This is a quick mango panna cotta recipe. This tasty Italian dessert is perfect for dinner parties, picnics or family gatherings. It’s one of the easiest make-ahead desserts to make!
Who doesn’t like quick and easy recipes, right? This mango panna cotta itself is literally ready in no time. It only takes minutes to make and everyone can do it!
What is panna cotta?
It’s an Italian dessert made with cooked heavy cream.
Does panna cotta contain gelatin?
Yes, it does. Without gelatin the cream would not set.
Can panna cotta be made the day before?
Absolutely! It keeps well in the fridge. Also, you can divide the prep into 2 days. Make the panna cotta on day 1 and finish it off with mango sauce on day 2.
If you are looking for more individual dessert recipes or similar ones to this mango panna cotta recipe, I have some ideas for you:
- Raspberry Oreo Nutella Parfaits
- Chocolate Mango Cheesecake Parfaits
- Chocolate Nutella Mousse with Strawberries
How to make mango panna cotta
Get a small sauce pan and pour in heavy cream, milk and sugar. On low heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved and until the cream is hot. Do not boil. Just turn off the heat, stir in vanilla essence and let it cool slightly.
To bloom the gelatin, I sprinkled one packet over 3 tablespoons of water, stirred it and let it sit for 5 minutes. I did exactly what the package instructions said, and I suggest you follow your package’s instructions.
Then you add the bloomed gelatin to the slightly cooled cream and stir for about a minute or until it has dissolved.
Pour into small glasses and refrigerate until set (at least 2 hours).
Mango panna cotta wouldn’t be complete without the mango sauce so here is how it’s made:
Process mango, lemon juice and sugar in a food processor until smooth. Add this to a sauce pan and heat it up. Stir in butter and turn off the heat.
I recommend giving it a taste at this stage. If you prefer more sugar, stir it in. If not, you can add more lemon juice or just leave it as is.
Tips for making mango panna cotta
- I am not always lucky with picking the perfect fresh mango so my freezer is always full of frozen mango chunks that I can buy at our local store. They are perfect for smoothies (if you haven’t tried Mango Kale Smoothie, I urge you to give it a go! It’s so tasty!). Now it does not really matter whether you use fresh or frozen pieces!
- To make the mango sauce creamier I added a knob of butter to it and for that reason I also heated it up so it could melt. Now if you don’t want to use butter, you don’t have to heat the sauce up.
- Vanilla essence makes everything tastier but you can omit it if you don’t have it on hand. Or try using vanilla sugar instead (if you do, remember to reduce the amount of granulated sugar).
- Mango sauce can be substituted with any other sauce (strawberry, raspberry, chocolate, lemon curd …).
Mango Panna Cotta
Ingredients
For the Panna Cotta
- 1 cup Heavy Cream the whole package
- ½ cup Whole Milk (120ml)
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar (75g)
- ½ tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1 packet Gelatin
For the mango sauce:
- 2 cups Frozen Mango Chunks , thawed
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- ½ Lemon , juice only
- A knob of Butter , optional
Instructions
- Pour heavy cream, milk and sugar into a small sauce pan. On low heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved and the cream is hot. Do not boil! Turn off the heat and stir vanilla essence it. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Bloom the gelatin following the package instructions.
- Add the bloomed gelatin to the cooled cream mixture and stir until completely dissolved.
- Pour the mixture into small glasses (leave space for mango sauce) and refrigerate until the panna cotta has set (at least 2 hours).
- For the mango sauce, process thawed mango pieces, lemon juice and sugar in a food processor until smooth. Taste it. Add more sugar or lemon, if needed.
- You can pour this over the set panna cotta or pour it into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Stir in butter for a creamier texture. Let cool down and then pour over panna cotta.
Notes
- Milk can be substituted with half and half.
- Either heavy or whipping cream can be used.
- Frozen mango can be substituted with fresh one.
- This recipe yields 5-6 portions when served in 4oz/120ml glasses.
Jennifer says
23/02/2019 at 15:56I love panna cotta. I’ve only had strawberry before but I bet the mango version tastes amazing!
David says
23/02/2019 at 16:10great looking dessert! and we love mango flavors here.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
26/02/2019 at 08:35Thanks, David!
Mary says
23/02/2019 at 17:15I love panna cotta! I love the layered look of this one with the mango sauce!
Noel Lizotte says
23/02/2019 at 18:59So pretty! What a great dessert to serve after a fancy dinner … elegant and yet easy to make, light but full of flavor. I’m going to give this recipe a try soon!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
26/02/2019 at 08:34That’s good to hear!
Bhawana says
23/02/2019 at 20:13wow I love pannacotta, I am drooling over this mango pannacotta over and over again. love your photos with pouring mango puree. Bookmarking this page to make some.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
26/02/2019 at 08:34Thank you!
Natalie says
24/02/2019 at 07:13Looks so delicious! I love mango desserts and this one is so pretty ♥
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
26/02/2019 at 08:32Thank you, Natalie! :)