Kulolo
intro
Dense, chewy, caramelized traditional Native Hawaiian dessert made with grated taro and coconut milk, slow-baked for a rich, earthy, tropical sweet treat.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep pan and oven
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a 20cm (8-inch) square baking pan with fresh ti leaves, overlapping leaves to eliminate gaps, and leave a 5cm (2-inch) overhang on all sides to cover the batter later. Wear disposable gloves when handling raw taro to avoid skin irritation from its starchy sap.
Grate fresh taro
Use the smallest holes on a box grater, or a food processor with a fine grating attachment, to grate all 900 grams of peeled taro into a large mixing bowl. Discard any hard, fibrous taro cores as you work; you should end up with roughly 4 cups of finely shredded, moist taro.
Mix kulolo batter
Add 400 ml full-fat coconut milk, 150 grams packed light brown sugar, and 3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) fine sea salt to the bowl of grated taro. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon for 2 full minutes until the sugar dissolves completely, forming a thick, uniform pale tan-purple batter with no dry taro clumps.
Fill and seal pan
Pour the batter into the ti-leaf-lined pan, spreading it evenly with a silicone spatula to form a smooth, level 4cm (1.5-inch) thick layer. Fold the overhanging ti leaves over the batter to cover it fully, then wrap the entire pan tightly with 2 layers of aluminum foil to trap steam during baking.
Slow bake kulolo
Set the covered pan on the middle rack of the preheated 175°C (350°F) oven. Bake for 3 full hours; do not open the oven door for the first 2.5 hours to prevent the kulolo from sinking or drying out. The finished kulolo will be firm to the touch, deep golden-brown at the edges, and release a rich caramel-coconut aroma.
Cool and set
Remove the pan from the oven, carefully unwrap the foil, and fold back the top ti leaves. Let the kulolo cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then transfer it to the refrigerator to chill for 2 additional hours to set completely. Slice into 5cm (2-inch) squares to serve.
Tips
2.Use only full-fat coconut milk for authentic texture; low-fat coconut milk will result in a dry, crumbly final dish.
3.If fresh ti leaves are unavailable, line the pan with banana leaves or parchment paper. Kulolo keeps for up to 5 days refrigerated, and tastes even better the day after baking.
OMG I’ve been craving kulolo ever since my trip to Maui last summer and this recipe hit EVERY note! Chewy, perfectly sweet with that deep taro and coconut flavor, exactly like what I got from the local farmers market there. Brought it to my neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were begging for the recipe before I even left. SO worth the long cook time, don’t rush it!
Wait, I’ve never worked with fresh taro before – is there a way to substitute frozen taro if I can’t find fresh at my local grocery store? I really want to make this for our family luau night next week!
3+ hours cook time sounded intimidating at first but the steps are actually super straightforward! I stirred it every 30 minutes like the recipe said and it came out perfectly fudgy. My kids loved it, even my super picky 7 year old who usually turns up his nose at anything new.
Game changer! I cut the sugar a tiny bit because I prefer less sweet desserts and it was still absolute perfection. Packed a few slices for our day hike up Pikes Peak last weekend and it held up so well in the cooler, no messy melting like the cookies I almost brought. Will absolutely be making this again soon.
Grew up eating kulolo at every family gathering on Oahu and I was so skeptical a mainland recipe would get it right, but y’all nailed it! The only thing I did differently was wrap the pan in ti leaves before pouring the mixture in, just like my tutu used to do, and it added that perfect earthy aroma I was missing. 10/10
I messed up the first batch because I turned the oven up too high trying to cut down on cook time – the edges burned and the middle was totally raw. Don’t be like me! Follow the temp directions, it’s worth the wait. Second batch came out perfect once I stopped being impatient.
Made this for our office potluck this week and it was the first dish completely gone! People kept guessing what it was, no one had tried kulolo before, and half the office sent me messages asking for the link to the recipe by the end of the work day. Even my boss who never eats sweets had two pieces.
Has anyone tried making this with vegan substitutes? I want to make it for my sister who’s vegan, but I don’t want to mess up the texture. Usually coconut cream works for dairy swaps but I don’t know if I need to adjust anything else!
I live in a tiny studio apartment with a super tiny oven and I was worried this wouldn’t fit, but the 9x13 pan worked perfectly! My whole apartment smelled like coconut and taro for literally two days after making it, it was heavenly. Pro tip: let it cool completely before slicing, I tried cutting it warm and it fell apart.
How far in advance can I make this? I’m hosting a big Hawaiian-themed birthday party for my husband next Saturday and I’m trying to get as much prep done ahead of time as possible so I’m not stressed the day of.
I added a tiny pinch of sea salt to the top right when it came out of the oven and wow, that made the coconut and taro flavors pop so much more! Don’t skip that if you love that sweet-salty combo like I do. It’s chef’s kiss.
Made this with my roommates last weekend for our movie night and it was such a fun activity! The long cook time meant we got to hang out and watch three whole movies while we waited for it to bake, and the payoff was so good. We ate half the pan straight out of the pan while it was still slightly warm, no regrets.
Wait is this recipe naturally gluten free? I have celiac so I have to be super careful about cross contamination, but I’ve been dying to try kulolo ever since I saw it on a travel show!
I thought this was going to be too sweet based on how much sugar the recipe calls for, but it’s actually perfectly balanced! The earthy taro cuts the sweetness so much, it’s not cloying at all like some other tropical desserts I’ve tried. Will be adding this to my regular dessert rotation.
I’ve never even tasted taro before, let alone cooked with it! Would this be a good first recipe to try if I’m totally new to taro? I don’t want to waste money on ingredients if it’s too tricky for a total newbie.
Sliced this up into individual portions and kept them in the fridge for quick snacks all week! They’re so filling and way more satisfying than the granola bars I usually grab for my mid-afternoon slump. The chewy texture holds up perfectly all week, no sogginess at all.
Made this for our weekly family dinner and my teen son who’s obsessed with all things Hawaiian (he’s been teaching himself to surf on lake trips) said it tasted like what he had when we went to the Big Island a couple years ago. Total win in my book, even if I did get taro pulp all over my kitchen counter while grating it.
Full transparency: I hate coconut. Like, I pick it off of cakes, I skip piña coladas, I think it tastes like sunscreen. But my partner begged me to make this for their birthday so I caved, and… I actually loved it? The coconut flavor is so mellow and mixes with the taro so well, it doesn’t taste like straight coconut at all. Shocked.
I’ve been baking for 40+ years and I’d never even heard of kulolo until my granddaughter sent me this recipe. It was so fun trying something new! The texture is unlike anything I’ve ever made – dense, chewy, almost like a cross between fudge and mochi? It was a huge hit at our church bake sale, we sold every slice in 20 minutes.
Wait, has anyone tried smoking this instead of baking it? I have a small backyard smoker and I feel like that little smoky flavor would be insane with the coconut and taro, like the traditional imu preparation I’ve read about.