Red Bean Popsicles
Make your own icy sweet treats with classic red beans!
Cooking Summary
Ingredients: (detailed list)
- Main Ingredients: dried red beans, water, brown sugar, milk, coconut milk
- Tapioca Starch Slurry: tapioca starch, water
Steps:
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Overview
This is a special, special recipe that I'm excited to share, especially for Mother's Day! Each bite I take of our homemade Red Bean Popsicles reminds me of my childhood summers, days of playing and swimming until complete, utter, and happy exhaustion.
My mom would make these for my sister and me to fuel us up after a long summer day. Her love always came through in these amazing homemade popsicles.
I'm excited to make these our own kids, and we can't wait for your families to make these treats into your own summer traditions, too.
Why this recipe
Most red bean popsicles recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 110.6K views, 3K likes on YouTube.
Ingredients
Red beans for dessert
Red bean is a really popular flavor for sweets and desserts in tons of cultures, but it's still sometimes a surprise if you haven't tried it before! Popsicles are a great vehicle for trying out beans as a sweet flavor. Our recipe for Red Bean Popsicles is a very simple one, with easy-to-find and simple ingredients, so it's a great, gentle introduction.
Once you're hooked on sweet red beans, you can try some other red bean desserts like the classic Sweet Red Bean Soup and the chewy, steamed Nian Gao (New Year's Cake).
Sweetening the popsicles
The ultimate compliment for desserts: "Not too sweet!"
But to be honest, Red Bean Popsicles with no sugar or sweetness at all... don't taste good. The amount of sugar that we recommend in the recipe is truly the sweet spot of "not too sweet" and "oh so tasty". If you prefer, you can replace the sugar with honey or another sweetener.
How to make Red Bean Popsicles
Measure out the red beans (4 oz). Take a quick moment to scan through the beans and pick out any broken beans.
Wash the beans three times, draining the water and using fresh water each time. The repeated washing ensures that you’re really rinsing dust and debris off the dried beans.
Add cold water to the bowl of washed beans. Make sure the beans are fully submerged.
Soak for 6-8 hours or overnight at room temperature.
You’ll know the beans are ready when they’ve expanded in size and lightened in color. Give them a rinse, drain the water, then add the beans to a clean pot.
Add water (16 oz). You can start with cold water or, to save time, use already boiling water.
Bring to a boil on high heat with the pot lid on.
Once the water’s boiling, lower the heat until it’s barely simmering, and give it a quick stir.
Simmer for 1 hour with the lid on, making sure it continues to bubble mildly.
After 1 hour, the red beans should have softened. You can test them by taking a bean (careful, it’s hot!) and pinching; if you can squish and see bean innards burst out, it’s ready.
Add sugar (8 oz) and stir it in. Cook until the sugar dissolves, or about 2 minutes.
In a separate bowl, stir together tapioca starch (1½ Tbsp) and water (1½ Tbsp), mixing until the starch has dissolved. This slurry will thicken the soup and help create a creamier texture when freezing.
Turn off the heat. Add the tapioca starch slurry and stir until the red bean soup thickens.
Set the pot aside to cool, which may take about 1 hour.
When the red bean soup has cooled enough to handle safely, add milk (8 oz).
Shake the can of coconut milk to ensure that the cream and milk inside is well-combined. Then, add the coconut milk (6 oz) to the soup.
Pour the soup into your blender. Blend at medium speed for 30 seconds, or until it’s at your desired level of smoothness. If you want a chunkier texture, you can blend for a shorter time, or reserve some unblended beans to mix back in after blending.
Carefully fill up the popsicle molds with the blended soup. Pop on the lid. If the sticks are attached to the lid, perfect; if they’re not, and you have to add the sticks individually, then wait until the popsicles are mostly set to insert them.
Place the popsicles into the freezer. Make sure they’re on a level, stable surface that won’t get bumped when you close the door. Let them freeze for at least 6 hours until they’re completely set.
Prepare a bowl of boiling water. Dip each mold into the hot water and hold until you can hear or feel the popsicle release from the mold. Enjoy!
Top 3 Mistakes
- Leaving out the coconut cream:
Include the rich coconut cream from the can rather than just the thinner liquid. The recipe relies on the mixture's fat content for a creamier frozen texture instead of an icy one.
- Freezing beans while firm:
Check that the red beans are soft enough to squash before making the popsicle mixture. Freezing is not a substitute for finishing the cooking step and softening the beans first.
- Keeping the boil too fierce:
Turn down the heat when the recipe moves to a simmer. A hard boil changes how quickly liquid evaporates and how gently the ingredients cook, so follow that change in heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make creamier popsicles?
The higher ratio of fatty ingredients you have in your mixture, the creamier the popsicle will freeze. Use a higher fat milk and make sure to get all of the coconut cream out of the can to ensure a smoother, creamier texture.
If your mixture contains less fat and more water, then it will be icier and harder. Still delicious, though!
The ingredients are key, too: well-blended beans and tapioca starch will interrupt large ice crystals from developing.
Can I make red bean popsicles without a blender?
Yes, absolutely! You can mash the beans by hand with any tool or appliance you like. Mash and blend to your preferred consistency; you can stop sooner if you prefer more bean-y chunks to chew on.
How can I easily remove popsicles from their mold?
If you can't wait for the popsicles to thaw a bit on their own, you can dip the popsicle with the mold in hot water. The hot water will start to melt just the outside of the popsicle, releasing it from the mold and freeing the treat for you to enjoy!
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Made with love ❤️
We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.