Red Bean & Cream Cheese Buns — My Mom Took One Bite and Told Me to Sell Them
By Vivian
Why You'll Love It
Here's the bakery's bestselling red bean cheese bun, and you can recreate it without an oven and without kneading to a perfect windowpane — a skillet does it. Bite in and it's sandy-soft and sweet without being cloying, wrapped around a dense creamy cheese center with a big dairy aroma.
Soft and squishy, milky, fluffy, and very good — every bite is satisfying. Lower in sugar and oil, so it tastes lighter. If you love red bean pastries, you have to make these.
Lightly crisp outside, soft inside, with the sweetness of honeyed red beans and the richness of cream cheese coming together perfectly. The sugar is yours to adjust, and a beginner gets it right the first time.
Ingredients
| Dough | |
|---|---|
| 2 cups + 1 tbsp (250 g) bread flour | 1 tsp (3 g) instant yeast |
| ⅓ tsp (2 g) salt | 2½ tbsp (30 g) sugar |
| 2 tbsp (15 g) whole milk powder | scant ½ cup (100 ml) water |
| 1 egg | 1½ tbsp (20 g) butter |
| Filling | |
|---|---|
| ¾ cup (160 g) honeyed red beans | 3½ oz (100 g) cream cheese |
| 2½ tsp (10 g) powdered sugar | |
Ingredient Notes
- Bread flour develops gluten most easily; all-purpose works but gives a tighter crumb.
- Use block-style plain cream cheese, not the spreadable kind — the spread melts and runs.
- Choose honeyed red beans with whole grains; if they're too wet they'll leak.
- Chill the cheese balls before wrapping — firmer is much easier to work with.
- Add the butter late, in two goes, so it incorporates evenly.
Instructions
-
1
Put everything for the dough except the butter in a bowl, stir with chopsticks until no dry flour remains, then knead by hand into a dough.
-
2
Add the softened butter and knead until the dough pulls into a rough membrane. Cover and let it rise somewhere warm until doubled, about 40–60 minutes.
-
3
Turn the risen dough out, press it down to deflate, divide into 6–8 equal pieces, roll each into a smooth ball, cover, and relax 10 minutes.
-
4
While the dough rests, deal with the filling: put the softened cream cheese in a bowl, add the powdered sugar, and mix with a spoon. Divide into as many balls as you have dough pieces and refrigerate.
-
5
Take one rested piece, roll it into a thin round, add some honeyed red beans, and wrap it up into a ball.
-
6
Roll it out again, put a chilled cheese ball in the middle, close it up and pinch firmly, then press it gently with your palm into a small round cake. Do the rest the same way.
-
7
Put all the shaped buns on the board, cover, and let them rise a second time to 1½ times, about 20–30 minutes.
-
8
No oil in the pan. Preheat over the lowest heat for 1 minute, add the buns, and cook slowly — about 5 minutes per side, until both sides are golden.
-
9
If you're worried the inside isn't done, splash a little water around the edge of the pan after flipping and cover for 2–3 minutes; the steam finishes them. Take them out and you have crisp outside, soft inside.
-
10
Best eaten hot. Once cooled, 10 seconds in the microwave or 1 minute back in a skillet over low heat brings the softness back.
-
11
Quick tip: with an oven or air fryer, preheat to 300°F (150°C), put them on a tray, bake 15 minutes, flip and bake 8 more, until golden. They come out soft with an even richer dairy aroma.
Recipe Notes
Red Bean & Cream Cheese Buns
Red bean and cream cheese buns: the bakery bestseller, made at home. No oven, no perfect windowpane — just a skillet over low heat. Lightly crisp outside, soft inside, with honeyed red beans and a creamy cheese center.
Time Needed
Prep Ahead
- Mix the cream cheese with powdered sugar, portion into balls, and chill them — firm cheese doesn't run while you wrap.
- Cook the red beans soft ahead of time and drain them well, so they don't leak.
- 【Yield】2 cups + 1 tbsp (250 g) flour divides into 6–8 pieces; ¾ cup (160 g) red beans and 3½ oz (100 g) cream cheese is exactly enough.
- 【Key ratios】Bread flour to water ≈ 250:100 plus 1 egg, with 1 tsp (3 g) yeast, 2½ tbsp (30 g) sugar, ⅓ tsp (2 g) salt, and 1½ tbsp (20 g) butter.
- 【Heat】No oil in the pan, lowest heat, 5 minutes per side. If you're worried about the inside, splash water around the edge and cover 2–3 minutes.
- 【Rising】First rise to double (40–60 minutes); after filling, rise to 1½ times (20–30 minutes).
- 【Storage & reheating】Room temperature 1 day, frozen 2 weeks; reheat 1 minute in a skillet over low heat or 10 seconds in the microwave.
- 【Common problems】A tough skin means under-kneaded dough (you want a rough membrane). Burnt outside, raw inside means too high a heat — lowest heat and the lid on, always.
Nutrition (per 100 g, estimated)
| Calories | about 294 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | about 8 g |
| Fat | about 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | about 43 g |
| of which sugars | about 13 g |
| Fiber | about 1.8 g |
| Sodium | about 300 mg |
Estimated from the ingredient amounts, not lab tested. One bun is about 2.5 oz (70 g), roughly 206 kcal, calculated at 4 / 9 / 4 kcal per g of protein / fat / carbs.