This homemade Panna Cotta looks and tastes like a fancy dessert, but is quick and easy to make. I’ve included instructions on serving them either in cups or unmolded from a ramekin.
The fresh berry sauce comes together in minutes and makes every creamy spoonful perfectly sweet and tangy. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.
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We love these mini desserts for parties! Some of our favorites include Mini Cheesecakes, Creme Brulee, Eton Mess, and Pavlova. They are all so elegant and surprisingly simple to make.
Panna Cotta Recipe
After ordering Panna Cotta for dessert at a restaurant in Portland Oregon (a major foodie scene), I was in love and was determined to recreate it. At the restaurant, one serving was $8, but you can make 6 to 8 for that same price and I prefer this homemade version with the fresh berry sauce even more.
The best part is that Panna Cotta only takes about 20 min to make before refrigerating. While it is usually removed from the ramekin it is shaped in, I usually take the less fussy route and serve it in wine glasses, or repurpose those glass yogurt cups for a larger gathering (think: baby shower, bridal shower, church potluck, etc.).
Panna Cotta with Berry Sauce Video
Watch Natasha make this Panna Cotta. With just a few simple ingredients and minimal effort, you can create a dessert that looks and tastes like it came straight from a fancy restaurant. It’s the perfect finale for any meal.
What is Panna Cotta?
Panna Cotta is a classic Italian jello/pudding-like dessert that translates to “cooked cream” in English. This creamy custard-like dessert is made by simmering together cream, milk, sugar, and gelatin. After being mixed with sour cream and flavored with vanilla, the mixture is poured into molds and chilled until set. It has an incredibly smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture like nothing else you’ve tasted.
Ingredients
The key to making great Panna Cotta is the perfect balance of the creamy yet firm texture. For the recipe to set properly, be sure to use the ingredients listed and avoid low-fat or fat-free substitutions.
- Heavy whipping cream – provides a rich, creamy base
- Milk – using whole milk adds a lighter texture to the cream mixture
- Sour cream – contributes a tangy flavor profile to the recipe. This is our secret ingredient and once you try it, you won’t want it any other way.
- Unflavored Gelatin – acts as a setting agent, giving the Panna Cotta its firm yet delicate structure. We use Knox brand unflavored original.
- Sugar – adds sweetness and texture to help stabilize the ingredients
- Vanilla – use real vanilla extract to infuse the cream with aromatic flavor
- Salt – enhances the flavors of the other ingredients, providing balance and contrast, and amplifies the sweet and rich flavors
Topping Variations
Panna Cotta can be served with various toppings to add both flavor and beauty to this elegant dessert. Its simplicity and versatility have made Panna Cotta a beloved dessert around the world. We love the vibrant red berry sauce because it ends up in every spoonful, but you can also top it with:
- Fresh fruit (berries, sliced cherries, peaches, mango)
- Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate Ganache or chocolate shavings
- Citrus zest (lemon, lime, orange)
- Nuts (sliced almonds, chopped hazelnuts, or pecans)
- Cookie crumbles (Oreos, ginger snaps, or almond biscotti)
The possibilities are endless, and each time you make it is an opportunity to switch it up and fall in love all over again.
Pro Tip:
Avoid using pineapple as a topping, as the natural enzyme bromelain found in it can hinder the gelatin from properly setting.
How to Make Panna Cotta
- Prepare Gelatin – In a medium saucepan, add the milk and sprinkle the gelatin powder over the top. Let stand, away from heat, for 3-5 min until gelatin is softened. Set the pan over medium-low heat and whisk until gelatin dissolves (about 4-5 min – do not boil).
- Mix – Pour heavy whipping cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt into the gelatin mixture. Continue stirring until sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is steaming (do not boil). Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Combine and Chill – Add sour cream to a medium bowl with a pouring lip. Whisking constantly, slowly add warm cream. Once the mixture is completely smooth, strain through a sieve if desired, then quickly divide the mixture between 8 ramekins or glassware. Refrigerate until fully set (4 to 6 hours).
- Serve – Once the flan has set, serve in ramekins or see our tips below to unmold. Spoon our berry sauce over the top and garnish with a mint or basil leaf, or add toppings of choice.
Pro Tip:
To ensure a smooth and velvety texture in the finished dessert, strain the mixture through a fine sieve before pouring it into molds to remove air bubbles, lumps, or undissolved particles (vanilla seeds, undissolved gelatin, etc.). This step is optional but using a fine strainer helps to achieve a flawless finish.
How to Make the Berry Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine half of the fresh strawberries and raspberries, lemon juice, and sugar. Bring to a low boil and cook until syrupy.
- Stir in the remaining fresh berries and remove from heat. Cool to room temperature, then spoon the mixture over the chilled Panna Cottas.
