• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Oh My Food Recipes
  • Homepage
  • About me
  • Recipes
    • Recipes by category
  • Subscribe Now
  • Contact Me
  • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Homepage
  • About me
  • Recipes
    • Recipes by category
  • Subscribe Now
  • Contact Me
  • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Instant pot pressure cooker » How to cook boba pearls

    How to cook boba pearls

    Published: Sep 20, 2018 Modified: Apr 23, 2021 by Tracy O.This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    A popular Taiwanese Asian boba drink combines milk tea or flavor powder with cooked tapioca pearls, boba. Wanna know how to cook the best and fastest boba? Try out this instant pot boba recipe. It only takes a few minutes!

    Love Asian dessert? Check out these almond jello, red bean ice drink, white rabbit candy ice cream, taro tapioca dessert and black sesame filling tang yuan recipes.

    cooked boba on a silver spoon how to cook boba

    What is boba?

    Boba pearls are made from tapioca starch. Also, they are chewy and black or brownish.

    How to cook boba pearls?

    If you buy boba, each brand of boba has an instruction to teach you how to cook them. Since I have tried different brands and followed their instructions. However, it always takes longer to cook them than it said on the packages. And, the middle of the boba was still not done when I used the top stove method.

    After many attempts to cook good boba using a top stove. Finally, I tried to use an instant pot pressure cooker to cook them. Amazingly, it turns out very nice and chewy boba pearls in only 2 minutes! Therefore, from now on I only use a pressure cooker to cook boba. Not only it's simple and easy, but also the inside of boba is cooked through. When you know how to cook good boba pearls now, you will make boba drink all the time.

    What are the ingredients for boba instant pot?

    The ingredients are boba, water and  brown sugar.

    instant pot boba pearls ingredients

    Cooking tips for how to cook boba in instant pot:

    • Put boba into instant put and add water.
    • Make sure every boba pearl is covered with water.
    • Close lid and vent and manual for 2 minutes at high pressure. Then, quick release.
    • Remember to let the pressure release before opening the lid.
    • Drain water and rinse with warm water

    FAQs:

    How to store cooked boba?

    If you have any left over boba, put them in a container with a lid on and refrigerate them. When you want to use it, just warm them up in a microwave for 20-30 seconds.

    How long can I keep cooked boba?

    Often, it can store up to 4-5 days in a refrigerator.

    What brand of boba did you use?

    I used E-Fa brand boba in this recipe.

    Instructions for how to cook instant pot boba:

    black tapioca balls in instant pot

    1. Put 1 cup of boba into an instant pot pressure cooker.

    water and black tapioca balls in pressure cooker

    2. Then, add 2 cups of water. Next, cover the lid and close the vent.

    cooked black tapioca balls in pressure cooker

    3. Next, push the manual button for 2 minutes at high pressure. After that, quick release pressure. Remember to wait until all the pressure releases before opening the lid.

    Boba and brown sugar in a white bowl

    4. After that, drain water and rinse boba pearls with warm water then add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and mix it well.

    boba on a silver spoon in the bowl

    Enjoy this simple and easy instant pot boba recipe! Also, check out some healthy strawberry banana smoothie, mango popsicles and grass jelly recipes!

    a scoop of boba on the silver spoon

    More Dessert Recipes You May Also Like:

    • BLACK SESAME PASTE OR SOUP
    • TOFU PUDDING
    • CARAMEL POPCORN
    • FRESH STRAWBERRIES MUFFINS

    Subscribe Oh My Food Recipes to get our new recipes delivered straight to your inbox! Follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the latest updates.

    cooked boba scoop on the silver spoon

    How to cook boba pearls

    Boba pearls are made from tapioca starch. They are chewy and black or brownish. This recipe use instant pot pressure cooker to cook them quick and perfect. 
    5 from 72 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert, Drinks
    Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Taiwanese
    Prep Time: 2 minutes
    Cook Time: 2 minutes
    Total Time: 4 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 79kcal
    Author: Tracy O.

    Video

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup  Boba
    • 2 cups Water
    • 2 tablespoons Brown sugar

    Instructions

    •  Put 1 cup of boba into instant pot pressure cooker.
    • Then, add 2 cups of water. Next, cover the lid and close the vent.
    • Push the manual button for 2 minuets at high pressure. After that, quick release pressure. Remember to wait until all the pressure release before opening the lid.
    • Drain water and rinse boba pearls with warm water then add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and mix it well.

    Notes

    Cooking tips for how to cook instant pot boba: 

    • Put boba into instant put and add water. 
    • Make sure every boba pearls is covered with water. 
    • Close lid and vent and manual for 2 minutes at high pressure. Then, quick release.
    • Remember to let the pressure release before opening the lid. 
    • Drain water and rinse with warm water.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 4mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @OhMyFoodRecipes or tag #OhMyFoodRecipes!

