This mango panna cotta is creamy, smooth and full of tropical mango flavour. It has the perfect velvety texture and the classic panna cotta wobble. Light yet rich and it’s perfectly delicate and lovely.

Panna cotta is one of those amazing recipes, that looks elegant and a little bit fancy but takes very little time or effort to make. For this recipe, I use fresh ripe mangoes but frozen mango will work too, which means you can have this little pot of sunshine any time of year.

While mango is perfectly delicious on it’s own, it’s also lovely turned into special treats like this mango mousse or this mango coconut crumble. You can even create this gorgeous, buttery mango curd.

A glass ramekin filled with mango panna cotta, ready to eat.

Table of contents

Ingredients

Just 6 simple ingredients are all you need and one of them is water!

Ingredients for mango pannacotta on a marble surface.

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

  • Mango: I prefer to use ripe fresh mangoes at their peak and you’ll get the most intense flavour that way, however, mangoes right at the start of the season and even frozen mango will work in this. The flavour may be slightly milder but still lovely. There is a lot of mango puree packed into this little dessert so that it’s not overshadowed by cream.
  • Cream: You’ll want thickened cream or heavy cream for this. Even whipping cream (unwhipped) will work here. You just want a full fat (35% milk fat), pourable cream.
  • Gelatine powder: Powdered gelatin is what I always use in set desserts, so I can’t tell you how many or the type of gelatine leaves to use. Agar agar is great if you want a vegetarian option but it does require a different process than using gelatine.
  • Sugar: I use caster sugar (superfine sugar) simply because it dissolves quickly but regular white granulated sugar works too.
  • Vanilla: Just a little pure vanilla extract adds a warmth to the dessert and actually intensifies the mango flavour.

How to make mango panna cotta

This mango pannacotta is a delicious little mango pudding and truly so simple to make. You just need to gently dissolve gelatine and sugar into water, then combine the remaining ingredients and pour it into ramekins. It takes 10 minutes! The hardest part is waiting for it to set while it chills for a few hours.

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

1. Dissolve the gelatine

Sprinkle the gelatine powder over water in a small saucepan and just let it sit for 3 minutes to soften (it’ll look all wrinkly by the end). Place the pot over low-medium heat and stir until the gelatine dissolves. This should only take a minute or so and using a silicone spatula here makes it very easy. Don’t let it come to a bubble – it should barely even be hot once it’s done.

Gelatine softened on top of water in a saucepan.

2. Add the sugar

Now stir the sugar into the gelatine mixture and continue stirring over medium-low heat until dissolved. Again, don’t let this boil as it will affect the efficacy of your gelatine.

Stirring sugar into the water.

3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients

Now, stir in the mango puree, cream and vanilla extract until smooth and combined. I use a whisk to do this but you don’t want to whisk air into the mixture, just gently whisk to combine.

Whisking mango and cream into the water mixture.

4. Portion and set

Finally, a huge less than 10 minutes later, pour the panna cotta mixture into your ramekins or whatever little dishes or jars you want to set your panna cotta in.

Top down view of 4 glass ramekins filled with mango panna cotta.

What panna cotta moulds to use?

You can use just about anything to serve your panna cotta in. I use these glass ramekins for my tropical take on this Italian dessert, but regular ceramic ramekins or small bowls are fine too. Any shape will work, but keep them to around the ¾ cup size if you want to make 4 serves or smaller for smaller serves. If the dishes are too large, the panna cotta will just be a thin layer in the bottom.

You can also serve panna cotta family-style or sharing-style by pouring the mixture into a quiche dish or pie dish like this strawberry panna cotta and let people scoop their own into small dessert dishes.

If you want to turn your panna cotta out onto dessert plates once set, make sure you begin by very lightly greasing you moulds with oil. You only want the thinnest of layers, certainly not enough for it to drip and pool at the bottom.

A spoon taking a scoop of mango panna cotta out of a dish.

Tips and tricks

The biggest tip to remember when making panna cotta with gelatine is not to let the gelatine mixture boil, or even bubble at any point. This can actually render the gelatine useless and it just won’t set.

On the other hand, if you use agar agar powder, you’ll only need half as much and you’ll want to bring that slowly up to a boil, then keep it at a boil for 1-2 minutes.

Plan ahead: Panna cotta is the perfect make-ahead dessert so plan ahead and you can make it 1-2 days in advance of serving. You don’t want to make it any further ahead than your cream carton says it’s best used by.

Storage

For ease of moving them around, I like to place the ramekins into a larger dish or baking tray in the refrigerator. Cover tightly with plastic wrap for up to 3 days if using fresh cream, or go by the instructions on your carton of cream (not the use-by date but the section that tells you how quickly to use after opening).

Top down view of panna cotta in a glass.

More panna cotta recipes you’ll love

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Top down view of mango panna cotta in a glass dish with a scoop taken out.

Mango Panna Cotta

Yield: 4 serves
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Chilling time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
5 from 4 ratings
Mango Panna Cotta is a delightful creamy, tropical treat. With just 6 ingredients and 10 minutes effort, it's so easy to make.
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Ingredients

  • ½ cup water (125ml)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons powdered gelatine
  • ¼ cup sugar (50g/1.8oz)
  • 1 ¼ cups mango purée (310ml), (notes 2)
  • ¾ cup thickened cream (heavy cream) (180ml)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • If you haven’t already, scoop the flesh from the mango and puree it in a blender. Set aside.
  • Pour the water into a small saucepan, then sprinkle the gelatine in an even layer over the top. Let it sit for 3 minutes to soften.
  • Place the saucepan over low heat and stir until the gelatine completely dissolves. Add the sugar and stir again until it dissolves. At no point should the water start to bubble or it may effect the efficacy of the gelatine.
  • Add the mango, cream and vanilla an stir well to combine fully.
  • Pour into your dessert glasses and chill for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days before serving.
  • Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.

Notes

  1. Yield: You’ll get about 2 ⅓ cups of mango panna cotta from this recipe. I usually serve just over ½ cup serves but you can make them slightly smaller too and get 6 serves.
  2. How much mango? You should be able to get enough puree from one very large mango. Make sure to use mango that is ripe and in season.
  3. Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
MORE PUDDINGS!
Calories: 254kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian, Tropical
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Nutrition information is approximate only and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use and any changes you make may cause variations.

Nutrition Facts
Mango Panna Cotta
Amount Per Serving
Calories 254 Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 50mg17%
Sodium 17mg1%
Potassium 177mg5%
Carbohydrates 26g9%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 25g28%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 1518IU30%
Vitamin C 29mg35%
Calcium 40mg4%
Iron 0.2mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.