How to Turn Out Panna Cotta
The biggest difference between pudding and Panna Cotta is that Panna Cotta maintains its shape, thanks to the addition of gelatin. While you can serve it directly in the glass or ramekin, consider elegantly turning it out onto a serving dish for a stunning presentation.
If you would like to un-mold your Panna Cotta onto a serving dish, follow these steps to avoid cracking:
- Dip ramekins in a small bowl of hot water for 5-10 seconds, making sure not to allow water into the panna cotta dish. Quickly wipe the bottom of the ramekin.
- Run a knife around the edge of the ramekin to release the Panna Cotta from the dish.
- Invert the ramekin over a dessert plate, tap the side of the ramekin, and lift the dish away from the set Panna Cotta.
Pro Tip:
Don’t cheat the chilling time. Patience is key when it comes to chilling Panna Cotta. Rushing the process may result in an unset gelatin, and the dessert may not retain its shape when unmolding.
Make-Ahead
Panna Cotta can be made several days in advance so it is perfect for entertaining!
- To Refrigerate: Tightly cover with plastic wrap for up to 3 days. Add the berry sauce or garnish just before serving.
- Freezing: Freezing is not recommended as it can alter the creamy texture and consistency.
Make this Panna Cotta for someone you love. The incredible flavor and texture are a memorable treat!
More Easy Dessert Recipes
If you love this quick and easy Panna Cotta recipe, then you won’t want to miss these other easy dessert recipes. These tasty, simple-to-make, crowd-pleasers would be great for your next party!
Easy Panna Cotta Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for Panna Cotta:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin, (1 packet Knox gelatin)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
Ingredients for Berry Sauce:
- 2 cups berries, divided (1 cup raspberries and 1 cup quartered strawberries)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
How to Make Panna Cotta:
- Off the heat, place 1 cup milk in a medium saucepan and sprinkle the top with 1 packet gelatin. Let stand 3-5 min or until gelatin is softened. Place pan over medium/low heat and stir until gelatin dissolves and mixture is steaming, about 4-5 min (do not boil).
- Add 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Continue stirring for about 5 min until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is steaming (do not boil). Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Place sour cream in a medium bowl with a pouring lip. Whisking constantly, gradually add warm cream. Once the mixture is completely smooth, strain through a fine mesh sieve if desired, then quickly divide it into 6 glass cups or 8 ramekins. Refrigerate until fully set; 4 to 6 hours.
How to Make Berry Sauce:
- In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup berries, 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to a low boil and cook for 4-5 min or until syrupy.
- Stir in remaining 1 cup of fresh berries and remove from heat. When the syrup is at room temp or just barely warm, spoon it over the top of chilled panna cottas.
Notes
Dip ramekins in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 seconds, making sure not to get hot water into the panna cotta dish. Quickly wipe the bottom of the ramekin.
Run a knife around the edge of the ramekin to break the seal from the dish.
Invert the ramekin over a serving dish. Tap the ramekin and lift the dish away from the set Panna Cotta.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Hi Natasha. Quick question. Can I make this is a deep bowl. Almost like a trifle. My bowl is 3.3 qts. Or do I need to double the recipe in order to do this?
Hi Vicky, I think that will work in a 3.3 Qt trifle-like dish. You might scale the recipe up if you want it to be a thicker or to serve more people, but I think it would work as is in a 3.3 Qt. bowl.
Are the berries fresh or can you use frozen ones?
If you only use frozen berries, they won’t keep their form as well in the end since you aren’t stirring in fresh berries at the end. The sauce will still work with frozen. 🙂
Very easy to make and it turned out amazing! Was a great hit.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Perfect recipe, and 5 star yummy. Thank you for sharing
My pleasure Clint! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
hi Natasha. I made your Panna Cotta Berry dessert and the mixture did not set. I have looked up gelatin ratios and one sachet will set 2 cups of liquid. Your recipe has 4 cups of milk / creams yet you suggest one sachet of gelatin…..not enough!
OR is the amount badly stated and I needed one sachet AND 2.5 tspns of gelatin.
I was disappointed !
Hi Annette, it is meant to read as: 1 packet or 2 1/2 teaspoons of gelatin. When we transferred to the new recipe card format, some of the parenthesis dissapeared, so it should say 1 packet (2 1/2 tsp). So sorry about that! Try measuring out your packet to see if it equates to the same size of 2 1/2 tsp. I wonder if maybe your packet was a smaller size? The proportions with the sour cream included are correct for the panna cotta to set. Also, if you are comparing to other recipes, this recipe has 2 cups of HEAVY cream and 1 cup WHOLE milk and not 4 cups of milk – did you possibly mis-read or mis-measure that?
Hi Natasha! I am going to make this recipe for a school project. Once we put the syrup onto the panna cottas, would it be ok to refrigerate again?Would it still taste the same?
