You can never go wrong with these delicious Chinese dessert recipes that will blow your mind!
Chinese dessert recipes may be top of mind when Chinese New Year rolls around!
Or perhaps you simply want to try something new!
Popular Chinese desserts are not anywhere near the sweetness accustomed to westerners’ taste buds.
They do use lots of natural fruits.
Since they are not overly sweet, traditional Chinese desserts are good choices for not
only after a meal, but are often also enjoyed with tea or before a meal.
Interestingly, the national dessert of China is mooncake.
Many Chinese desserts include glutinous rice like the Tang Yuan or eggless cookies like the Xiao Dian Xin.
In Chinese culture, people view food as the greatest earthly pleasure, so they spend more time cooking on average than many other cultures, and #26 is our favorite.
I have collected 27 popular Chinese desserts for those on the hunt for one to try.
Know that many of these recipes take a considerable amount of time and use ingredients that may require a trip to the Asian market.
Enough with the disclaimers, onto the list!
Chinese dessert recipes tend to be light, like this silky tofu soybean pudding.
You can serve it whether warm or cold, depending on your liking.
Homemade fortune cookies Chinese dessert may not have been something you considered!
Yes, they take some time, but they are an excellent way to create personalized messages!
Almond jello has just four ingredients and is on the list of traditional Chinese desserts.
A couple of hours to chill and then serve with lychees, mangoes, or mandarin oranges.
Mooncakes are popular Chinese desserts with a filling that can be sweet or nutty, or savory.
This recipe filling is red bean, a different recipe that you can make ahead of time, and the two dough parts.
The pictures are super helpful!
You may be familiar with tofu pudding, a classic among the best Chinese desserts and not surprisingly next on this list.
This unique soy milk pudding dessert has many steps, but the video is excellent to follow along with the explanations.
Chinese dessert recipes tend to take some time to prepare correctly, but this one is wonderfully quick.
This traditional tofu soybean curd dessert is silky and sweet!
The Ma Lai Gao Chinese dessert cake is moist and airy with a light sweetness and caramel flavor.
Fresh brown sugar is the key to this beautiful cake, and the recipe guide is thorough for newbies!
All right, cupcakes may not be traditional Chinese desserts, but they are super unique with the familiar red bean paste hidden inside!
Everyone loves cakes for certain celebrations!
The best Chinese desserts are often prepared slightly differently, as is the case with this cake which you won’t have to bake but steamed and ever so delightfully fluffy!
Nai Wong Bao, steamed custard buns, are trendy Chinese desserts!
Yes, they need babysitting throughout the day, so start them early to prepare for dessert that evening.
Chinese dessert recipes like Nian Gao are a must-have at the next Chinese New Year Celebration!
Here an Instant Pot is put to good use!
When celebrating with families, this sweet sticky rice cake symbolizes prosperity for the upcoming year!
The lunar new year sweet dessert is Dahn Sahn, a Chinese dessert also referred to as Bow Ties or Butterflies!
It is a deep-fried, flaky pastry with a syrup coating that is addicting!
13. Sesame Balls
Another one of many traditional Chinese desserts, sesame balls are made with rice flour dough, filled with sweetness, rolled in sesame seeds, and fried till crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside!
You must follow these instructions to a T, so if you are into that type of challenge, most definitely give them a try!
The best Chinese desserts are quickly recognizable, like these pineapple buns!
They have a crumbly crust with the pattern cut into the top to look like pineapple skin.
The pictures are excellent in guiding through the directions!
Cookies are also popular Chinese desserts, like these almond ones that symbolize coins and good fortune in the new year!
A shortbread-type cookie with a strong almond flavor!
Looking for crunchy Chinese dessert recipes, this peanut and sesame brittle may pique your interest!
Delightfully, only three steps of toasting the nuts, melting the sugar, and combining them.
An egg tart Chinese dessert has a pastry crust shell filled with an egg mixture that cooks up similarly to a flan.
Ordinary ingredients with special instructions create this lovely little tart!
