This strawberry matcha sago is an ode to one of my favorite drinks: an iced strawberry matcha latte! It’s made with chewy tapioca pearls, honey, matcha-infused coconut milk, coconut jelly, and fresh strawberries! It’s the perfect dessert for warm sunny days. ❤️

Love this recipe? Try out my strawberry sago or mango sago!

Strawberry matcha latte sago in a glass serving cup.

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Table of Contents:

What is Sago?

Sago salad is a popular dessert in Southeast Asia, known for its refreshing combination of chewy sago pearls, creamy milk, and fresh fruit. The sago pearls—starchy beads extracted from the sago palm tree—give the dish its signature texture, while the fruit adds a burst of natural sweetness. The dessert is light, creamy, and incredibly satisfying to eat, making it perfect for a warm summer day!

While traditional fruit sago recipes are made with sago pearls derived from sago palm trees, many variations (including this one!) use small tapioca pearls instead. The tapioca, which is derived from cassava, is similar to what you find in bubble tea: dense, chewy pearls with a satisfying bite to them. This swap is quite common because sago isn’t always easy to find, but the two ingredients share a similar texture and flavor, so it’s a seamless substitution.

This recipe also uses matcha-infused coconut milk, honey as the sweetener, oat milk to thin it out, coconut jelly, and fresh strawberries. I made this for my partner’s kung fu school, and everyone loved it.

The best part is that you can make this recipe your own. Add different mix-ins, try different milks, or change up the fruit. There’s lots of room to get creative in terms of flavor!

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s super easy and quick. The small tapioca pearls are boiled over the stove and the matcha mixture is mixed by hand. Those are the “hardest” steps of this recipe—the rest is just stirring everything together in a bowl!
It’s perfect for matcha lovers. Lots of matcha flavor comes through, which is paired perfectly with the strawberries and coconut.
It’s versatile. Add your own twist with different mix-ins! For example, you can add other fruit like lychee or raspberries and include different extracts/spices.

Looking for more matcha desserts? Try my strawberry matcha cheesecake bars!

Ingredients

To make the best strawberry matcha sago from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:

I was able to purchase all of these ingredients at my local Asian supermarket. In case you don’t live near one, I included links below to buy them on Amazon!

Use quality culinary matcha powder for maximum flavor and that vibrant green color! This will be mixed with hot water, then stirred into the canned coconut milk.
Since this is an ode to a matcha latte, I used my go-to sweetener: honey!
You’ll need some small tapioca pearls, which are super chewy and SO satisfying to eat!
The riper the strawberries, the better. I roughly diced mine, stems removed and all.
- As decoration, I saved a few strawberries and cut them into hearts. I placed them on top of the finished sago right before serving!
One of my FAVORITE mix-ins is nata de coco (coconut jelly). Very flavorful and chewy! People who’ve never had it before always ask me what it is, because it’s so good.
This isn’t pictured, but I thinned my sago out with some oat milk.

For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.

💡 Variations and Substitutions

If you want to try a different flavor, try my strawberry sago!
Add different mix-ins, like diced lychee, raspberries, etc.
Swap out the honey for another sweetener, like brown sugar, condensed milk, granulated sugar, agave, etc.
Use a different type of milk, like whole, soy, or oat.

How to Make Creamy Strawberry Matcha Sago

Cooked small tapioca pearls in a white bowl.

Step 1: In a medium-sized pot, boil tapioca pearls uncovered for 10 minutes, until pearls turn from white to mostly translucent. Cover pot with lid and let tapioca sit for another 10 minutes, or until fully translucent.

Mixing bowl with sago, diced strawberries, and coconut jellies.

Step 2: In your large serving bowl, add cooked tapioca pearls, coconut jellies, and roughly diced strawberries.

Pouring matcha mixture over sago ingredients.

Step 3: Use a small sifter to sift your matcha powder into a bowl. Pour in hot water, then use a bamboo whisk in M and W motions until mixture is lump-free and frothy. You can also use an electric frother. Mix in honey, then add to coconut milk. Pour this into your serving bowl.

Step 4: Stir everything together until fully combined. Adjust to taste, adding more strawberries, honey, etc. to your liking. If you want it thinner, add more milk (any kind you want).

For full instructions, see the recipe card below.

“I’ve NEVER had anything like this before, and it’s so good” – taste tester