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    Home » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Purple Sweet Potato Mochi (Vegan + GF)

    Last updated - July 15, 2021; Published - January 9, 2016 By Rhian Williams 20 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These Purple Sweet Potato Mochi were inspired by a delicious dessert I had on holiday in Thailand a couple of years ago: taro balls in coconut milk, which I've been dreaming about ever since.

    I recently found out that they're made by cooking taro (a root vegetable that's a bit like sweet potato) then mixing it with glutinous rice flour to create these delicious dumpling-like balls that are both soft and chewy at the same time.

    So it's a kind of mochi (a Japanese rice cake made from glutinous rice beaten into a sticky paste and moulded into shapes) that's made with taro. Given my recent love affair with purple sweet potatoes I thought it would be nice to make the mochi with those instead of taro. Not to mention I wasn't sure where I could easily get hold of taro.

    Purple Sweet Potato Mochi (Vegan + GF)

    Also there's no need to be scared of making mochi yourself (as long as you can get hold of glutinous rice flour, which you can buy in Asian supermarkets).

    You don't need to spend hours beating rice into a sticky paste as they traditionally do in Japan - just cook the potatoes, add rice flour, mould into shapes and boil them for a few minutes. It's basically like making gnocchi but with purple potatoes and rice flour.

    As the purple potatoes are naturally sweet, there's no need to add any sugar, meaning these little mochi are free from added sugar, as well as being naturally vegan and gluten-free!

    Purple Sweet Potato Mochi (Vegan + GF)

    I love to eat these mochi covered with kinako (roasted soybean flour) and drizzled with date syrup, which I find really resembles kuromitsu (a Japanese sugar syrup that's similar to molasses but milder and thinner) - this is how mochi is traditionally eaten in Japan.

    Purple Sweet Potato Mochi (Vegan + GF)

    Any leftover Purple Sweet Potato Mochi can also be used for my Anmitsu recipe.

    If you like purple sweet potatoes as much as I do, be sure to check out my:

    • Purple Sweet Potato Ice Cream
    • Purple Sweet Potato Milkshake
    • Purple Sweet Potato Smoothie Bowl
    • Purple Sweet Potato Cheesecakes

    If you like mochi, you might like my:

    • Matcha Sweet Potato Mochi

    If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

    Helpful tools to make this Purple Sweet Potato Mochi:

    glass mixing bowl

    measuring jug

    Purple Sweet Potato Mochi (Vegan + GF)

    Purple Sweet Potato Mochi (Vegan + GF)

    These Purple Sweet Potato Mochi are vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free, really healthy and incredibly delicious! 
    4.43 from 14 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine: Japanese
    Keyword: japanese dessert, purple sweet potato mochi, vegan purple sweet potato dessert
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 20 balls
    Calories: 25kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    • 140 g (5oz) purple sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
    • 90 g (¾ cup) glutinous rice flour
    • 60 ml (¼ cup) water

    Serving suggestions:

    • Kinako powder
    • Date syrup
    • Hot coconut milk
    • Dairy-free ice cream

    Instructions

    • Boil or steam the purple sweet potatoes until soft
    • Place them in a large bowl and mash with a fork
    • Add glutinous rice flour and water and mix well – it should form a sticky paste-like mixture that’s easily moulded into balls (add a tiny bit more water if necessary, but be careful not to add too much)
    • Mould the mixture into small balls
    • Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add about a handful of the balls once the water’s boiled, leaving the pan on high heat throughout – it’s very important to wait until the water’s boiling and you mustn’t add too many at a time otherwise the temperature of the water will drop and they won’t cook properly!
    • Cook the balls in a few batches – they’ll be ready about 1 minute after they’ve risen to the surface of the water
    • Scoop them out with a spoon once they’re done and transfer to a bowl filled with cold water
    • Repeat this process until all the balls are cooked
    • Leave them in the cold water for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a dry bowl or plate
    • Best eaten immediately, but leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days

    Enjoy them either:

    • Dusted with kinako and drizzled with date syrup (or any other sweetener if you don’t have this)
    • Served in (hot or cold) sweetened coconut milk – you can make this by adding sweetener of choice to coconut milk diluted with water
    • With a scoop of (dairy-free) vanilla ice cream! 
    Nutrition Facts
    Purple Sweet Potato Mochi (Vegan + GF)
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 25
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Lucy

      July 20, 2020 at 2:36 pm

      Hi Rhian,
      What are they supposed to look like inside when they are properly cooked?
      Mine just take like flour 🙁

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        July 20, 2020 at 4:34 pm

        Ah they shouldn't taste of flour! They should have a chewy texture and look the same inside as they do on the outside. Perhaps you didn't leave them to cook for long enough?

    2. Tiffany

      July 30, 2020 at 3:09 pm

      Hello, I have brown rice flour. Do you think I could use this instead of glutinous rice flour?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        July 30, 2020 at 7:26 pm

        No that won't work sorry!

    3. Kuan

      September 02, 2020 at 2:50 pm

      Can substitute the glutinous rice flour with arrow root flour?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        September 02, 2020 at 3:02 pm

        I don't think so sorry!

    4. Ashlii

      July 08, 2021 at 10:25 pm

      Where can you get purple sweet potato in the UK? I want to try the recipe, but I can't find anywhere that sells it here in Wales.

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        July 09, 2021 at 1:44 pm

        I live in the UK and I get it at Waitrose - https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/stokes-purple-sweet-potato/864609-409608-409609

    5. Yusra

      May 13, 2022 at 7:42 pm

      5 stars
      Tried this today with steamed purple sweet potato and it's delicious! texture almost reminds me of marshmallows. I eat them with ground black sesame / peanuts with some okinawa black sugar. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        May 14, 2022 at 12:13 pm

        Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!

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    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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