    More Asian instant pot recipes

    • cut BBQ baby back ribs on the long white plate
      Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
    • beef pho noodle soup in the bowl with a spoon
      Pho Beef Noodle Soup
    • drizzling syrup on top of the kansui zong or sweet zongzi or alkaline rice dumpling
      Sweet Zongzi
    • taro paste in the glass container with a silver spoon
      Taro Paste

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Brandy

      March 19, 2023 at 7:35 pm

      5 stars
      Made this today with a brand that I ordered off Amazon. It was great and added bonus was I did not have to stand in front of the stove. So easy my 10 year old can now make it!

      Reply
    2. Emily

      November 07, 2022 at 9:36 pm

      I have a quick question-Have you tried doubling or tripling this recipe? I don't want to waste a bunch of pearls but I need more and it takes a while to keep making this in batches!

      Reply
      • Tracy O.

        November 08, 2022 at 9:16 pm

        Hi Emily,

        Yes, I have tried doubling the recipe.

        Reply
    3. Kristen

      July 10, 2022 at 6:27 pm

      Did not work in the instant pot ultra unfortunately. It notified me that it was burning and I released pressure to find one big clump. Maybe my instant pot was too big or maybe I had bad boba?

      Reply
      • Tracy O.

        July 11, 2022 at 4:42 pm

        Hi Kristen,

        What brand is your boba? In this recipe, I used the E-Fa brand boba and I haven't tested out other brands yet. Also, how big is your instant pot ultra? I have a 6 quarts instant pot, but not an ultra one.

        Reply
    4. Mister Ed

      June 23, 2022 at 10:02 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you so very much. It would have never dawned on my to use my instapot for Boba. My Thai Tea process is now a lot quicker

      Reply
      • Tracy O.

        June 24, 2022 at 2:22 pm

        Thank you for your comment! I am glad you like it.

        Reply
    5. WRLi

      September 23, 2021 at 10:05 pm

      I followed the instructions and my boba came out in one big clump. Did not work at all. I used cold tap water, so maybe I should try hot water next time.

      Reply
      • WRLi

        September 23, 2021 at 10:42 pm

        UPDATE: Tried with hot water but it also resulted in one big clump. I think this method only works with certain brands? My friend made these over the stove and they came out perfect, but it took a long time. I'm not patient enough to do this again. lol

        Reply
        • Tracy O.

          September 24, 2021 at 6:44 pm

          Thank you for your comment. I think different brand of boba is slightly different. I only used one brand for the instant pot version. I haven't tested out the other brands.

      • Arianne

        August 28, 2022 at 2:29 am

        My bona came out this way too. My package doesn't have a brand name, and E-Fa wasn't at our stores. This recipe sounds awesome and quick though! Just not for my bag of boba *tear

        Reply
        • Tracy O.

          August 28, 2022 at 2:48 pm

          Arianne, sorry to hear that. Yes, I only tested the E-Fa brand boba for instant pot. Thank you for your comment!

    6. Sarah L

      June 22, 2021 at 11:39 pm

      5 stars
      Works great - thanks!

      Reply
    7. P

      June 22, 2021 at 1:35 am

      Put HOT water in the pot THEN put boba in. I started with cold water and the boba crumbled.

      Reply
      • Tracy O.

        June 23, 2021 at 6:09 pm

        What brand of boba do you use? I used tap water and it was fine. I think the brand of boba pearls makes a difference.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Tracy O.
    About Me

    Welcome to Oh My Food Recipes, where you can find inspiration for meals or dinner ideas specialty Asian cuisines. Oh My Food Recipes is tried and tested recipes with step by step photo tutorials.... Read more!

    Seasonal

    • marie callender style fresh strawberry pie glaze with jello with checked towel
      Strawberry Pie Glaze with Jello
    • white and milk chocolate covered strawberries with a pink towel at the side background
      How to Make Chocolate Strawberries
    • Mango pomelo sago dessert with a blue towel in the background
      Mango Pomelo Sago
    • garlic yu choy sum
      Garlic Yu Choy Sum
    • drizzling syrup on top of the kansui zong or sweet zongzi or alkaline rice dumpling
      Sweet Zongzi
    • Chinese sticky rice dumpling zongzi
      Chinese Sticky Rice Dumpling

    MY FAVORITES

    • Chinese pan fried dumplings one bit open
      Chinese Pan Fried Dumplings
    • Chinese black sesame soup dessert on a spoon dripping into the bowl horizontal
      Black Sesame Soup
    • japchae Korean glass noodle on a black plate close up
      Korean Glass Noodles Japchae
    • pineapple buns close up front
      Chinese Pineapple Bun
    • Japanese tonkatsu deep fried pork cutlets
      Japanese Tonkatsu
    • Teriyaki sauce pouring from a glass bottle into a small container
      Asian Teriyaki Sauce
    • Panda Express Chinese orange chicken
      Chinese Orange Chicken
    • Vietnamese spring rolls one cut open on a long white plate
      How to Make Vietnamese Spring Rolls

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Disclosure & Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 Oh My Food Recipes

    AMAZON ASSOCIATES DISCLOSURE

    Oh My Food Recipes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.