Halo-halo Recipe

Follow this halo-halo recipe to make your own version of this Filipino-style dessert at home or for your business!

Halo-halo Recipe: If there’s one dessert that’s quintessentially Filipino, it has to be the Pinoy Halo-halo (pronounced “ha-loh ha-loh”). During summer, this colorful dessert is offered all over the Philippines – from fancy food establishments, fastfood restaurants, or in the humble carinderia. Some people even set up makeshift halo-halo stands outside their homes for business, offering it to neighbors looking for ways to cool themselves from the summer heat.

The more popular ones from restaurants include the Chowking halo-halo, which is the traditional “Filipino style” version of the said dessert made of different colorful ingredients. Other variations include the Razon’s halo-halo, which is mostly made of light and cream-colored ingredients. The Mang Inasal halo-halo is similar, which is predominantly milk and cream.

One of the reasons why halo-halo is popular is because it’s relatively easy to prepare. The name “halo-halo” is a Filipino term that literally means “mixing” or “to-mix”, which is what you essentially do when you’re enjoying this sweet dessert. You basically put the ingredients on top of each other on a tall glass and when it’s time to eat, mix ‘em all up to fully enjoy the unique combination of flavors.

That being said, making your own halo-halo at home is easy peasy. Most halo-halo ingredients are easy to find in your local Pinoy supermarket, and they’re relatively affordable too! Check out our halo-halo recipe below so you can start making your own version of this Filipino-style dessert at home.

Halo-halo Ingredients

• Nata de Coco
• Kaong
• Sweetened U.S. Chickpeas (garbanzos)
• Sweetened white kidney beans
• Sweetened red mongo beans
• Macapuno
• Shaved ice
• Sweetened bananas
• Evaporated Milk
• Ube ice cream

Optional: you can add U.S. Red Kidney Beans, jackfruit strips, sweet potatoes, and pinipig. Traditional halo-halo also has ube halaya and leche flan, but I chose not to add to my version since I’m already using generous amounts of ube ice cream.

How to make sweetened U.S. Chickpeas (garbanzos)

The canned U.S. Chickpeas I bought from the grocery are not yet sweetened, so I made sure to sweeten them first before I added them to my halo-halo. Simply boil the U.S. Chickpeas in 3-4 cups of water, together with half a cup of brown sugar, until the consistency becomes thick and syrupy. Let it cool before adding it to your halo-halo.

Halo-halo Recipe: How to make halo-halo at home

1. In a dessert glass, put half a tablespoon of nata de coco, followed by kaong, U.S. Chickpeas, white kidney beans, red mongo beans, and sweetened bananas. Together, these ingredients should fill-up about half of your dessert glass. Tip: I used red nata de coco and green kaong so that the halo-halo will be more colorful.
2. Add lots of shaved ice, enough to fill your glass to the brim.
3. Pour evaporated milk to taste. If you want your halo-halo to be milky, you would know that you’ve added enough when the milk has already reached the ingredients at the bottom of the glass.
4. Top with macapuno and ube ice cream.
5. If you prefer you may also include leche flan, ube halaya, and pinipig as part of the toppings.

Needless to say, the ice must be properly shaved. One my pet peeves when eating halo-halo is when I find huge chunks of ice, making it hard to eat. If you want to know how to make halo-halo without an iced crusher, you may use a food processor (like what I did) or a powerful blender to crush the ice cubes.

Remember, halo-halo is supposed to be mixed before eating. Be sure to mix all ingredients together, ice cream included, before you get a spoonful, The halo-halo’s appeal doesn’t come from the individual ingredients, but from the fact that you eat them all together!

Halo-halo Recipe: How to make halo-halo at home

The name “halo-halo” is a Filipino term that literally means “mixing” or “to-mix”, which is what you essentially do when you’re enjoying this sweet dessert.