Butter mochi is Hawaii’s version of a blondie. It’s slightly chewy and mildly sweet, almost like a cross between vanilla cake and traditional Japanese mochi. It’s also incredibly easy to make. Just stir together and bake!

Closeup of 3 squares of butter mochi on top of each other on a white plate.

Hawaiian butter mochi is a super easy, uncomplicated, gluten-free dessert recipe. It's extremely popular at any island party, and is a fabulous option for picnics and potlucks.

Even though it contains an entire can of coconut milk, I find it more vanilla forward in flavor than coconut. The flavor reminds me of vanilla cake and sugar cookies, but with a bouncy, squishy, slightly chewy texture that is somewhat reminiscent of marshmallows but not entirely. It really walks that fine line between a slightly chewy blondie/brownie and a more chewy Japanese mochi.

The absolute best thing about this recipe is not only how delicious it is, but how EASY it is. Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl, pour into a pan and bake! It's basically foolproof.

Ingredient notes

Ingredients for Hawaiian butter mochi on a white tile background.

Mochiko Flour: Mochiko flour is a type of sweet rice flour or glutinous rice flour (it's called that even though it's gluten-free). Mochiko flour is used to make Japanese mochi and Hawaiian butter mochi, among other things. I use Koda Farms brand, which comes in 1 pound boxes. No need to measure. Just dump the entire contents of the box in and mix.
Coconut Milk: You'll need an entire can of coconut milk for this recipe. Use regular, full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
Evaporated Milk: This Hawaiian butter mochi recipe uses exactly 1 can (12 fluid ounces) of evaporated milk. Do not confuse evaporated milk with condensed milk, which is a very different product and is sweetened unlike the evaporated milk. Some people use regular milk in this recipe, which will work too but I like having a shelf-stable option that you don't need to measure!

Yellow squares of butter mochi piled onto white plates next to a box of Mochiko flour.

How to make it

Grease a 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking pan with butter or oil, or alternatively line the pan with parchment paper with overhang on the sides. This will allow you to transfer the butter mochi to a cutting board after baking for easier cutting.

In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and combine until smooth.

A mixture of butter, sugar, and eggs in a metal bowl with a wooden spoon.

Stir in the coconut milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract. Finally add the mochiko flour and baking powder and whisk until completely smooth and lump-free.

A white batter in a metal mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.

Next, pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

White batter poured in a rectangular baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Gently rap it on the counter a couple times to release any trapped air bubbles, then bake for about 1 hour or until it is set and the top is golden brown.

Baked butter mochi with a golden top in a rectangular baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Cool to room temperature before slicing.

If you've lined the pan with parchment paper, use the overhang to carefully remove the entire slab to a large cutting board. Cut into 5 rows crosswise and 4 rows lengthwise to yield 20 squares.

Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

A stack of 3 butter mochi squares on a plate with a platter in the background.

Expert tips

Store leftover squares in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The texture will change slightly between the day it's baked and the following days, but it's delicious regardless.

Don’t be afraid of overmixing. Mochiko flour is gluten-free so there is no concern as you would have when baking with flour of yielding a tough product by overmixing.

When slicing into squares, if your knife starts to stick, rub it with a little oil to get smoother cuts of butter mochi.

While you don't have to line your pan with parchment paper and can instead simply grease it, I highly recommend using parchment with overhang going up all 4 sides. Here's how I easily and quickly do this for my butter mochi as well as for other recipes like donauwelle, guava bars, and Russian pirog:

Unroll some parchment on your work surface and place your baking pan on top.
Roughly fold up the sides of the parchment over the exterior of the pan to make sure they are long enough and will create an overhang after cutting.
Cut the parchment to that size and leave it under the baking pan.
Use scissors to cut and remove the 4 corners of the parchment paper at right angles right up to the corners of the pan.
Take the piece of parchment with the 4 corners removed and fit it into the pan (if the paper naturally rolls, I recommend having it roll outward/downward and not inward/upward). It should fit well and the sides should form clean edges when you fold them up the sides. It's ok if the corners aren't perfect or overlap slightly.
Use your fingers to crease the edges along the bottom and top a bit so it the paper stays in place. This will be a HUGE help to remove the entire item from the pan and cut it on a cutting board instead of directly in the pan.

A platter of golden yellow squares of Hawaiian butter mochi piled 4 layers high.

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