10 Best Filipino Dessert & Vegetarian Recipes You Must Try at Home

Filipino recipes are known for their comforting sweetness, vibrant colors, and creative use of coconut milk, rice, tropical fruits, and soft breads. Searches for Filipino dessert recipes, easy Filipino sweets, and Filipino vegetarian recipes continue to grow as more home cooks discover how approachable and unique these dishes are.

Below is a curated list of 10 authentic Filipino sweet and meatless recipes you can easily make at home. Each dish reflects traditional flavors while remaining practical for modern kitchens.

10 Best Filipino Dessert & Vegetarian Recipes You Must Try at Home

[Filipino Recipes] BBQ Pork Skewers With BBQ Marinad

BBQ Pork Skewers with Filipino BBQ Marinade – Delicious grilled pork skewers in a homemade sticky, sweet, and spicy Filipino style BBQ marinade. This grilled pork recipe is one of my favorite things to cook on the grill. They are loaded with flavor and pair well with so many different side dishes!

[Filipino Recipes] Instant Pot Pork Adobo

Instant Pot Pork Adobo is the best ever Filipino Adobo recipe that will reward you with extremely juicy melt-in-the-mouth boneless pork meat doused in a lip smacking good sauce. This Instant Pot Adobo Pork is extremely flavorful & easy to make. Don’t miss the tips.

[Filipino Recipes] Embutido - Style Pork Meat Loaf

Try this delicious and easy to make Embutido, a Filipino meatloaf made from ground pork made flavorful with onions, carrots, bell pepper, relish, and raisins. With egg and sausage filling to make it more special. Perfect for everyday or special occasions.

[Filipino Recipes] Lechon Kawali - Crispy Fried Pork Belly

Lechon Kawali is an ultimate Filipino comfort food. Pork Belly is deep fried and seasoned with pepper, and salt. This is super crispy and soft in the inside. So yummy.

[Filipino Recipes] Ginataang Mais - Coconut Milk Rice Pudding With Corn

Try this super quick and easy Filipino snack, Ginataang Mais. A rice pudding that incorporates whole sweet corn kernel to glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and sugar.

[Filipino Recipes] Ube Cheese Pandesal

Ube Cheese Pandesal has been trending lately so I thought of making one. I cannot count how many times I have made the traditional Pandesal so making this is not actually not hard at all.

[Filipino Recipes] Sinangag (Garlic Fried Rice)

If you’ve never had Filipino Garlic Fried Rice, then you are missing out. Garlic elevates this simple fried rice recipe, giving it a robust flavor that makes it a great side dish, no matter what meal you eat it for!

[Filipino Recipes] Chicken Castanets

I just recently came back from a three week visit to the Philippines. The purpose of the visit was to see my mom whom I have not seen since 2013. I was happy to see my mom, my siblings, relatives and friends from university days. 

[Filipino Recipes] Vegan Ensaymada

Ok guys, if there’s any Filipino bread recipe that I wanted to share with you, it’s this super-soft ensaymada (ehn-sae-mah-dah) recipe. Ensaymada is a brioche bread, topped with a combination of sugar, butter, and grated cheese. I mean, who can resist a buttery sweet bread that’s so tender, light, and fluffy? Perfect for a sweet breakfast or an afternoon snack, and a cup of coffee or tea. Trust me, it’ll be hard to eat just one.

[Filipino Recipes] Ube Tres Leches Cake

U-Be, I’m back! I feel like it’s been forever since I posted, this month has really flown by. Between spring break, the kids getting sick, my husband getting sick, then I got sick and my cousins coming for a weekend visit, we’ve been going non stop for weeks! Sorry I haven’t had time to post, or bake or really do much but take care of the family! And thank you for coming back to read my rants and recipes! 

