Pomegranate Panna Cotta (dairy-free, paleo)
34 Comments
Updated Aug 06, 2023
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A gorgeous pomegranate panna cotta that’s dairy-free, super easy, make-ahead friendly and perfect for the holidays.
Happy December friends! Can you believe we only have three weeks to go until Christmas? The weather is cooling, holiday present buying is in full swing and jolly old Santa will be here before you know it. I’ve got about half of my Christmas shopping done…and fingers crossed I’ll finish the rest next week. Then, I can sit back, relax and start making some fun holiday food gifts.
I plan to wrap up stacks of my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies with holiday ribbon and fill little tulip Weck jars (like those used here) with mini portions of my homemade nutella and strawberry chia seed jam. There’s just something loving and personal about homemade food gifts, don’t you think?
I whipped up this pomegranate panna cotta for Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago and it was a hit. Driving a couple of hours to Orange County meant that I needed some “stable” dessert options. And guess what? Panna cotta can jiggle all it wants in Los Angeles holiday traffic and still look fab on the receiving end. Win! So in addition to my pumpkin pie recipe I whipped up these perfectly portioned jars of pomegranate panna cotta.
The base is similar to the nectarine panna cotta with roasted plums I made last year (without the nectarine of course), but is topped with a jelly pomegranate layer and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds. It’s sweet, creamy and delicious. But to be honest, I just love how they look in these little jars. Like little cheerful, edible presents.
The panna cotta has a distinct coconut flavor which pairs beautifully with the pomegranate, thanks to the coconut milk (keeping it dairy-free). I also use my fave gut-healthy gelatin to firm it up. For the pomegranate layer I used organic pomegranate juice, which I find is not quite as bright as mainstream pomegranate juice. Have you noticed that? It’s much darker, but hey that’s okay. I’ll take quality any day of the week. And then there’s just a sprinkle of pomegranate arils on top.
The portions listed on the recipe below make 3 medium or 4 small portions. Though, I doubled this recipe and made the 6 portions you see here in the photos. Once you’re all done, you’ll have a dessert that’s super easy, beautiful and make-ahead friendly.
Have leftover pomegranates? Whip up my festive Pomegranate Guacamole recipe or Pear, Pomegranate and Maple Crumble.
Pomegranate Panna Cotta (dairy-free, paleo)
Description
Ingredients
Panna Cotta
- 13.5 oz coconut milk
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp gelatin
- 2 tbsp water
Pomegranate Jelly
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1.5 tsp gelatin
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
- pomegranate arils to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- To make the panna cotta, place the water in a small dish. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and allow it to bloom for 5 minutes.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add the coconut milk and honey. Stir until simmering and the honey has dissolved. Reduce the heat to low, add the vanilla extract and bloomed gelatin and whisk for several minutes, until all the gelatin has dissolved.
- Pour the panna cotta into small jars or ramekins and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- After the panna cotta has chilled, dissolve the gelatin in 1/4 cup of boiling water and stir. I do this in a glass measuring cup. Add the pomegranate juice, stir and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour the pomegranate juice on top of the panna cotta and chill for another two hours. Once the pomegranate jelly has firmed up, top with pomegranate arils.
Nutrition
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Hi-
It turned out almost perfect, however my coconut milk separated, leaving a .25 ” hard texture on top of the coconut milk….
FYI, I did make the night before, wondering if I would have eaten right at the 4 hour mark, it would not have separated?
This was my first time having panna cotta and I enjoyed it. It was easy to make but did need a few hours in between steps. Next time I might add more honey and double the pomegranate portion just as a personal preference. Thanks, Lisa!
I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Hi – it looks delicious but is there a way to make it vegetarian?
Thanks!
You could swap the gelatin with agar agar.
My whole family loves pomegranates and thought using them in this panna cotta was so fun! And delicious!
This is a very fancy look panna cotta :) I really love the flavor! Yum!
What a stunning presentation! This dessert is perfect for the holidays. Pinning so I’ll have it for later.
Hi Lisa, could I substitute the honey or maple syrup with stevia (or something like that)? I’m on keto so honey/maply syrup is off limits.
Yes, absolutely!
Do you think you could make this with a nut milk?
Yes, though you may need a little more gelatin as nut milks tend to be a little thinner than full-fat coconut milk. Let me know how it turns out!
I’m afraid that gelatin is neither vegan or vegetarian. Gelatin is derived from collagen obtained from various animal parts. You may want to offer a substitution in the recipe to truly make it vegan/vegetarian.
Hi Robyn – I don’t believe I say it is vegan or vegetarian, just dairy-free and paleo.
Ahh, just saw it was mis-tagged for the categories. I’ve now fixed. Thank you! :)
I was going to hunt for the perfect dessert to feed my guests tomorrow and I may not need to look any further!! I’ve never made anything like this with coconut milk so my only concern is the flavour of it. Would dairy-eating people still enjoy this?
My mom eats dairy and she loved it! It just tastes like a creamy coconut panna cotta. So as long as your guests like coconut, you’ll be good! But you could always make this with dairy-milk as well. :)
I fed it to my guests and husband and it was ok. I personally didn’t enjoy it. Nobody seemed enthralled with it. I’ve never had panna cotta, but it wasn’t as creamy as I thought it would be. It was more like jello. The Pom juice didn’t shine through on the topping…not sure what to do about that. It’s just not my thing!
After you mentioned jello (which, it shouldn’t be as firm as that) I just double checked the ingredients and realized I accidentally listed 1.5 tbsp instead of 1.5 tsp of gelatin – so sorry! That would’ve definitely made it jello-like. I’ve just fixed it. Panna cotta is normally the consistency of flan, so it definitely should have been creamier. My apologies again. :)
Oh ok! That makes more sense. I could definitely see the texture improving with that adjustment. I’m still not in love with the coconut milk because I usually have it in recipes where it’s not the ‘star’. The top layer was also very rubbery, so I would probably reduce the gelatin there as well if I were to give it another go.
Thanks!
Hi Lisa! Is there anything you think you could sub the gelatine with? Would agar agar work?! Irish Moss maybe? :)
You could definitely use agar agar as well, no problem! :)
Thanks Lisa, Ill give it a try- looks divine :)
I’m in love with pomegranates AND gelatin, so this is really exciting!! :)
Yay – love to hear that!
Um. Okay. OMG. I’m SO going to make this. Like. Tomorrow. After I finish making my snow people. One craft at a time. OMG. Pomegranate Panna Cotta…. OMG…
Ha – so glad you like it! And happy to hear this recipe ranks up there with snow people! ;) x
I LOVE pomegranates! & once I figured out how to actually (intelligently) get into them? Oh! Game on!
Your photos are absolutely gorgeous, Lisa! :)
Aww, thanks so much Sarah. That means a lot! :) x
Oh yes! I want to dive into one of these!
Now that’s a response I love to hear! ;) x
Homemade gifts are definitely special. This panna cotta is simply stunning!
Thanks so much Liz! Gotta love stunning desserts that are also super easy. ;) x