Coconut Panna Cotta

panna cotta served on a plate with strawberries.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: coconut panna cotta

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 0

Chill time:: 6

Total Time: 6 10

Servings:

Calories: 396kcal

Author: Megan Gilmore

Coconut Panna Cotta is an easy dairy-free dessert that looks as impressive as it tastes! You can make it with gelatin, or with agar agar flakes for a totally vegan version.

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Ingredients

1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons grass-fed gelatin (see notes for vegan version)
1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut cream (see notes)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the cool water and gelatin and stir well. Let it rest while you finish the next step. (This is called letting the gelatin "bloom.")
In a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine the coconut cream, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Bring the liquid to a boil, then remove it from the heat.
Pour a small amount of the hot coconut mixture over the bloomed gelatin, and whisk well until it looks smooth. Add in the remaining coconut mixture and whisk well.
Pour the liquid into 4 small bowls. (You can stretch this to 5 bowls if you use about a 1/2 cup serving for each.) Place the bowls on a flat shelf in the fridge and let them chill until firm, about 6 hours or overnight.
Serve the panna cotta chilled directly in the bowls with fresh fruit on top for the easiest presentation. Or, you can release the panna cotta from the bowls, similar to a jello mold. To do this, place each bowl in a shallow bowl of hot tap water for 30 to 60 seconds, to help loosen the panna cotta. Then place the serving plate on top of the bowl and flip it over. Give the bottom of the bowl a tap (or gently shake it) to release the panna cotta from the bowl. Then serve chilled right away with fresh fruit on top.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes

Nutrition information is for 4 large servings. You can lower the calories by making 5 smaller servings, instead. This information is automatically calculated, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.

To make this vegan, omit the gelatin and use 1 1/2 tablespoons of agar agar flakes (not powder) instead. Agar flakes will need to boil with the coconut milk mixture for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking often to help them dissolve. Then pour into bowls and chill as directed.

I've only tested this vegan version with agar flakes, so I couldn't tell you how much agar powder to use, if that's what you have on hand. Agar powder is much more concentrated, so you'd need to use less in that case. Please let me know if you experiment with it!

Coconut cream is similar to coconut milk, only it has a higher ratio of coconut solids, and therefore is less likely to separate later. If you can only find canned coconut milk, use roughly 1 1/4 cups of solid coconut cream and a 1/2 cup of the coconut liquid as a substitute. (This is not to be confused for creamed coconut, which is made from pulverized coconut meat.)

Nutrition