This recipe is for Tang Yuan, one of the traditional Chinese desserts enjoyed at the
Winter Solstice celebration and during the Lantern Festival on the last day of the Chinese New Year traditional Chinese desserts.
Making these glutinous rice balls takes a bit of kneading, food coloring, and rolling into little balls!
Don’t forget the sweet ginger syrup.
Otherwise, they are plain.
Coating bananas with a thin batter and frying until crispy is one popular Chinese dessert.
Serve with honey or powdered sugar; these are lovely bites.
Chinese dessert recipes come in all shapes and types, and this recipe is a soup with rice dessert.
It takes a whole day before serving this dish as it needs six hours to cook.
The tapioca pearls give it an interesting texture.
Here ice cream is the Chinese dessert I cannot stop talking about.
The only three ingredients needed are coconut milk, matcha green tea powder, and maple syrup.
Find that ice cream maker and see what miracles this recipe can whip up!
Everyone needs a good butter cookie in their recipe collection, and this one is from an array of traditional Chinese desserts.
No matter the shape you make them in, they are deliciously crunchy and not too sweet.
Ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year in style?
Perhaps trying one of the best Chinese desserts, the eight treasure rice pudding, is on your bucket list.
If so, consider this recipe as it has good instructions and pictures.
24. Mung Bean Cake
Mung bean cake is one of the traditional Chinese desserts enjoyed during afternoon tea.
Know that it takes eight hours to pre-soak the beans before the actual recipe begins.
Five ingredients and excellent pictures accompany the step-by-step explanation!
These sweet dumplings from our Chinese dessert recipes list are another tasty treat traditionally enjoyed during the lantern festival.
The outside has glutinous rice flour, and the inside has a peanut filling.
These are best enjoyed right after making.
I present this recipe following the tradition that many Chinese desserts are not overly sweet.
Fried dough sticks have no sugar but are considered appetizers, snacks, or desserts.
The dough is made 12-24 hours in advance and chilled before deep-fried.
This traditional Chinese dessert is fragrant, crispy, nutty, sweet, and salty.
These biscuits are the size and shape of a small cookie.
Two different versions are presented, with one being crushing outside, soft inside, and the other being soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
The bottom line
No matter your time allowance or taste preference, one of these Chinese dessert recipes is bound to fit your needs!
🥭🥭21 Can’t-Miss Mango Desserts Featuring Tropical, Craveable Mango!🥭🥭
27 Chinese Dessert Recipes
Delight your sweet tooth today with these 27 Chinese dessert recipes!
Ingredients
- Tau Foo Fah (Soy Bean Pudding)
- Homemade Fortune Cookies
- Easy Homemade Almond Jello
- Red Bean Mooncakes
- Soy Milk Pudding
- Tofu Pudding Dessert Or Douhua
- Ma Lai Gao Recipe
- Chinese New Year Cupcakes - Nian Gao
- Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake Recipe (Ji Dan Gao)
- Chinese Steamed Custard Buns (Nai Wong Bao)
- Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Cake) 年糕
- Dahn Sahn - Sugared Butterflies Or Fried Bow Ties
- Sesame Balls
- Hong Kong Style Pineapple Bun Recipe
- Chinese Almond Cookies
- Peanut & Sesame Brittle
- Egg Tart (Dan Tat) - Traditional Recipe From Hong Kong
- Tang Yuan Recipe (Glutinous Rice Balls) With Sweet Ginger Syrup
- Chinese Banana Fritters
- Delicious Red Bean Soup With Black Glutinous Rice Dessert
- Green Tea Coconut Milk Ice Cream
- Xiaodianxin | Eggless Chinese Butter Cookies
- Traditional Eight Treasure Rice Pudding
- Mung Bean Cake
- Chinese Sweet Dumplings
- Fried Dough Sticks (Quẩy/Youtiao)
- Hup Toh Soh (Old-fashioned Chinese Walnut Biscuits)
Instructions
- Choose one or more options from our list of Chinese dessert recipes here!
- Create your new favorite dish.
- Pat yourself on the back for making food at home for you to enjoy!
- Share and comment! Did you make any tweaks so it’s all your own?