Halo-halo is one of my favorite summertime desserts. From the Philippines—the name means “mix-mix" in Tagalog—the refreshing dish layers shaved ice and condensed milk on top of all sorts of ingredients for an end result that packs in lots of contrasting textures, from chewy to crunchy, creamy to sticky. While components vary, you'll find some common add-ins at most halo-halo carts and bars: jellies, flan, macapuno, palm seeds, sweetened red beans, shaved ice, ube ice cream, fresh fruit, toasted coconut flakes, pinipig. My version uses mango jelly with fresh fruit set into it as well as pandan-infused sweetened condensed milk.
I encourage you to choose your own adventure, layering the elements in a tall glass or wide bowl. Make sure to use a long-handled spoon to reach everything, and for mixing and swirling. By the end, once things are mostly melted, you can practically drink it. —Tiana Gee
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What you’ll need
Blender
$40 At Amazon
Loaf Pan
$19 At Amazon
Small Saucepan
$155 At Amazon
Microplane
$18 At Amazon
Citrus Juicer
$20 $15 At Amazon
Small Skillet
$23 At Amazon
Ingredients
Makes 4
mango jelly
¼
2
1
Flan
¼
4
½
½
½
¼
Corn and Assembly
2
3
1
1
¼
1½
¼
1
1
1
½
½
Preparation
Mango jelly
Step 1
Blend lime zest, lime juice, mango nectar, half of mangoes, and a small pinch of salt in a blender until very smooth.
Step 2
Heat gelatin and ½ cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in mango purée. Pour jelly into a 9x5" loaf pan. Carefully add remaining mangoes and stir to combine. Cover jelly tightly and chill until set, 20–30 minutes.
Do ahead: Mango jelly can be made 5 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Flan
Step 3
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Cook sugar and 1 Tbsp. water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then cook, undisturbed, swirling pan occasionally and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush as needed, until mixture turns deep amber, 7–9 minutes. Scrape caramel into another 9x5" loaf pan.
Step 4
Whisk egg yolks, coconut milk, condensed milk, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl to combine. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into loaf pan with caramel. Cover with foil. Set inside a roasting pan and place on oven rack. Carefully pour hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of loaf pan (a tea kettle makes this easy if you have one).
Step 5
Bake flan until just set in the center (it should still wobble a little when gently jiggled) and barely golden on top, 55–60 minutes. Let cool (still covered), then chill until cold, at least 4 hours.
Do ahead: Flan can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Corn and Assembly
Step 6
Spread out corn on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle sugar and salt over, then drizzle oil over and toss to combine. Roast until crisped slightly but not yet browned and a little sticky, 12–15 minutes. Let cool.
Step 7
Meanwhile, bring sago pearls and ½ cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan and cook until translucent and firm-tender, 8–10 minutes. Drain, then combine in a small bowl with coconut milk, stirring well to separate pearls. Let cool.
Step 8
Toast coconut in a small skillet over medium heat until edges start to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes (be careful not to overcook).
Step 9
Cut flan into 1"pieces and divide some among tall glasses or wide bowls. Cut out mango jelly into desired shapes and arrange on top, then spoon in ice cream, condensed milk, shaved ice, strawberries, macapuno, palm seeds, corn, sago pearls, toasted coconut, red beans, and pinipig as desired.
Leave a Review
Reviews (52)
Back to TopOur family in the Philippines made halo-halo and it was our means of livelihood - from my grandmother who owned an ice shaver that was made of the best metal (better than aluminum or cheap metal). Our mother borrowed it so we can start a halo-halo stand in front of the Town Hall and eventually we rented a small store close to the theater. Our halo-halo was so popular that most of the folks in our town come to our restaurant for the simple ingredients - shaved ice, canned Del Monte corn, homemade sweet saba banana sliced, sweetened sweet potatoes or kamote, evaporated milk, and we don't use plastic container but rather glass because the halo-halo taste better. We served sugar separately if the customers wanted more sweetness in their halo-halo. In short, our halo-halo has simple ingredients because too many or too much destroys the good taste of our famous halo-halo. And, yes we bake leche flan too.
Tessie G Humilde
Sacramento, California
6/5/2022
Growing up we had halo halo all the time, especially in the summer. However no one had ever made the add ins, except for the flan and ube. I don't eat it with strawberries or mangoes. Try with Jackfruit (langka) it's my favorite. I just bought coconut jelly, red mung beans (mongo) and the langka. Sometimes I'll put macapuno in it. And I use Evaporated milk, tastes better (at least to me.)
Veronica
Utah
9/9/2021
After trying halo halo in a Hawaiian diner, my husband and I joked that this concoction was invented by a thrifty mama with a few spoonfuls of this and that left over who threw it all together in a pretty dish and exclaimed "oohh is it ever GOOD" to get her kids to eat it! The diner version was not a hit, but this version looks very yummy with the mango jelly and homemade flan!
JZ
Hawaii
7/31/2021
This looks great! I think y'all forgot the baking step for the flan, though!
Anonymous
Atlanta, GA
7/11/2021
halo-halo is the best! 💯🇵🇭
christina
seoul
7/8/2021