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It may look fancy and complex, but this festive, four-ingredient dessert is surprisingly easy to make (and will have everyone coming back for seconds!).
save this recipe!The Impossible, Made Possible
Panna cotta is a creamy Italian molded dessert traditionally made of milk, cream, sugar, gelatin, and fruity or chocolatey flavorings.
To make a vegan panna cotta recipe, we’ll skip the gelatin since it’s not vegetarian-friendly. Instead, we’ll swap it with agar agar (a super cool gelatin replacement made from red algae)!
I love to flavor this sweet treat with tangy raspberries, but stick around to the end for some extra flavor ideas! (Did someone say mango, lemon, chocolate, and strawberry?! Yum!) Even though the completed dessert looks totally gourmet, it’s actually an unbelievably easy dish to make. You’ve got to try it!
Reader rating
“This was delicious. I served them in glasses, which I topped with blended drained tinned pineapple that added a nice layering effect. Perfect for a light refreshing dessert.” —Anita Ghent
Grab These Ingredients
You’ll only need four base ingredients for this vegan panna cotta recipe (jump to the recipe card for all the exact measurements)!
- Coconut Milk: Full-fat coconut milk will form the bulk of the panna cotta base. We’ll boil it to achieve a nice, thickened texture.
- Sugar: To give this dish a sweet kick, we’ll use some good ol’ sugar!
- Powdered Agar Agar: Agar agar is tasteless and works wonderfully in place of gelatin here! This gelling agent gives the dessert its jelly-like texture. (This is the agar I used!)
- Vanilla Bean: Vanilla bean paste from whole vanilla beans adds a sweet, creamy flavor to this dish. You could also use store-bought vanilla paste or extract!
Making Vegan Panna Cotta Is So Easy
Panna cotta has a reputation for being a high-maintenance dessert. But the truth is, with easy-to-follow instructions, this vegan version is quite simple! (This is just an overview! Jump to the recipe for full printable instructions.)
- Simmer everything together to activate the agar powder (I also like to throw the scraped pod in to really infuse it with max flavor! Just fish it out before pouring it into molds.)
- Cool the mixture in the fridge in 6 small bowls or ramekins.
- Serve your vegan panna cotta by inverting them onto plates. Top with the raspberry topping, and enjoy!
Or Make It With Dairy
You can also make a vegetarian panna cotta with cow’s milk and agar agar! Use 2.5 cups simmered heavy cream, then mix in agar and continue boiling for 3 minutes (to activate). Remove from heat, and stir in sugar and vanilla.
Try These flavors!
Panna cotta comes in a ton of flavors and variations. We used raspberries for this recipe, but here are some additional ideas for you to try out!
Berries: Not to sound biased, but raspberries (or any berries for that matter) taste absolutely fantastic with vegan panna cotta. You could also try strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries! Whatever you choose, follow the directions as laid out in the recipe card.
Mango: For a mango panna cotta dessert (YUM!), use one cup of mango (either fresh or frozen) with the lemon and sugar and cook as listed above (skip the water). Feel free to puree before cooking for a smoother texture.
Chocolate: For a classic chocolate vegan panna cotta, melt 3 oz (½ cup) of dark chocolate, then whisk it into the coconut mixture after cooking.
Lemon: Lemon is a perfect summery option! After cooking the coconut mixture, remove from heat and add 3 tbsp lemon juice and the grated zest from 2 lemons. Do not include the vanilla bean.
Recipe Improved!
This recipe, which was originally published in 2019, has been improved to fix the over-firm issue that many have commented on. Thank you, everyone, for your input—this community wouldn’t be the same without you!
Vegan Panna Cotta (4 Ingredients)
Ingredients
Panna Cotta
- 2 14-oz cans coconut milk, 400 mL each
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp agar agar powder
- 1 vanilla bean
Berry Topping
- 2 cups strawberries or raspberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 15 mL
- ½ cup water, 120 mL
Instructions
- Boil: Add 2 14-oz cans coconut milk, ¼ cup sugar, and 1 tsp agar agar powder to a medium saucepan. Cut 1 vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and use the back of your knife to scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and scraped pod to the mixture.Set over medium/high heat. Bring to a simmer for about 3 minutes, whisking often and watching to ensure it doesn't spill over.
- Cool: Remove vanilla pod from the pot. Pour mixture into 6 individual serving bowls or ramekins (you may choose to lightly grease them if you want to pop the panna cotta out of the bowls for serving). Set in the fridge to cool until set, at least 1 hour.
- Topping: Meanwhile, add 2 cups strawberries or raspberries, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and ½ cup water to a medium saucepan. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the berries have broken down and the mixture has thickened some.
- Serve: Optionally invert the panna cotta onto plates or serve in the bowls/ramekins. Top with berry topping.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
This was delicious! The fruity layer I used was different though as I had some left over raw cranberry orange relish in the freezer from Xmas, so I used that (3 cups frozen or fresh cranberries, 2 unwaxed navel oranges, and up to 1 cup of sugar…quarter the oranges, removing any seeds/pips. Put into food processor, skin and all. Add the cranberries and begin pulsing until everything is combined and the orange skin pieces are tiny. Transfer to a large bowl, add 1/2 cup of sugar to start, mix well until sugar has dissolved. Taste to see if it needs more sugar. It should be tart but enjoyable). It worked great with the coconut milk! I will try it with raspberries next time!
So happy to hear you liked it, and thanks for sharing your tips for the topping! Cranberry and orange sounds delish! 😀
Recipe books do not come through to my email address. I’ve tried a few of your freebie books but it does not work. It’s so disappointing
Sending you a personal email now! 😀
I’m on a pretty strict diet due to food sensitivities. I can’t have wheat, dairy, eggs, beef, corn, potato or soy.
I’m wondering if this recipe could be as a replacement for custard in a pie?
I have rhubarb & was planning on using it for a custard tart prior to these restrictions. I’ve heard panna cotta can replace custard but all of the recipes show it chilled so I don’t know how it would bake.
Thank you.
Hi Paige! I don’t think this would bake well. The agar would probably liquify rather than become solid like egg based custards do. With that said, you could just make it a no bake “custard” pie!
Can I freeze or would the texture change?
I think the texture would be affected too much by freezing!
Can you use another alternative milk like oat milk or flaxseed milk for this recipe?
While I haven’t tried this recipe with other milks, I do think it would work with them! Would love to hear how it goes if you try it out 😀
I dont want to wait to buy ramekins to try this, would a muffin or cupcake tin work, or would metal taint the flavor?
I don’t think the metal would influence the flavor. There’s nothing too acidic in the mixture that would react with it!
Use fancy tea cups and serve in the cup!
I made this following the recipe religiously but I think the measurement of agar agar is wrong. My panna cottas had no jiggle in them at all and were like door stops. I will try them again but I will use one teaspoon and not one tablespoon of agar agar. It tasted nice just the texture was all wrong.
Thanks for letting me know, Barbara! I’ll retest this one to try to troubleshoot this. 😀
ratios for agar are off a little. 1 Tbsp of agar is about 16g. That is close to a 2% ratio of total weight. you want to run closer to a 1% or even lower if you want a good mouth feel. Also try adding in locust bean gum at around .25%. The locust bean gum will give it a more elastic feel with the brittle agar.
Ms Sarah – I see that your recipe still calls for 1T agar agar, so did your trouble-shooting find a different problem?
I ate a wonderful panna cotta at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA)’s ‘Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici’ after the server described it as “a pudding”. I nearly regurgitated when I found out that it had gelatin in it after I got home and looked it up.
So I am excited to try a veggy version of that soft, smooth dessert that slid effortlessly down my throat, but the comments seem to indicate that this recipe won’t recreate it. I have never tried using agar agar before or any other gelatin substitute before, so am at the mercy of you and your readers.
Fingers tightly crossed that I will once again reach panna cotta nirvana!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I was inspired to look for it when I ordered takeout from a local vegan restaurant in Washington, DC. They had panna cotta flavored with green tea on the menu, and it was wonderful, so now I want to try making panna cotta myself. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Sorry to hear it, Lena! We must be using slightly different types of agar.
Hello, I have not made this recipe yet, would using vanilla extract instead if vanilla bean be ok?
Yep that would be okay! 😀