Coconut milk and heavy cream combine into a wobbly and luscious coconut panna cotta dessert topped with a sweet, nutty crunch. The brittle is also especially good when made with macadamia nuts in place of peanuts.–Food Network Kitchen
LC What Folks Are Saying About This Recipe Note
“Absolutely delicious.” “This is really very dangerous.” “No work at all for such a spectacular result.” “Lovely and smooth and soft.” “I’m in love!” “The easiest panna cotta I have made.” “So gosh darned good I had three of these coconut panna cotta, one after another, and my hand is hovering over the fourth.” That’s what folks are saying about this coconut panna cotta recipe.
Coconut Panna Cotta
Equipment
- Eight 4-ounce ramekins
Ingredients
For the coconut panna cotta
- 1/4 cup plus 3 to 4 teaspoons water
- 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- Mild vegetable oil, for the ramekins
- One (13- to 14-oz) can coconut milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch kosher salt
For the candied peanut brittle
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 to 4 teaspoons cold water
- 1/2 cup salted peanuts, coarsely crushed if desired
Instructions
Make the panna cotta
- Pour the water in a shallow bowl, sprinkle with the gelatin, and let stand until the gelatin softens, about 2 minutes.
- Slick eight 4-ounce ramekins with oil.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the coconut milk, cream, sugar, and a pinch salt until hot but not simmering. Add the softened gelatin mixture and stir until completely dissolved.
- Divide the panna cotta among the prepared ramekins, straining it if desired. Place in a roasting pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours and preferably 12 hours.
Candy the peanuts
- While the panna cotta is in the fridge, place a long sheet of aluminum foil alongside the stovetop. Iin a heavy skillet over medium heat, mix the sugar with 3 to 4 teaspoons water. You want it to achieve the consistency of wet sand. Cook, occasionally tilting the skillet to swirl the mixture to ensure even browning, until the sugar is a deep caramel color, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not stir the mixture. Working very quickly, remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the peanuts, and immediately pour it onto the foil and let it spill out into a flat amorphous blob. Let cool completely.
To serve
- When ready to serve, run a sharp knife around the edge of each ramekin, then invert the panna cotta onto serving plates. Coarsely chop or finely crush the peanut brittle and sprinkle it over the coconut panna cotta.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Have you ever had something that was just so gosh darned good that you couldn’t stop at one? Well, I had three of these coconut panna cotta, one after another, and my hand is hovering over the fourth. The first panna cotta was purely for testing purposes—ahem, you know, to check the consistency and the ease of removal from the ramekin.The second was to test the lovely molded cream with the peanut brittle. You have to the test the complete recipe, right? The third? Well, I had some fresh blueberries and local honey and thought the combination may make a nice variation—and it did. I’m wondering now about a dribble of this hot chocolate sauce. The coconut is such a light flavor, it pairs with endless toppings. If you opt for the peanut brittle topping, be sure and watch that caramel. Depending on your stove and the size of your pot, it could be done in as little as 5 minutes. I found that I liked the peanut brittle crushed a bit before sprinkling over the panna cotta.
This may be the easiest panna cotta I have made. This is a lovely, rich panna cotta. The flavor of the coconut comes through so well with just the coconut milk and no need for extract. I took this to a summer gathering and made the candied peanut brittle and also offered chopped pistachio nuts as an alternative topping. The brittle disappeared so quickly I barely got some for myself as it was passed around the table. Because I was making this to transport to a dinner party, I made the panna cotta in little glass jars (they were 5 ounces each so I filled them not quite to the top) and I filled a single 4-ounce ramekin to test how easily the panna cotta would turn out of the vessel. Everyone devoured them. When making the brittle, I may have been overly cautious, working at a lower heat so it took a little longer to caramelize, but it all worked fine. (I am careful around hot sugar. I had a brittle-making accident years ago and I have not forgotten the sugar burn.) I used a very heavy stainless-steel skillet. I might try roughly chopping the nuts before making the brittle to get smaller pieces and let it spread out. I had unsalted peanuts when I shelled them, so I sprinkled a bit of Maldon sea salt flakes on top and would definitely do that again.
