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

    How to cook boba pearls

    Modified: Apr 23, 2021 Published: Sep 20, 2018 by Tracy O. This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

    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

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    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 74 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert, Drinks
    Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Taiwanese
    Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 4 minutes 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!

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    Comments

    1. Whit says

      February 08, 2024 at 3:45 pm

      Can I add brown sugar to this before turning on the instant pot?

      Reply
      • Tracy O. says

        February 08, 2024 at 6:53 pm

        Yes, you can. But, it may not be as sweet as adding sugar after cooking the boba pearls.

        Reply
    2. Brandy says

      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
    3. Emily says

      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. says

        November 08, 2022 at 9:16 pm

        Hi Emily,

        Yes, I have tried doubling the recipe.

        Reply
        • Kristen Szklarz says

          June 07, 2024 at 2:33 pm

          Have you tried traditional boba, not just the 5 minute boba? Does it work the same? 2 min?

        • Tracy O. says

          June 10, 2024 at 10:22 pm

          I only tested the E-fa boba brand using instant pot. Some readers told me they tried other brands of boba pearls in the instant pot and it did not work well.

    4. Kristen says

      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. says

        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
    5. Mister Ed says

      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. says

        June 24, 2022 at 2:22 pm

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

        Reply
    6. WRLi says

      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 says

        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. says

          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 says

        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. says

          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!

    7. Sarah L says

      June 22, 2021 at 11:39 pm

      5 stars
      Works great - thanks!

      Reply
    8. P says

      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. says

        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
    5 from 74 votes (71 ratings without comment)

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