[Filipino Recipes] Meatless Steamed Buns

Vegan Steamed Buns with umami meatless filling (asado)






Ingredients:

Filling:


3 c. Vegemeat/ Seitan, small diced 4-5 cloves Garlic, minced 1 medium Onion, chopped 2- 3 TB Soy Sauce 2 small Bay Leaves 1-2 Star Anise 1/2 c. Brown Sugar Corn Starch + Water

Dough:


3 TB Vegan Butter, melted 2 TB Light Sugar 2 c. Non-dairy Milk 1 TB Rapid Rise Instant Yeast 1 tsp Salt 4 c. All Purpose Flour








Instructions:

Saute the garlic, onion, vegemeat and spices, then add the brown sugar. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.
Mix cornstarch and water, then add in the sauteed mixture until it thickens. Remove the bay leaves & star anise. Set it aside and let it cool.


For Dough:

1. Melt the butter, then add the sugar. Stir for few seconds then add the milk. Remove from the heat.
2. Stir in the yeast in the butter mixture then let it sit for a minute.
3. Add the flour and salt. Mix it spatula or by hand; with mixer use the dough hook. Mix well until the flour is fully hydrated.
4. Cover the bowl and let it rise for 1 hour.
5. Dust the counter space with flour before pulling out the risen dough. Divide the dough into three and form each in a log shape.
6. Divide each log into 5 and roll into a ball size. Flatten the round dough and fill it with vegemeat mixture. Seal the filling by meeting each sides towards the middle, then twist and seal it.
7. Place on a cut parchment paper by placing the twisted part on the bottom. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
8. Place each buns in the steamer basket with lined thin cheese cloth plus another thin cloth on top under the lid, to prevent the water from dripping into the buns.
9. Steam for 15 minutes with rolling and boiling water.
10. Take them out of the steamer and let it cool.

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Simplyvegankitchen.com. Thanks so much!

[Filipino Recipes] Vegan Bistek Tagalog (aka Filipino Beef Steak)

Learn how to make a vegan version of bistek Tagalog, a Filipino dish comprised of vegan beef cooked in a tangy marinade with sliced onions. It’s hearty, packed with flavor and made with only a few simple ingredients.

[Filipino Recipes] Vegan Siopao Asado

Siopao (sho-pow) is another popular Filipino snack. They are fluffy steamed buns that are filled with a sweet and savory meat-like filling, called Asado. It’s one of the best Filipino savory snacks! And this dish is very nostalgic to me, it takes me back to the Philippines and also Guam, my home. This is pretty close to the real thing, and if you don’t believe me, it looks like you gotta just try it for yourself. You won’t regret it, just trust me! It’s the perfect all-day snack because I personally ate these for breakfast, lunch, snack, and even dinner. And if you’re like me, you would probably do the same!

[Filipino Recipes] Ensaymada

This Ensaymada recipe is no fail and easy to follow. It will 12 pieces of fluffy bread and it is perfect for Filipino party or occasion you may have. Double the recipe to make more and share with everybody.

[Filipino Recipes] Crispy Fried Chicken

Tasty and delicious. This Filipino crispy fried chicken is one of our family favorites. Fish sauce adds flavor to this awesome dish.

[Filipino Recipes] Authentic Pancit Recipe - Noodles with Chicken

Pancit – authentic Filipino-style fried noodles recipe made with chicken and vegetables. They are perfect for a special occasion but easy enough for any weeknight!

[Filipino Recipes] Sinangag - Garlic Fried Rice

If you’ve never had Filipino Garlic Fried Rice, then you are missing out. Garlic elevates this simple fried rice recipe, giving it a robust flavor that makes it a great side dish, no matter what meal you eat it for!

[Filipino Recipes] Sizzling Tofu

This Filipino sizzling tofu recipe or tofu sisig is inspired by one of the famous restaurant chains in the country called Max and a lot of the locals really enjoy this dish with rice.

Tofu sisig not only makes a great viand but also an amazing beer snack! Yes, crispy sizzling tofu, beers, and your friends. It is a versatile dish you can easily share with friends.

[Filipino Recipes] Mango Sago

Mango sago is a refreshing dessert you’ll want to make all summer long. Made of fresh sweet mangoes, sago or tapioca, milk and cream, it’s easy to make and so good. Perfect in this summer heat!