Kakanin: Gluten Free Filipino Desserts

Kakanin is an umbrella term for gluten free Filipino desserts made from sticky rice and coconut. Historically, kakanin were used as a special offering to the gods. There’s also a belief that kakanin are prepared to symbolically maintain close relationships between families and friends due to their sticky nature. Check out this article if you’d like to learn more about the history and regional nuances of kakanin.

While most types of kakanin are made with a combination of sticky rice and coconut, some can also be made from cassava, taro, corn or millet. The desserts rarely use wheat flour. So many types of kakanin and other Filipino desserts are great for celiacs! Milk products like butter, canned milk, or cheese are used occasionally, but many are vegan or dairy free. As long as you like chewy or sticky textures, you’re in luck.

Below you’ll find a list of some of the most popular types of kakanin. We’ve only included the types that are usually gluten free, and we’ll specify if gluten or milk allergens might be included in some recipes for each type. The provided recipe links are always gluten free.

Biko

Cake made from sticky rice, coconut milk, and dark sugar. Often flavored with pandan. Usually topped with latik and coconut caramel. Latik are coconut curds made by cooking full fat coconut milk until it separates and caramelizes. The flavor of latik is toasty, coconutty and sweet.

• Gluten free
• Vegan

• Biko from Panlasang Pinoy

• Biko from Foxy Folksy

• Biko from Serious Eats

Puto

A small steamed cake that is not very sweet. Traditionally made with fermented rice, but nowadays rice flour or wheat flour is used instead. Often flavored with pandan, ube, cheese, or salted duck egg.

• Some versions contain gluten, so check ingredient lists! The traditional recipe is gluten free.
• May contain butter or milk in recipe.

• Puto from Kawaling Pinoy

• Puto from Hungry Huy

Pichi-pichi

Made with grated cassava and flavored with pandan, then rolled in grated coconut and cheese. Lye water is included in the recipe for chewiness.

• Gluten free
• Includes cheese as coating, but this could be easily left off to make it dairy free.

• Pichi-pichi from Foxy Folksy

• Cassava pichi-pichi from Panlasang Pinoy

• Pichi-pichi from Kawaling Pinoy

Bilo-bilo

Chewy rice balls, served in sweet coconut milk with fruits and sago or tapioca pearls. Could be considered a style of halo-halo.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free if coconut milk is used.

• Ginataan bilo-bilo from Hungry Huy

• Ginataang bil-bilo from Foxy Folksy

• Ginataang bilo-bilo langka from Panlasang Pinoy

Palitaw

Dough made of sticky rice flour and water is boiled, then coated in a mixture of coconut, sugar, and toasted sesame. Often served at New Year’s celebrations.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free

• Palitaw from Pilipina’s recipes

Suman

Sticky rice or sticky rice flour is mixed with salty-sweet coconut milk and steamed in a banana or palm leaf. Often served with a coconut caramel sauce or latik topping.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free, but make sure that no butter was used to coat the leaf when steaming.

• Suman malagkit with coconut sauce from Kawaling Pinoy

• Suman moron (with chocolate) from Filipino Recipe Site

• Suman sa lihiya from Foxy Folksy

Champorado

A rich chocolate rice pudding made with sticky rice, milk, and cacao tablea . It’s often served for breakfast with a side of salted fish to balance the sweetness.

• Gluten free
• Usually made with milk, but can be made dairy free by subbing coconut milk.

• Champorado from Kawaling Pinoy

• Tsampurado chocolate rice porridge from Panlasang Pinoy

• Coconut milk champorado from All Recipes

Binutong

Sticky rice is mixed with salted coconut cream and tied into banana leaves before being boiled. Served warm with sugar and eaten out of the banana leaves with a spoon.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free

• Binutong from Lutong Bahay

Bibingka

Traditionally uses blended fermented sticky rice and coconut milk, which is made into a cake and cooked over coals in a terracotta pot. Nowadays it’s made with rice flour, and sometimes wheat flour. The texture can range from fluffy to dense. Bibingka is eaten for breakfast and is popular around Christmastime in the Philippines.

• Gluten free traditionally, but some modern versions include wheat flour.
• Dairy free traditionally, but modern versions often include milk and butter. Use coconut milk for an authentic sub.

• Bibingka from Panlasang Pinoy

Kalamay

Made from sticky rice flour, coconut milk, and palm sugar. It’s a sticky snack similar to mochi. Ube is a popular flavor, and most varieties are topped with latik.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free

• Ube kalamay from Kawaling Pinoy

• Kalamay with latik from Ang Sarap

Maja Blanca

Coconut pudding made from coconut milk and cornstarch. The texture is gelatinous and creamy, similar to panna cotta. Corn kernals are often included in the recipe, although ube and pandan varieties are also popular. Served with a topping of latik.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free traditionally, but most modern recipes include milk. Use coconut milk for an authentic sub.

• Maja blanca espesyal from Kawaling Pinoy

Nilupak

Pounded cooked cassava is mixed with sugar, butter and sweetened condensed milk to create a chewy sweet. This is topped with cheese or coconut to serve. Unripe saba bananas, ube, and sweet potatoes can be used instead of cassava. Modern version often use shredded cassava for a less strenuous process.

• Gluten free
• Contains dairy. Use vegan butter and coconut-based sweetened condensed milk for dairy free.

• Nilupak na kamoteng kahoy from Yummy Kitchen

Inutak

Glutinous rice flour is cooked with coconut milk, sugar and egg until it’s thick. The mixture is then spread into a pan and topped with coconut cream. This is baked until the top chars lightly. Often served with ube ice cream or ube jam.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free, but make sure the baking pan wasn’t brushed with butter.

• Inutak from Ping Desserts

• Inutak with ube jam from Pinoy Cooking Recipes

Carioca

Deep fried balls made of sticky rice flour dough are coated in a caramelized sugar syrup. Usually served on a stick.

• Gluten free, as long as the fryer is dedicated GF.
• Dairy free

• Carioca from Tastemade

• Carioca with brown sugar glaze from Kawaling Pinoy

Sapin-sapin

A layered dessert made with sticky rice flour, coconut milk, and sweetened condensed milk. The purple and yellow layers are flavored with ube and jackfruit. The white layer is coconut flavored. Served topped with latik.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free if coconut-based sweetened condensed milk is subbed

• Sapin sapin from Kitchen Confidante

• Sapin-sapin from Foxy Folksy

Tikoy

A sticky rice flour and brown sugar cake that is steamed and sometimes fried. The origin of the dish is Chinese, but there are many Filipino versions. Served during Chinese New Year.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free. Includes eggs in fried version.

• Peanut tikoy rolls from Kawaling Pinoy

Buchi

A Filipino version of the Chinese pastry called Jian Dui. Balls made from sticky rice flour are filled with ube halaya or cheese, coated in sesame, and deep fried. The golden balls are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.

• Gluten free, as long as the fryer is dedicated GF.
• Dairy free if filled with ube halaya rather than cheese.

• Buchi ube from Ping Desserts

• Buchi with cheese filling from Casa Veneracion

Lokot-lokot

Rice is pounded until a paste with water and brown sugar, then poured into a fryer through a device to make thin strands. The fried strands are formed into different shapes and are done when golden brown. Commonly served for Eid-il- Fitr.

• Gluten free, as long as the fryer is dedicated GF.
• Dairy free

• Lokot-lokot from Julia & Allaina Our Everyday Life