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I made this puto recipe with a SECRET ingredient that keeps it moist AND fluffy (bonus: it’s gluten-free)! Since puto is a RICE cake, I used rice flours instead of all-purpose flour. This recipe is finished in less than an hour, and is vegan if you omit the cheese topping!
What is Filipino Puto?
Not profanity in my native language, puto is a steamed rice cake dessert that is WONDERFUl when paired with something salty or bitter. Coffee and dinuguan (Filipino blood stew) are particular stand out pairings.
Puto is also classified as kakanin which is an umbrella term for Filipino sweets made with rice flour or sticky rice. Other examples include biko, kutsinta, bibingka, suman, sapin-sapin. I recently updated my kutsinta recipe which is a favorite amongst my siblings.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Other puto recipes use all-purpose flour instead of rice flour(s) which yields a different consistency. I absolutely LOVE puto that is springy, and moist. Using a mixture of rice flour and glutinous rice flour (the secret ingredient) makes puto the perfect consistency for my tastes.
Egg is also an ingredient that you won’t find in my recipe. This means my recipe is only one (optional) cheesy step away from being vegan.
Tips for Soft & Fluffy Puto
My biggest tip to ensure soft & fluffy puto is to include glutinous rice flour. I do a 3:1 ratio of rice flour to glutinous rice flour.
You can use just rice flour but I find it is a little dry and crumbly without the glutinous rice flour.
Is Filipino puto gluten-free?
Yes. This super easy Filipino puto recipe is gluten-free. Despite its name, glutinous rice flour does not contain any gluten whatsoever. It is only called glutinous to describe the texture. In this recipe it gives the puto cakes a bit of bounce.
Is puto sweet or salty?
The base of puto is sweet due to the addition of plain sugar. You can eat it plain but I love to add a bit of saltiness. In this recipe I lay American yellow cheese slices on top after the cakes are done cooking. However, salted egg is probably the most popular topping. I’ll use that when I can but yellow cheese is more accessible.
What do you eat puto with?
While I mostly enjoy it on its own, puto is a very versatile dish! It is famously paired with dinuguan, a Filipino stew made with pork blood. You can see me serve some with Auntie Lei in Seattle! Link below starts video at relevant timestamp.
Variations of Puto
Traditional puto can be served plain or topped with something salty. This recipe uses American yellow cheese to imitate the Eden brand yellow cheese found in the Philippines. I also LOVE putting salted egg on top instead of cheese as it gives a more intense salty flavor.
There are also flavored variants that use pandan or ube to give it a little different flavor and a gorgeous color pop.
Another popular variant is puto bumbong which I was able to taste on my last trip to the Philippines! Puto bumbong is a long purple log topped with coconut and cheese that is mostly served during the winter Holidays.
There are countless other variations of puto. You’ve got puto calasiao, puto seko, and puto bagas to name just a few.
Required Equipment
For this puto recipe, you will need a steamer! I have a large aluminum steamer with two levels which works perfectly! A bamboo steamer would work even better as the bamboo absorbs some condesation that could otherwise fall back into the product.
Additionally, you’ll need something to contain the batter while steaming. I use silicone cupcake molds but anything that can withstand the heat would work! It is possible to use larger molds but I would assume that the puto might not cook all the way through.
Ingredients for Puto
This quick and easy puto recipe only has a few ingredients and you may have them all in your pantry if you stock Asian products. It is simply rice flour, glutinous rice flour, coconut milk, baking powder, sugar, salt, and American yellow cheese for topping!
You can substitute regular rice flour for the glutinous rice flour if you want. The puto will end up being drier and crumbly.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Puto
For full list of ingredients and detailed steps, check out the bottom of this page.
Puto has relatively few ingredients and pretty simple processes. Just mix all the ingredients and steam!
Combine the rice flour and glutinous rice flour. Add the baking powder, sugar, and salt and whisk all the dry ingredients thoroughly.
Then, pour in the coconut milk, and then mix very well until the batter is no longer clumpy.
Prep your steamer by boiling water. Fill your molds with the puto batter. Don’t fill it up more than halfway so they have room to rise. Place your cupcake molds into the steamer and steam for 35-45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Once the puto has finished steaming, tear your cheese slices into squares that fit on your puto and place them. The residual heat will melt the cheese slightly without making it run.
Remove from molds and serve! Enjoy the puto with tea or coffee or if you’re feeling very traditional, serve with dinuguan!
FAQs
I find adding a bit of glutinous rice flour in the recipe is what really makes the puto stand out as moist and bouncy. No dry and crumbly puto here!
Yes, puto is gluten free. Despite its name, glutinous rice flour, doesn’t actually contain any gluten. It just means the puto will come out a bit bouncier!
This recipe outlines using American yellow cheese which is classic. However, my absolute FAVORITE is using salted egg because it is so much bolder!
I honestly eat it on its own as a dessert but it is very common to find it along side dinuguan (blood stew). Personally I also enjoy it with a hot cup of coffee.
Tools
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Ozeri Food Scale
Especially with baking, a food scale is extremely helpful as it measures weight, not volume, which is more accurate. You should use weight measurements if a recipe provides them.
Rice Flour
Rice flour can be found at any Asian supermarket and should be very cheap.
Glutinous Rice Flour
Glutinous Rice Flour should also be easily found at your local Asian supermarket. It should cost much different than regular rice flour.
Coconut Milk
I try to use coconut with the least amount of ingredients (preservatives). Pro tip: Trader Joe’s coconut milk is very clean!
Make sure you are buying coconut milk and not coconut cream! They are different forms of the same thing though. Coconut milk is just coconut cream with more water content.
Bamboo Steamer
This bamboo steamer is just an example. I think they’re probably all the same.
Silicone Cupcake Molds
I use these pretty often for a lot of recipes. They get the job done very well.
Recipe
Last updated October 2025
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, combine rice flour and glutinous rice flour. Add the baking powder, sugar, and salt and whisk all the dry ingredients thoroughly.
- Pour in the coconut milk, and then mix very well until the batter is no longer clumpy.
- Begin boiling the water for your steamer.
- Now you will need to fill the molds. Fill each mold about ½ full to give the batter space to rise. Use as many molds as you need to use up all the batter.
- Place your cupcake molds into the steamer and steam for 35-45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. This will change depending on the size of your puto. The smaller the puto, the shorter you should steam it.
- (Optional) Once the puto has finished steaming, tear your cheese slices into squares that fit on your puto and place them. The residual heat will melt the cheese slightly without making it run.
- Remove from molds and serve! Enjoy the puto with tea or coffee! Or if you’re feeling very traditional, serve with dinuguan!
Notes
- In this recipe, I use rice flour and glutinous rice flour to create a moist and bouncier texture. You can use only regular rice flour but it will be drier and crumbly.
- Some recipes claim it only takes 10 minutes so you will need to find what works best for your size.
Other Recipes You Might Like
I have a lot of other Filipino dessert recipes on this website: