Easy, refreshing, and healthy, Thai desserts are simply irresistible.
If you have serious sweet cravings, these desserts won’t break your heart. If anything, they’ll put you in a good mood!
Most Thai desserts use coconut milk, fresh fruits, and sweet syrups.
They’re extremely sweet but low in fat and calories. Some are even gluten-free. What’s not to love?
However, these desserts are heavier compared to what’s served in the west, so I hope you brought your appetite!
Try one of these 20 Thai dessert recipes for a quick sweet fix!
1. Thai Mango Sticky Rice
If you’re looking for a classic Thai dessert, you should start with mango sticky rice.
This famous street food can be seen in Thai restaurants all over the world.
Its tropical flavors are heavenly, and you’ll only need three ingredients!
Thai sticky rice is sweetened with coconut milk and served with ripe mango cubes.
You can drizzle some sweet coconut sauce on top to intensify the flavors.
2. Thai Mango Coconut Pudding
Again, coconut milk and mangoes are the main ingredients in this delectable dessert. But this time, the recipe yields a soft, silky, and jiggly pudding.
As beautiful as it is delicious, this pudding recipe stole my heart.
Its vibrant yellow color speaks highly of the mangoes’ tropical flavor. Meanwhile, the coconut milk makes the pudding rich, creamy, and a bit nutty.
3. Red Rubies Dessert
From a bright yellow dessert, let’s go to something luscious and red. Also known as tub tim krob, red rubies are a classic Thai dessert that’s super easy to make.
Each bite gives you a crunchy texture and nutty taste from the water chestnuts.
Infused with coconut syrup and served with crushed ice, this dessert is perfect for hot summer days!
4. Coconut Mango Tapioca Pudding
Coconut mango tapioca pudding is a vegan and naturally gluten-free dessert. By using non-dairy milk, you can enjoy this sweet dish without the guilt.
Of course, ripe mangoes bring a refreshingly sweet flavor, while the coconut milk and maple syrup make the pudding rich and creamy.
Oh, and don’t you love these cute tapioca pearls? They’re a great addition to the dessert, which makes for a chewy bite.
5. Thai Fried Bananas
Here’s another healthy and delicious recipe that both vegetarians and non-vegetarians will love. I mean, who doesn’t like bananas?
Coated with sesame seeds and coconut flakes, these fried bananas are oh-so-crispy and delicious.
You can enjoy them hot and plain, but having a scoop of coconut ice cream on top is ideal for the kids.
6. Thai Banana in Coconut Milk
If you always have bananas and coconut milk on-hand, this recipe is what you’ll need to make something great out of these ingredients.
For the best results, be sure not to overcook the banana slices into mush. If you want to make this dish fancy and a bit crunchy, simply top it off with nuts or seeds.
Everything’s ready in 15 minutes. You can serve this dish as a dessert or a sweet snack between meals. It’s that good!
7. Homemade Rolled Ice Cream
If you think that homemade ice cream is difficult to make, think again, and take a look at this recipe.
Using only two ingredients, you can make an ice cream base. Easy-peasy!
Best of all, you won’t be making ordinary ice cream. The mixture is placed on a baking tray, then frozen until it’s ready to be scraped up and rolled.
The dessert is made even better with your favorite toppings. These can include crushed Oreo cookies, cream cheese, Nutella, diced berries, and so much more.
8. Banana Spring Rolls
Banana spring rolls are golden and crispy sweet treats made from saba bananas, sugar, and spring roll wrappers.
This sweet delicacy is also well-known in the Philippines but goes by a different name: turon.
For browning and added flavor, you can pan-fry these banana spring rolls in half oil and half butter. Enjoy them as is or serve with a hot cup of tea.
9. Thai Steamed Banana Cake
Thai steamed banana cakes are naturally vegan and are a delight to eat. More importantly, they’re easy to prepare and require simple ingredients.
If you know how to mash and mix, you’ll be done in 30 minutes. Just combine mashed bananas with coconut cream, rice flour, potato flour, sugar, and shredded coconut.
Steam the cakes on high heat until they reach a slightly jelly-like consistency. Serve warm and enjoy!
