The Best Panna Cotta Recipe (Easy, Foolproof!)

If you’ve always wondered how to make the BEST Classic Panna Cotta, this recipe is for you! This panna cotta recipe is easy, foolproof, and adaptable! It’s a simple, delicious, and an always impressive dessert, perfect for dinner parties or any occasion. This is the only panna cotta recipe you will need + many variations!

A classic vanilla panna cotta that is soft, perfectly sweet, and has an incredible creamy texture! And it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert.

I’ve shared several panna cotta recipes before such as this coconut panna cotta, matcha panna cotta, bubble milk tea panna cotta etc. But never a classic panna cotta recipe. Time to fix that. Here, I’m going to share how to make panna cotta. The perfect vanilla panna cotta dessert. This is the base recipe that every other panna cotta recipe is derived from.

If this is the first time you’re attempting to make classic vanilla panna cotta, I’m also sharing plenty of tips and tricks that should help you perfect this recipe, and even jazz it up!

What is panna cotta?

Panna Cotta is a dairy based, creamy, classic Italian dessert that is set with gelatin, and flavored with vanilla. This vanilla panna cotta is a custard-like dessert that should also taste like silky smooth deliciousness in other words. It’s usually made with a mixture of,

• milk
• cream
• sugar
• vanilla, and
• gelatin

You can also check my comprehensive post on types of custard for more information about set creams/custards such as panna cotta and others.

Panna cotta ingredients

You can change these ingredients to adapt your panna cotta recipe to create lots of different flavors. But the most important ingredients for any panna cotta recipe are,

• A high fat dairy or plant milk base (milk + cream, almond milk + coconut cream),
• Sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup etc.),
• Flavoring (vanilla, fruits, chocolate, tea, coffee etc.),
• Gelatin (powdered gelatin, leaf gelatin).

Here I wanted to make a classic panna cotta recipe that not only has perfect texture, but perfect flavor as well. So I use,

• Full cream milk (3% fat) or half and half (makes the panna cotta ultra creamy!).
• Raw honey (lends an incomparable floral fragrance and flavor).
• Vanilla bean paste (or vanilla beans).
• Powdered unflavored gelatin or gold leaf gelatin (I have tested this recipe with both, and either option works).
• Heavy cream (35% fat), aka whipping cream (not whipped cream).

How to make panna cotta (classic panna cotta recipe)

Bloom the gelatin - Pour some cold water into a small bowl, and sprinkle gelatin over it. Let the gelatin bloom for a few minutes. Alternatively, soak gelatin leaves in a bowl of water until softened.

Make the milk mixture - In a small saucepan, place the milk / half and half, honey, salt and vanilla. Heat over medium heat and stir the mixture until the honey and salt dissolve. The milk mixture should be steaming, but not boiling. Do NOT let it boil.

Add the gelatin - When the milk mixture is hot, remove from the heat, and add the bloomed gelatin mixture. If you’re using leaf gelatin, remove the softened gelatin leaves from the water bowl, and squeeze the gelatin leaves to get rid of excess water. Then place the squeezed, softened gelatin leaves in the hot milk mixture.

The gelatin will dissolve readily in the hot mixture. All you have to do is simply stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Stir in heavy cream - Once the gelatin is fully dissolved, stir in the heavy cream. This is the last step of the recipe to make the panna cotta mixture. This milk cream mixture is now ready to be poured into single serving dishes.

Portion and let it set - Pour the panna cotta mixture evenly into 6 serving dishes, let it cool down a bit to room temperature, then cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the panna cotta mixture sets.

I prefer to make it the day before I need it, and allow the panna cotta to set overnight.

Pro tip for serving this dessert

This easy panna cotta recipe can be made to be served in individual dishes, OR you can unmold and serve that way as well. It’s a fantastic make-ahead dessert.

If you’re hoping to unmold the panna cotta dessert, then make sure to use metal or silicone molds. These are easier to unmold. Just place the mold in mildly hot water for a few seconds, and then turn it over onto the serving dish.

Tap or lightly squeeze the mold to release the panna cotta. If needed, return the mold to warm water to help it release from the mold.

Serving suggestions

There are ENDLESS ways to serve this vanilla panna cotta recipe!

Here, I used a slightly sweetened berry gel, but you could use an easy berry sauce, or just serve them however you like! Here are some options,

• Fruit compote (like this passion fruit mango compote, and caramel apple compote)
• Fresh berries and other fresh fruit
• Fruit syrup (like passion fruit syrup, lychee syrup, lemon syrup, rhubarb syrup, blood orange syrup, pineapple syrup etc.)
• Fruit curds (like lemon curd, lime curd, pineapple curd, or passion fruit curd)
• Chocolate sauce
• Caramel sauce
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate shavings (from dark, milk or white chocolate)

This panna cotta recipe is firmly in my top three panna cotta versions. That wonderful flavor of honey shines through and complements the creaminess of the pudding. This panna cotta dessert is an easy yet impressive treat that is worthy of special occasions!

Easy ingredient substitutions and variations

• You can substitute the honey with sugar. The amount is indicated in the recipe card below. Honey adds deeper flavor however.
• Substitute the honey for brown sugar or maple syrup to add a different flavor profile.
• Caramelize the sugar, and use this sugar to make salted caramel panna cotta.
• Milk can be substituted with buttermilk for a tangy, creamy buttermilk panna cotta! This is one of my absolute favorite substitutions.
• You can also make this recipe dairy free by using almond milk and coconut cream (at least 20% fat content). See my recipe for refined sugar free coconut panna cotta.
• Infuse the milk with a flavor of your choice, like tea or coffee. I made an amazing boba milk tea panna cotta that infuses tea into the milk. You can also make a fabulous matcha tea panna cotta too.

Expert tips for making panna cotta

I’ve been making panna cotta for years. But it did take me a few of those years to perfect my panna cotta recipe.

• Some recipes call for cooked cream in the base mixture. I prefer not to cook the cream or boil the milk. Boiling the cream will create a skin on top of the panna cotta mixture as it cools down. That’s not very appetizing.
• A perfect panna cotta only has JUST ENOUGH gelatin to hold the cream mixture together. This means that the texture is really jiggly.
• Too much gelatin and the panna cotta has more of a jello-like consistency.
• Too little gelatin and the panna cotta won’t set properly and you got a recipe for disaster in your hands.
• With just the right amount of gelatin, this italian dessert is very jiggly, and a spoonful will instantly melt in your mouth, as if you were eating a luscious, creamy pudding. That my friends, is the perfect panna cotta, and that’s why this is the best vanilla panna cotta recipe.

Classic panna cotta ratio and using leaf gelatin

The ratio for this perfection is 3 cups (720 mL) of liquid (with an average fat content of 15 - 25%), set with 1 packet of powdered gelatin (about a 1/4 ounce).

I use powdered Knox gelatin that has a bloom strength of 225.

If you’re using leaf gelatin, I recommend using gold leaf gelatin which has a bloom strength of 200. Usually 1 packet of gelatin is = 4 - 5 gelatin leaves, but for this recipe, I find that 5 gelatin leaves made the panna cotta too stiff, and 4 leaves were the perfect amount to set the mixture.

Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting