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Golden, thin, crispy mochi bites with a soft, chewy center make an excellent snack or treat! They’re egg-free, dairy-free, and baked in a mini muffin pan for the perfect bite-sized snack!
Mochi desserts were a constant in my childhood, so experimenting with sweet rice flour to create new desserts like these mochi bites became a fun pursuit. When I developed this recipe in 2019, my motivation was to create a lighter version of my Chewy Butter Mochi. I wanted something still chewy and sweet, but not as rich. I cut out the butter and egg and switched to light coconut milk. It stayed just as chewy and developed a thinner, crispier crust, which turned out to be a nice bonus.
The inside is the best part. It’s soft and chewy, lightly sweet, with a subtle coconut flavor. I make these all the time to bring to parties and picnics because they travel well and you can bake them the day before. I recently brought a batch to my friend’s son’s birthday party, and they were gone in no time.
Mochi Bites Recipe Testing Notes
- Coconut milk: I tested both full-fat and light coconut milk (one full 400 ml can) and prefer light coconut milk for its delicate flavor, but full-fat works well if you want richer results. Expect a thicker batter, though.
- Baking powder: I used double-acting baking powder, which gives it a nice dome shape.
- Pan and fill: Greasing the mini muffin pan made it significantly easier to remove from the mochi bites. Filling the pan three-quarters full allowed for perfectly sized mochi bites without overflowing the pan.
- Bake: 350°F for about 45 minutes gave me golden-brown crusts. Lowering the temperature resulted in flatter results with less color.
- Cooling matters: The mochi bites firm up and turn chewy as they cool, so let them cool completely before eating.
- Crust texture: The crust softens if the mochi bites sit at room temperature for a few hours after baking. In my kitchen, humidity usually softens them enough that I re-toast them to crisp the outside again.
- Yield: During testing, one batch made about 48 mochi bites using a mini muffin pan with 2 rounds of baking.
What Is Sweet Glutinous Rice Flour?
Sweet glutinous rice flour is flour milled from short-grain glutinous rice, also called sweet rice or sticky rice. You’ll find it labeled as sweet rice flour, glutinous rice flour, or Mochiko, the brand I use for this recipe.
It’s not sweet, and it doesn’t contain gluten. Both parts of the name are misleading. “Glutinous” describes how sticky the rice gets, not gluten. “Sweet” is just part of the name: the flour itself has a mild, neutral flavor.
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet glutinous rice flour: Sweet glutinous rice flour, sometimes sold as glutinous rice flour, gives these bites their stretch and chew. Don’t swap in regular rice flour, you won’t get the same results.
- Sugar: Sweetens the batter just enough. Think Asian dessert level sweetness.
- Light coconut milk: One 400 ml can, shaken well before opening, using both the liquid and the cream.
- Baking powder: Double-acting to add volume.
- Cooking spray: For greasing the pan.
How to Make Vegan Coconut Mochi Bites
1. Preheat and grease. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Mix the batter. Add the glutinous rice flour, sugar, coconut milk, water, vanilla, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl. Mix until completely smooth. Tip: Shake the can well before opening so the thick cream at the top and sides mixes in.
3. Fill the pan. Fill each mini muffin cup about three-quarters full.
4. Bake until golden. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the tops turn golden brown.
5. Cool completely. This is where the texture sets. The bites firm up and turn chewy as they cool. The center should be stretchy and chewy.
Storage
Let the mochi bites cool completely, then store them in an airtight container. If you seal them while they’re still warm, condensation can make them soggy.
They’re fine on the counter for a day. After that, keep them in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. To serve, pop them in a toaster oven until they’re slightly warm and soft again. This also re-crisps the outside if the crust has softened.
Variations and Substitutions
Brown sugar: Should work in place of granulated sugar.
Coconut topping: Sprinkle shredded coconut on top right before baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You need sweet rice flour, also called glutinous rice flour, such as Mochiko. Regular rice flour is completely different and won’t give you the chewy texture.
Glutinous rice flour doesn’t contain gluten, despite the name. If you’re baking for someone with celiac disease, also check the labels on your baking powder and vanilla.
Yes, I tried both full-fat and light coconut milk. Full-fat coconut milk gave it a richer taste, which some readers loved. Full-fat makes a thicker batter, so check on them as they bake.
Check that your baking powder is fresh, since it loses strength with age, and check your oven temperature. Too much liquid or an oven running cool can also keep them flat. Try a little less coconut milk and a slightly higher temperature, and keep an eye on them.
I got 48 mochi bites using a mini muffin pan that holds 24 mini muffin molds. I needed to bake them in two rounds.
Vegan Coconut Mochi Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet glutinous rice flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 can light coconut milk, 400ml
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ teaspoon double-acting baking powder
- pinch of salt
- Cooking spray or non-dairy butter to grease your pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a mini muffin pan with cooking spray or non-dairy butter.
- Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix until smooth. Tip: Shake the can of coconut milk well to mix together the liquid and cream that have separated.2 cups sweet glutinous rice flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 can light coconut milk, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/3 teaspoon double-acting baking powder, pinch of salt
- Fill each cup about ¾ full. Bake for about 45 minutes, until golden brown. Bake in batches until you use all the batter. I baked 2 batches to make 48 mochi bites.