10. Thai Grilled Pineapple
This grilled pineapple is perhaps one of the easiest Thai desserts on this list. You don’t need region-specific ingredients, just a couple of pantry staples.
The pineapple slices are coated in butter, palm sugar, and lemon juice, creating a refreshing flavor once grilled to perfection.
Put a dollop of yogurt on top, add a sprinkle of grated fresh coconut, and devour!
11. Thai Coconut Pudding
Easy and oh-so-tasty, you won’t want to miss this recipe. This coconut pudding may not be the best looking dish out there, but oh boy, it’s deliciously creamy!
Using simple ingredients and less than an hour of your time, you’ll get a cross between a macaroon and a custard with a decadent coconut flavor.
12. Thai Sweet Rice Cakes
While the recipe name doesn’t say it, these sweet rice cakes are perfectly crispy!
These cakes are made with Thai sticky rice deep-fried in vegetable oil until the kernels are puffed up and everything’s brown and crispy.
Tip: Be generous with the sugar drizzle because that’ll be your source of sweetness for this snack.
13. Thai Tea Cake
Now, here’s a cake that’s beyond ordinary. This recipe creates a milk tea-flavored cheesecake with a biscuit base that crumbles in your mouth.
Everything comes together in 45 minutes. Serve cold and plain or enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Either way, it’s one of the best cakes ever!
14. Thai Fruit Salad
A dessert recipe round-up won’t be complete without a fruit salad. This time, you can make the Thai version, which is both gorgeous and delicious.
This recipe calls for all the tropical fruits you love — pineapples, mangoes, and bananas, to name a few. Peeled and sliced starfruits are added for a visual punch.
Everything is mixed in a sweet dressing of coconut milk, lime juice, and sugar.
If you’re serving it for a party, you might want to learn how to make a pineapple boat first for a fun presentation.
15. Thai Coconut Cake
Prepare for layers of beautiful texture from this Thai coconut cake. It has a slightly crunchy top and a soft and moist center, leaving you in awe, bite after bite.
Best of all, it’s not overly sweet like other cakes. It has a wonderful coconut flavor from freshly-squeezed coconut milk.
Of course, you can take things up a notch by adding whipped frosting and toasted coconut flakes on top of the cake.
16. Thai Mango Cake
Here’s another noteworthy recipe that yields a tropical-flavored, refreshing cake.
Fresh mangoes are the star of the show, but the rich and creamy frosting complete the cake’s decadent flavor.
Thai mango cake tastes good as it looks. Make it right and it’ll become a show-stopper at your next party!
17. Mung Bean Pudding
Mung beans for dessert? Yes! Gone are the days when this ingredient was only for savory dishes.
When combined with coconut milk and sugar, it becomes an insanely good dessert.
Ready in 30 minutes, this pudding is extremely easy to make. All it takes is some boiling and stirring, and you’re done.
For added texture, some like to include tapioca pearls into the mix.
18. Thai Mung Bean Candy
Mung bean and coconut milk indeed make a wonderful pair. Use them again for this recipe, and you’ll get a mung bean candy that can be formed into any shape.
If you’re looking for an easy dessert recipe to make with the kids, this is it.
With food coloring and a gelatin coating, mung bean candies are some of the cutest sweet treats you can have.
19. Thai Mango Ice Cream
So you’ve tried mango cake, and you liked it. What about mango ice cream? Perhaps you also had it before because it’s one of the most popular ice cream flavors.
But of course, nothing beats mango ice cream that’s made at home, and with love.
Make yours extra special with fresh mango tidbits and a drizzle of coconut rum on top.
20. Thai Shaved Ice Dessert
Also known as nam kang sai, Thai shaved ice dessert is a mix of your favorite dessert toppings, shaved ice, flavored/colored syrup, and condensed milk.
Thai’s shaved ice dessert is quite similar to Korea’s patbingsu. It’s all about the toppings.
For this recipe, you’ll use an inviting red syrup for flavoring and cubes of bread and basil seeds for the toppings.
Other great inclusions are sweet corn, taro, red rubies, and pineapples. The choices are endless, so feel free to make your own mix!
Thanks. I didn’t know what to order in Thai being vegetarian. I am going with my 27 year old daughter and wife. Wish me luck.
I hope you had a wonderful trip! 🙂