Vegan Dragon Fruit Panna Cotta

5 from 3 votes

Dairy-free & Vegan Dragon Fruit Panna Cotta is an elegant dessert to put together for Valentine's Day! It's free of refined sugar and gets done in minutes!

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Vegan Dragon Fruit Panna Cotta made with only 4 basic ingredients. An easy & elegant dessert that you can make in practically no time. It’s also so perfect for Valentine’s Day with its gorgeous pink color!

Panna Cotta is one of my favorite desserts but I don’t really eat it at restaurants. That’s because they almost always use gelatin and I am never comfortable with the idea of having gelatin in my food especially because I am a vegetarian. So, whenever I feel like having a panna cotta, I make it at home using agar agar. It gives great results each time. This time around, I changed things up a bit and made my panna cotta vegan. Guys, it turned out so good! Like, it’s not every day that I am super impressed with what I make, but this dessert exceeded my expectations. Hubby said this could be served at a fancy restaurant and he doesn’t even like coconut milk-based dessert!

I am always so fascinated by these natural colors. I mean isn’t the bright magenta just gorgeous?  I seriously can’t get over it!

Traditionally panna cotta is made with cream but in this dairy free version we use coconut milk. It’s important to use full fat coconut milk here for best results, the lite one won’t really cut it. Panna cotta is a very easy dessert to make, you practically need only the cream, or in this case coconut milk, some sweetener and then something to set/thicken it up. So basically, there are only 3 ingredients that you need to make a panna cotta. Then you top it with some fresh berries or sauce and you are done. Such an elegant dessert which gets done in no time.

To keep this dragon fruit panna cotta vegan, I used maple syrup to sweeten it up and agar agar flakes to set the dessert. You can find agar agar at grocery stores or amazon. You can find it either in powder form or as flakes. I have used flakes here and in case you do the same just make sure that it dissolves completely before you pour into serving containers to set.

This Vegan Dragon Fruit Panna Cotta

✓ is dairy-free, nut-free and gluten-free

✓ free of refined sugar

✓ gets done in less than 15 minutes (excluding the time it takes to set)

✓ makes a perfect dessert to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

I topped with vegan panna cotta with a dragon fruit topping. The pop of pink against the white really stood out and made it look like a very fancy dessert when in reality it couldn’t be simpler to make! In case you can’t find dragon fruit, you can use other fruits like strawberries or raspberries. The panna cotta will still look just as good & pink/red!

Method

To a pan on medium heat, add the coconut milk.

Then add the agar agar flakes and 3 tablespoons of maple syrup.

Stir to combine. Once the mixture heats up (do not boil), lower the heat to low-medium and let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes on until the agar agar flakes dissolve completely. Keep stirring often.

Remove pan from heat and pass the mixture through a strainer. This is important to get a smooth panna cotta. Pour the mixture into serving cups/glasses and let it cool down to room temperature. Place the glasses into the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours for the panna cotta to firm up.

Meanwhile make the dragon fruit sauce. To a pan on medium heat, add the chopped dragon fruit along with the remaining 2.5 tablespoons maple syrup.

Add 1/4 cup water to the pan and let the mixture come to a boil. Boil until the fruit breaks down and get really soft. Mash the dragon fruit using a masher.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup water with cornstarch. Stir well and then add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce.

Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes until it thickens up a bit.

Remove the sauce from heat and pass through a strainer to get rid of the black bits in the dragon fruit. You will have a smooth sauce. Place the sauce into the refrigerator to chill.

Pour the prepared dragon fruit sauce over the panna cotta once it has set. Serve this vegan dragon fruit panna cotta chilled.

 

Vegan Dragon Fruit Panna Cotta

5 from 3 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Dairy-free & Vegan Dragon Fruit Panna Cotta is an elegant dessert to put together for Valentine's Day! It's free of refined sugar and gets done in minutes!

Ingredients 

  • 13.6 oz can coconut milk around 2 cups, use full fat
  • 5.5 tablespoons maple syrup divided
  • 2 teaspoons agar agar flakes
  • 1 cup chopped dragon fruit
  • 1/2 cup water divided
  • 1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Instructions 

  • To a pan on medium heat, add the coconut milk. Then add the agar agar flakes and 3 tablespoons of maple syrup and stir to combine. 
  • Once the mixture heats up (do not boil), lower the heat to low-medium and let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes on until the agar agar flakes dissolve completely. Keep stirring often.
  • Remove pan from heat and pass the mixture through a strainer. This is important to get a smooth panna cotta. 
  • Pour the mixture into serving cups/glasses and let it cool down to room temperature. Place the glasses into the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours for the panna cotta to firm up.
  • Meanwhile make the dragon fruit sauce. To a pan on medium heat, add the chopped dragon fruit along with the remaining 2.5 tablespoons maple syrup.
  • Add 1/4 cup water to the pan and let the mixture come to a boil. Boil until the fruit breaks down and get really soft. Mash the dragon fruit using a masher.
  • In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup water with cornstarch. Stir well and then add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce.
  • Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes until it thickens up a bit.
  • Remove the sauce from heat and pass through a strainer to get rid of the black bits in the dragon fruit. You will have a smooth sauce. Place the sauce into the refrigerator to chill.
  • Pour the prepared dragon fruit sauce over the panna cotta once it has set. Serve chilled.

Notes

In case you can't find dragon fruit, you may use strawberries or raspberries in place.

Nutrition

Calories: 564kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 41g, Saturated Fat: 36g, Sodium: 63mg, Potassium: 547mg, Sugar: 36g, Vitamin C: 1.9mg, Calcium: 95mg, Iron: 7.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Your feedback is valuable!Please share your comments, ratings, and any suggestions or adaptations below to help us improve and make our recipes more successful.

Vegan Dragon Fruit Panna Cotta


Hi, I’m Manali!

Bringing you easy, delicious vegetarian & vegan recipes! Eating veggies can be fun, you just need to get creative in the kitchen with the right set of ingredients!


5 from 3 votes (3 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




15 Comments

  1. Hello, how much agar-agar powder would you recommend using? I only have agar-agar powder and xanthum guym (so no looking to but more).
    Thanks

    1. probably use less agar agar powder- this is what I found online “if the recipe calls for 3 teaspoons agar flakes, use 1 teaspoon agar powder”.
      So based on that use a little more than 1/2 teaspoon powder for this recipe.

  2. As you have mentioned above, instead of coconut milk you can use Heavy cream. But do I need to add milk to the cream or just use heavy cream in replacement of coconut milk?

    1. panna cotta needs creamy base. If you don’t want to use coconut milk, use heavy cream. Normal milk (only) will not be creamy enough.

  3. Hi Manali ,this pannacota looks awesome .I’m definitely gonna try it .can I use honey instead of maple syrup ?suggest me other healthy sweetener options.

  4. OMG!! Such a beautiful looking dessert!! Love the colour. i can just keep looking it at. I am sure it tasted great too.