Hawaiian Butter Mochi Recipe (2024)

Hawaiian butter mochi is a sweet, chewy and stretchy dessert that’s impossible to resist! I used olive oil instead of butter and honey to replace some of the sugar to add a floral note to this classic Hawaiian recipe.

Warning: This dessert is so good that I suggest you keep it stored in the back of the fridge to avoid late night snack attacks.

I’m not kidding, I made this dessert for the first time a couple of weeks ago and the three of us (my mother is visiting from Japan for the next few weeks) devoured the entire pan in just 2 days!

This Hawaiian sweet treat hits all the right spots for me because it’s not too sweet and has that irresistible bouncy and chewy mochi texture that I love so much.

But since the original recipe contains a lot of butter and sugar, I decided to omit the butter and use high quality extra virgin olive oil instead. I also cut down on the white sugar by using a little honey.

And guess what? It came out tasting even better than the classic Hawaiian version!

So here’s my healthier version of butter mochi and I sincerely hope you love it as much as I do!

What is mochi?

Before we get to the recipe, let me quickly explain what mochi is to those of you who aren’t familiar with the food. Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made with short-grain japonica glutinous rice. It’s made by pounding the rice until it turns into a sticky dough that’s then formed into balls, rectangles and other shapes.

Every January 1st, mochi makes its appearance in the traditional ozoni soup all over Japan because it represents good fortune and happy marriages.

Is mochi gluten-gree?

Yes!

Mochi is made of glutinous rice (mochigome rice) which is naturally 100% gluten-free.

What does mochi taste like?

Mochi tastes like white rice.

It’s a little sweet and has a starchy after taste. The texture is very chewy, smooth and eventually melts in your mouth.

How to make butter mochi

Now that we’ve covered the basics of what mochi is, let’s make some butter mochi!

I’m super excited to share this recipe with you because it’s so incredibly yummy. Butter mochi is so easy to make that anyone can succeed at baking this dessert!

You will need 10 ingredients for this recipe:

• Mochiko flour (I’ll explain what it is in a minute)
• Sugar
• Baking powder
• Kosher salt
• Eggs
• Honey
• Vanilla extract
• Evaporated milk
• Coconut milk
• Extra virgin olive oil

Mochiko flour

All the ingredients are easy to find except for the first one – Mochiko flour. It’s actually not that hard to find but you will have to visit your local Asian grocery store or Japanese supermarket to find it. Or you can order Mochiko flour on Amazon.

Mochiko flour is sweet rice flour made with short grain sweet rice. This ingredient is essential to making butter mochi because it’s what gives the dessert its stretchy texture.

How to make butter mochi

Only four quick steps are needed to making Hawaiian butter mochi (also called Japanese butter mochi and coconut butter mochi):

1. Greasing a pan.
2. Mixing the ingredients together.
3. Pouring the batter in the pan.
4. Baking.

I wasn’t kidding when I said that anyone could make this recipe!

A butter mochi recipe your entire family will love

Substituting butter for high quality olive oil and sugar for honey is something I often do to healthifymy desserts. Most desserts in Spain and Greece are made using olive oil instead of butter so there’s no reason why we can’t do the same here in America.

I personally don’t see any difference in taste or texture whenever I make the switch and I’m always glad I did!

Maybe next time I’ll try making a vegan version of this dessert by swapping eggs for flaxseed eggs, honey for maple syrup, and evaporated milk for almond milk. My guess is the nuttiness and sweetness of the almond milk will blend beautiful with the other ingredients and add an extra layer of yum.

Stay tuned!

But for now, this Hawaiian butter mochi recipe is what I’m planning to take with me upstate this weekend!

Other yummy desserts and snacks:

• French stuffed baked apples
• Vegan peanut butter cookies
• Pumpkin oatmeal cookies
• Healthier chocolate espresso cookies
• Homemade baked apple chips
• Healthy vegan banana bread

Did you like thisHawaiian Butter Mochi Recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share?Share your tips and recommendations in the comment section below!

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