- Cool completely before serving. They will firm up and become chewy as they cool.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
No where near vegan but I am all about trying all types of desserts. I made these according to the recipe and they were amazing! Next time, I’ll use full fat coconut milk.
Thanks so much Candice! So happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
This looks amazing!! Quick question, for this recipe, do you use single-acting or double-acting baking power?
Hi Olivia! I use double acting baking powder. Hope you enjoy this! 🙂
The texture of these is so much fun! I did use full fat coconut milk as I didn’t have any lite – it worked so well and was super decadent. yum!
I just made them and they’re so good! Are there 137 calories in 1 or 8?
Hi Samantha! So glad you enjoyed them! There are 8 servings in this recipe and it’s 137 calories per serving. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the recipe! What is the best way to store these and how long for freshness once cooked?
Hi Lily! For storage, I would wait until they are completely cooled and then store them in an airtight container. If they’re still warm, it might cause condensation and they can get a bit soggy. They can stay on the kitchen counter for a day but then I would store them in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. To reheat, I like to pop them in a toaster oven until they’re slightly warm and softened up. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hey! These look really great! How many bites does the recipe yield? It says 8 servings but how many bites would that be? Thanks! x
Can regular full fat coconut milk be substituted for lite coconut milk?
Hi Mij! I haven’t tried full fat coconut milk but I don’t see why you couldn’t use it. The batter will be thicker though so you may want to check how it’s baking in the oven. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Looks awesome!
Can I use regular white rice flour?
Thanks you ❤️
Hi Mor! I wouldn’t use anything besides sweet rice flour. Mochiko is a popular brand. Regular white rice flour is completely different and will definitely not be the same so I would avoid it for this recipe. Hope you enjoy!
This recipe is amazing! I’ve made them twice now and love the crust like outside and the chewy inside! And yay for it being vegan!
Thanks Linda! So glad you enjoyed them!
Your recipe is amazing! I had a few bags of sweet/glutinous rice flour (gluten-free household) and was searching for ways to work with this, and thought these were in line with our family’s current obsession with Mochi Doughnuts. I can say that this made the purchase of mini-muffin tin worthwhile. I made only one substitution – I’m Asian and we like our Mochi to be less sweet than most western palates – halved the sugar and also substituted fine grain coconut sugar for the cane sugar. They came out awesome; the nose of coconut and vanilla are heavenly together, One question though – how many actual mini-muffins is this supposed to make? I’m assuming 48, as it looked like only 1/2 of the batter got put into the muffin tin. I just microwaved the remaining batter and shaped Mochi balls because we only had one muffin tin and couldn’t wait a whole 45 minutes for the second batch!
Love love love this recipe! Made it for my family and have made it at least 3 more times since! Only issue is that no matter what we’ve tried, we can’t get them to puff up/rise like in the pictures 🙁 Any idea on what could be the problem?
Hi Melanie! So glad you like it! 🙂 For the rising issue, I’d check to see if the baking powder is fresh as it loses its efficacy the older it gets. Otherwise, the batter might have too much liquid or the oven temperature isn’t high enough. You may want to adjust the amount of coconut milk and increase the temperature just a little bit and keep an eye on it. Let me know how that works!
I brought this to a potluck once and now it’s become one of my most requested items to bring. One of my friends asked if I could incorporate mango into it. How would you recommend I do that? Thanks in advance!
Hi Wendy! That’s so great to hear that people love them! Oh that’s a great idea to make them mango flavored. I would suggest using mango juice, puree, or mango concentrate instead of water. You’d also want to adjust the sugar since the mango juice/puree/concentrate is already sweet. If you feel there’s not enough mango flavor, you can try adding more and reducing some of the coconut milk as well. This will require some testing as I haven’t tried this before but this would be the approach I would take. 🙂
This mochi muffin is so easy and super delicious, and it’s great that they are vegan too so I can make some for my vegan friends. We love the contrast between the crust and the chewy center.
If I wanted to make these chocolate flavor, how would I incorporate it? Cocoa powder or melted chocolate? Thanks!
Hi Samantha! That’s a great idea to make these chocolate flavored! For that, you can add cocoa powder to the mix as it’ll incorporate nicely in the batter. Hope you enjoy them! ?
Hey I made this and it was good. I added 1-2 tablespoons of matcha powder to the batter as a twist, and nothing disastrous happened, but I found it hard to taste the matcha. If I do it again I might add more. Thanks for posting!
That’s wonderful to hear Rishabh! 🙂 Oh such a cool idea to add matcha powder! I’ll have to try that sometime.
What a scrumptious dessert! Love this recipe!
Thanks so much Kim! I hope you enjoyed it!
I’ve never heard of this flour before so I’ll be on the hunt! This looks amazing, must try.
Yes you’ve got to try mochi flour Rosa! It’s so worth it for that awesome texture!
I’ve seen mochi bites in shops before, but I’ve never tried one. These look delicious and so crave-worthy I think I’m going to have to give them a go. I love that you used light coconut milk too!
Thanks Annie! They are certainly delicious! I hope you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Oh, WOW. I love coconut anything, and these mochi look so gorgeous. This is definitely high on my list to enjoy very soon!
Thanks so much Alexandra! I’m a huge fan of coconut anything too haha. I hope you liked them!
UMMM where has this recipe been all my life? Or atleast the past year. Can’t wait to make em.
Hahah I know right? When I first found out about these, I was so freaking happy! I hope you enjoyed them!