This strawberry panna cotta recipe is so creamy and delicious! No one will even notice that it’s dairy-free and refined sugar-free!
Healthy homemade panna cotta
Homemade panna cotta is one indulgence that fits the bill whenever I’m craving something decadent. Offering up spoonfuls of silky sweetness at the end of a meal, this Italian dessert, a gelled cream dream, has long been one of my favorites. Panna cotta is incredible all by itself, but a dollop of tangy strawberry sauce makes it truly special. And what better topping than the classic combination of fresh strawberries and balsamic vinegar?
Tips for the best strawberry panna cotta
This recipe calls for just a handful of ingredients, but the quality and ratio of the components are critical to a good panna cotta. Let me be painfully frank: Too many people are making mediocre panna cotta. Some of the offenses I’ve seen? Overly sweet custards or toppings, poor quality cream/nut milk, and incompatible and overpowering toppings.
But the worst infraction of all? Adding too much gelatin. Yes, gelatin’s important for gut and joint health — but I’d much rather down a mug of steaming bone broth rather than chew on rubbery, over-gelatinized panna cotta. Pro tip: If you can hold a bowl of panna cotta upside down over your head with nary a care about messing up your beautifully coiffed head of hair, you used too much gelatin in your dessert. (Or you’re a total slob. Or both.)
Made properly, a panna cotta should be fragile and quivery in texture. This creamy dessert should collapse in on itself when you pierce the surface with your spoon, allowing the fruity sauce and slippery custard to mix and marry.
Ingredients
For the panna cotta
- Powdered gelatin: If you aren’t using my homemade almond milk, you may need to increase the amount up to 2 teaspoon. Also, make sure you use gelatin instead of collagen peptides!
- Homemade vanilla almond milk: To keep this dessert dairy-free, I use homemade almond milk in place of cow milk or heavy cream. Store-bought also works but find the best tasting one, like Three Trees Brand. You can also sub another dairy-free milk if you prefer.
- Maple syrup: Choose grade A dark robust maple syrup (formerly known as grade B maple syrup)
- Freshly ground nutmeg
- Sea salt
For the strawberry sauce
- Balsamic vinegar: You don’t have to buy the really expensive stuff for this recipe because you will be cooking it down until it is thick and syrup-y.
- Fresh strawberries: I prefer using fresh strawberries, but you can definitely use frozen if you prefer. No strawberries? Raspberries or cherries also work!
- Honey
- Fresh lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
How to make strawberry panna cotta
Place two tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin on the surface, and let it bloom and rehydrate.
It’ll take 5 to 10 minutes for the gelatin to soften and absorb the water.
While you’re waiting for the gelatin to bloom, grab a large measuring cup and add the almond milk…
…maple syrup…
…nutmeg…
…and salt.
Whisk to combine.
Pour the sweetened milk into a small saucepan, and warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
When the milk is steaming hot (but not boiling), remove the pan from the heat.
Add a couple of tablespoons of the heated milk to the gelatin…
…and whisk until the gelatin mixture is completely dissolved.
Pour the gelatin into the milk mixture and stir well to combine. If you make sure there are no lumps, you don’t need to pour the panna cotta base through a fine mesh sieve.
Place four six-ounce ramekins or teacups onto a small rimmed baking tray. Ladle the milk into the containers.
You can also pour the milk into little mason jars.
Allow the cups to cool to room temperature, and then cover the ramekins with plastic wrap.
Place the tray in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 4 days.
Now, let’s turn to the topping: strawberry balsamic compote!
Heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over high heat until it starts to boil.
When it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to medium and simmer the vinegar until the volume is reduced by half.
It should be thick and syrupy when you draw a spatula through it.
While the vinegar simmers on the burner, slice up the strawberries.
When the balsamic vinegar is reduced, add the strawberries to the saucepan…
…along with the honey, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt.
Simmer the fruity mixture over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until the strawberries break down.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, and use an immersion blender to puree some of the sauce. I like my compote chunky, so I leave some of the berries intact, but you can continue blending away if you prefer a smooth sauce.
Store the pureed strawberries in the fridge in a sealed container for up to a week.
When you’re ready to serve the panna cotta, top each cup with a heaping spoonful of the berry sauce. (Don’t bother trying to invert the molds or jars — just serve the panna cottas to your guests in the individual servings! No fuss and no mess!)
Trust me: you’ll wish you made more.
More healthy strawberry dessert recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Strawberry Panna Cotta
Ingredients
For the panna cotta
- 1¼ teaspoons powdered gelatin if you aren’t using my homemade almond milk, you may need to increase the amount up to 2 teaspoons
- 2 cups homemade vanilla almond milk
- 2 tablespoons grade A dark robust maple syrup formerly called grade B maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For the strawberry balsamic sauce (makes 1⅓ cups)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups hulled strawberries thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place two tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin on the surface, and let it bloom and rehydrate. It’ll take 5 to 10 minutes for the gelatin to soften and absorb the water.
- While you’re waiting for the gelatin to bloom, grab a large measuring cup and add the almond milk, maple syrup, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the sweetened milk into a small saucepan, and warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the milk is steaming hot (but not boiling), remove the pan from the heat.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of the heated milk to the gelatin, and whisk until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour the gelatin into the milk mixture and stir well to combine.
- Place four six-ounce ramekins, teacups, or mini jars onto a small rimmed baking tray. Ladle the milk into the containers.
- Allow the cups to cool to room temperature, and then cover the ramekins with plastic wrap. Place the tray in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 4 days.
- Now, let’s turn to the topping: strawberry balsamic compote! Heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over high heat.
- When it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to medium and simmer the vinegar until the volume is reduced by half. It should be thick and syrupy when you draw a spatula through it.
- While the vinegar simmers on the burner, slice up the strawberries.
- When the balsamic vinegar is reduced, add the strawberries to the saucepan, along with the honey, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Simmer the fruity mixture over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until the strawberries break down.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, and use an immersion blender to purée some of the sauce. I like my compote chunky, so I leave some of the berries intact, but you can continue blending away if you prefer a smooth sauce. (Store the compote in the fridge in a sealed container for up to a week.)
- When you’re ready to serve the panna cotta, top each cup with a heaping spoonful of the berry sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Any chance this could be made with coconut milk? I’m on AIP elimination phase and can’t have almonds (yet, hopefully one day).
It should work! Also, you can try another non-dairy milk as well.
Thanks! Michelle — Please ignore my question. I couldn’t find the comments section this morning 🙁
would store bought almond milk work? also, unsweetened?
Thanks
Yes! Use the best tasting one you can find, with minimal ingredients.
Would frozen strawberries work? It’s not really berry season but would love to showcase for thanksgiving 🤗
Yes! They’ll break down even faster than fresh!
Thanks for the recipe! They were delicious 😋
I Ended up using frozen strawberries with no problem and only had macadamia milk on hand and it set up perfectly! Most of the fresh ground nutmeg fell to the bottom of the jar but it still tasted yummer!
Next time I’d like to try whole fat canned coconut milk… ever tried it before? I’d love to see if I can get a thicker creamier consistency.
I tried this! So good. I used full-fat coconut milk and it turned out quite well.
Could this recipe be made with coconut milk? If so, it could easily be adapted to an AIP diet.
Coconut milk would work.