Nian gao (Chinese: 年糕; pinyin: niángāo; Cantonese Yale: nìhngōu), sometimes translated as year cake or New Year cake or Chinese New Year's cake, is a food prepared from glutinous rice flour and consumed in Chinese cuisine. It is also simply known as "rice cake". While it can be eaten all year round, traditionally it is most popular during the Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time of the year because nian gao (年糕) is a homonym for "higher year" or "grow every year" (年高), which means "a more prosperous year". The character 年 is literally translated as "year", and the character 糕 (gāo) is literally translated as "cake" and is identical in sound to the character 高, meaning "tall" or "high". In Mandarin (though not all Chinese languages), Nian gao (年糕) also is an exact homonym of "sticky cake" (黏糕／粘糕), the character 黏／粘 (nián) meaning "sticky".

This sticky sweet snack was believed to be an offering to the Kitchen God, with the aim that his mouth will be stuck with the sticky cake, so that he cannot badmouth the human family in front of the Jade Emperor. It is also traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year.

Originally from China, it spread to or gave rise to related rice cakes in Southeast Asian countries and Sri Lanka due to overseas Chinese influences.

Making of nian gao can be traced back to the Northern and Southern dynasties (386–589 AD). The agricultural text Qimin Yaoshu, written during that time, referenced an older recipe book Shi Ci (食次) and the glutinous rice dish, ye (䊦): "Use glutinous rice flour, sieve with silk cloth, add water and honey, use hand to knead the dough, making two-inch squares, cut to four sticks, put date and chestnut meat on and under the sticks, grease around, cover with bamboo leaves, steam thoroughly, set aside two hours, if the leaves are still on, ripped off, set the sticks free." Ye was the earliest variant of nian gao known to have been made.

Nian gao sounds identical to 年高, meaning "higher year," implying promotions or prosperity year after year. This association makes nian gao a popular gift item during the New Year period. The traditional nian gao is round with an auspicious decoration such as the character for prosperity (福) on its top. The character is often written in the traditional Chinese script.

As a gift item, nian gao are fashioned into different shapes with attractive packaging to suit the festive season. Popular designs include a pair of carps (年年有餘) symbolizing surplus every year, ingots (元寶), or the God of Wealth (財神). These designs are auspicious symbols and send good wishes for the New Year.

Despite numerous varieties, they all share the same glutinous rice ingredient that is pounded or ground into a paste and, depending on the variety, may simply be molded into shape or cooked again to settle the ingredient. Nian gao has many varieties, including the types found in Cantonese cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Shanghai cuisine, and northern Chinese cuisine.

The Guangdong variety is sweetened, usually with Chinese brown sugar. It is distinct with a dark yellow color. The paste is poured into a cake pan and steamed once more to settle the mixture. The batter is steamed until it solidifies and served in thick slices. It may be eaten as is. The nian gao becomes stretchy and extremely sticky. It can also be served as a pudding flavored with rosewater or red bean paste.