Here is the List of Best Kakanin in the Philippines That You Must Try
KAKANIN – Here is a list of the best Filipino rice cakes and sweets that you must try, each offering a taste of Philippine rich culinary heritage.
Filipinos love various foods, especially those that bring comfort and nostalgia. Among the most well-loved traditional snacks is kakanin, a term for native delicacies usually made from rice or glutinous rice, often sweet, sticky, and filled with flavor.
Kakanin can refer to any type of food made from rice that is shaped, thickened, or combined in various ways. A wide variety of kakanin exists across different cultures that consume rice.
Common variations include those made from galapong (rice dough), ground rice, and rice grains that are either stuck or pressed together.
These rice-based treats are part of many family gatherings, fiestas, and special celebrations. Whether sold in markets, malls, or homemade by local vendors, it always brings joy to Filipino homes.
Here are some of the most popular types of kakanin in the Philippines:
- Puto – Steamed rice cake that’s often topped with cheese or salted egg. It’s commonly served with dinuguan or pancit.
- Kutsinta – A sticky, brown rice cake with a jelly-like texture. Often paired with grated coconut on top.
- Bibingka – A rice cake baked in clay pots with banana leaves, usually enjoyed with butter, cheese, and salted egg, especially during the Christmas season.
- Palitaw – Flat rice cakes that float when cooked, then coated with grated coconut, sugar, and sesame seeds.
- Puto Bumbong – Purple-colored sticky rice steamed in bamboo tubes, served with butter, coconut, and brown sugar.
- Pichi-Pichi – Made from grated cassava and topped with coconut, this chewy snack is often served in bite-sized portions.
- Biko – A sweet sticky rice dessert cooked with coconut milk and brown sugar, sometimes topped with latik.
- Espasol – A chewy rice cake rolled in toasted rice flour, often found in Laguna.
- Suman – Glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves, best enjoyed with sugar or ripe mango.
- Sapin-Sapin – Colorful layered rice cake flavored with ube, jackfruit, and coconut.
- Ginataang Bilo-Bilo – A warm dessert made with sticky rice balls, sweet potato, saba bananas, and coconut milk.
- Maja Blanca – A creamy coconut pudding with corn and often topped with cheese or latik.
- Kalamay – Thick and sticky rice cake made with coconut milk and sugar, sometimes flavored with peanuts or ube.