Binignit (Ginataang Halo-halo)

Daisy Merano

Updated: July 12, 2026

Binignit is a popular Filipino snack composed of tubers and fruits. These are cooked in coconut milk with sugar, sticky rice balls, and tapioca pearls. This dish is also referred to as ginataang halo-halo.

How to Cook Binignit

Cooking binignit is quick and easy. The first thing to do is prepare the glutinous rice balls. I made one from scratch. This is super easy, seriously. You might sweat a little bit though, but its all part of the process.

Simple combine glutinous rice flour and water in a bowl. Mix well. You can use a spatula for mixing, or you can use your clean hands. Mae sure that both ingredients are well blended. The texture should be like that of Playdough. If it is sticky, add more glutinous rice flour. If it is powdery and doesn’t stick together well, add a bit of water at a time until the perfect texture is achieved. Mold a tablespoon of mixture into balls. Set aside.

Binignit Ginataang Halo halo Recipe Start cooking by boiling coconut milk in a cooking pot. Make sure to set the heat between low to medium at first and stir once in a while. This will prevent the liquid from kinda jumping off the pot. Since the texture of coconut milk is thick, using rapid heat when boiling without stirring causes it to absorb all the heat at the bottom. Once it gets enough heat to produce bubbles, the liquid would eventually splatter.

Add the tubers and sugar once the liquid boils. You can add water at this point, or you can opt to add it later on. Cook for 8 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to cook for 8 to 12 minutes while stirring every minute.

You have the option to serve the dish while still hot, or you can also let it cool down and then chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

I love having this as a dessert after eating spicy Filipino dishes such as Bicol express or Pork with Shrimp Paste because it helps cleanse my palate.

Give this recipe a try and let me know if you have questions.