This was so delicious! And so easy! I’m in love! The coconut panna cotta recipe was straightforward and almost 100% accurate. The only discrepancy was that it took closer to 5 hours for my panna cotta to set (perhaps my refrigerator is a tad warm?), so we had dessert a little later than planned. I was blown away by the simplicity of this luscious dessert and its perfect flavor. It was perfectly sweetened and just coconut-y enough—a fine balance, as desserts can easily become overpowered by sweetness or overwhelmed by coconut. The candied peanuts were the icing on toppa the cotta. That sweet and salty crunch made for an incredibly satisfying dessert. I will make it again!
I was impressed with the texture of this coconut panna cotta, as that’s always a crapshoot depending on which panna cotta recipe you use. I’m not a fan of panna cotta that’s too gelatinous, and this one was lovely, smooth, and soft while still holding its shape. Also, those candied nuts? Hold me back. I seriously cannot make them again because most of them didn’t make it to the dessert. I found the dish to be very sweet—perhaps it should be served in tiny portions or made with less sugar next time? I used cashews, and the caramelization took 15 minutes—the caramel was not that dark, but it was very sticky. Next time, I need to work much more quickly because when I removed the skillet from the heat and stirred in the nuts, they all clumped.
Move over limoncello panna cotta, my go-to and, until now, favorite panna cotta. Another panna cotta has taken your place in my heart. As my husband declared after one bite, “This is dangerous.” And then after the second bite, “This is really very dangerous.” I couldn’t agree more. This coconut panna cotta is absolutely delicious. Creamy, soft, silken, succulent, satisfying…that should say it all. What also needs to be said that it is so very, very easy to make. No work at all for such a spectacular result. The gelatin “blooms” while you mix a few other ingredients, then you add the gelatin mixture, stir, pour it into ramekins, and put it in the refrigerator. After 4 hours, my panna cotta was firm enough to eat, but those that were in the refrigerator overnight were much better. Next time, I will either make them earlier in the day or make them the night before. I did make the candied peanut brittle, but I didn’t enjoy it with the panna cotta. I feel that it took away from the loveliness of the panna cotta. Perhaps I will just serve the panna cotta with some fresh berries next time. And I made half a recipe, not wanting 8 panna cottas sitting around to tempt the two of us, and I ended up with 5 panna cottas instead of 4. That did not prove to be a problem.
I’ve made this recipe a couple times and both times had separation issues (cream rising to the top). The second time I waited for it to cool completely before putting in the refrigerator. I used Trader Joe’s organic full fat coconut milk. There are no additional additives. The taste was delicious but do you know what could be causing this?
Kim, I suspect it’s the coconut milk. I, too, prefer TJ’s organic coconut milk for its lack of additives. But I’ve had those same separation issues with it in other recipes. It’s those very gums that we don’t want added to our coconut milk which help keep it emulsified in recipes. I wish I had a different solution but I really think if you use a different coconut milk, one with guar gum, it will be perfect fine. Kindly let us know? And I wish I had a solution that involved our beloved TJ’s organic version of coconut milk!
This looks amazing, going to try this recipe but I’m also wondering where do you guys have the plate from? It is stunning!
Luna, I wish I could tell you! We received permission to reprint that photo from the publisher of the cookbook in which it appears, and so the stylist for the photo shoot acquired that plate from…somewhere! So sorry we can’t provide you with the info that you want! Although I can assure you that the coconut panna cotta is pretty darn stunning, too.
So many panna cotta recipes I found were dairy-free, and I wanted the texture of the cream. Tried this one and was not disappointed. Delicious, and easy! I put fresh kiwi on top rather than the brittle. Will definitely make this again!
Magnificent, Stacie! So glad you like this recipe as much as we do! We test all our recipes over and over and over again before deciding whether or not to share them with our readers, and only the recipes that are most fabulous and flawless make it onto the site, so you can trust the recipes you find here!