red beans poured over top, it’s called zenzai. Both are awesome haha 😀
meant to say traditional recipe hehe
Yum!!
omg omg this is really great! thank u very much for sharing!
This is a cool recipe!
Thank you! Hope you give it a try!