Hi Madelyn, yes that will work great, just cover with a thin film of plastic wrap and refrigerate after adding the topping. keep refrigerated until ready to serve. I hope you love the recipe! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
We all at family loved this, infact had a second serving.
But I think my cream didn’t set as good as your yours, I am not sure though. It was of yoghurt consistency. Is that the consistency it is supposed to be?
We don’t get heavy whipping cream here. I used whipping cream. Rest everything was as it is.
Thank you so much for this recipe.
Hi Sanny, regular whipping cream is lighter and doesn’t set up as well as heavy whipping cream so that may have been the culprit. Also make sure you give it ample opportunity to set in the fridge. Maybe a little more refrigeration would help if the cream was substituted.
Thanks for replying me Natasha.
I had refrigerated for overnight. So I think the cream I used was culprit. But still it was so good. I am going to make it again.
Silly question, can this recipe be doubled or tripled? I am cooking for 18-24 and would love to do this for our Italian based luncheon. I would probably divide the panna cotta into smaller plastic cups.
Thx!
Hi Melanie, I do think this would work fine to double the recipe. It will take a little longer to bring the mixture to the steaming point. I hope you LOVE it!
Hi Natasha! I was asked to make a large portion of this for a wedding. 80 mini cups. How many days ahead of time could I make this? & any advice on the best way to make this into a huge portion?
Hi Margarita! You can make the cream portion 3 to 5 days in advance, just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. I would make and add the berry topping the same day you are serving them for best results 🙂
Hi Natasha! First of all, my mom and I absolutely love your videos. In the past month, my mom has made so many of your recipes, and they were all excellent!!! We made this recipe recently (a large one rather than multiple small ones) and everyone was obsessed with it! We’re trying to eat less sugar, and were wondering if we could replace the sugar with maple syrup in this recipe. We are so happy that we found your channel!
Hi Jasmine! Welcome to my blog! I’m so happy to hear you and your Mom are enjoying our recipes and videos 🙂 Thank you for that amazing review!! I haven’t tried this recipe with maple syrup so I am not sure how it would affect the consistency or flavor of the panna cotta. I have also scanned through the comments and no one has reported trying it. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes 🙂
We actually just tried it with maple, and it was amazing! There is no difference in the taste and it set perfectly! It tastes great either way! Thanks for the recipe!
My pleasure Jasmine, I’m glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing 🙂
If you wish to cook it sugar free the best way to use the birch Xylitol, which is just like sugar, but has the glycemic index 19, unlike sugar -100, maple syrup – 54, honey – 60
Thank you for sharing that with us
Just wanted to leave a review because you did such a good job with this. My family avsolutely loved it when I made it a year ago and for my husbands birthday this year my mom requested I make it again! Easy to make and delishes. Thanks Natasha 🙂
My pleasure Jessica! I’m happy to hear how much everyone loves the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Hi Natasha, any idea on how to turn this recipe into chocolate panna cotta? Or do you have a similar recipe?
Hello Svetlana! I have not tried chocolate in the recipe myself but I do have a reader that comments, “I put white chocolate in the cream mix and thin layer of dark chocolate between the panna cotta and the berry compote.” I do have chocolate recipe that is similar in texture, here is the direct link for that recipe: https://natashaskitchen.com/2017/01/20/vanilla-mousse-with-chocolate/. I hope this helps some!
This dessert was spectacular, my daughter-in-law, the birthday girl, loved it! I don’t have the words to describe the creamy goodness and velvetiness of this dessert!! The instructions were perfect,
Thank You,
Bea
You’re welcome Bea! I’m glad to hear the recipe was a hit! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review with other readers!
This dessert was a huge hit with the entire family–adults and children. It was easy to make, elegant, and delicious! Thank you, Natasha!
You’re welcome Angie! I’m glad to hear the recipe is like by many. Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
Delicious recipe! I didn’t have berries at hand for a berry topping. I made a lemon curd instead and wow it was amazing as a topping and a yummy combo with the panna cotta cream.
Oh yum, I’m glad to hear the recipe was a success! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Natasha, this looks delicious! I love all your recipes! I was wondering if I were to make it in one big dish, about what size of dish would you suggest I use? Thanks!
Hi Lena, this makes about 6 cups of panna cotta so it depends on how thick you would like it to be. I think it would fit in a 9×9 square or a 9×13 (although it will be thinner in a 9×13).
Thank you! 🙂
You’re welcome Lena!
Can’t wait to serve this at Easter at our big family gathering! Where did you get the serving glasses shown in the pictures? They look like the perfect size!
Hi Angie, these were tall wine glasses without the stem. I believe they are from TJ max but I have seen something similar at World Market.
how do you make your sauce look bright red? Mine turns out faded looking. I followed the instructions your way and even covered them too. Made day of, and a few hours later, they don’t look pretty but taste good.
Hi Olga, that could happen if you use frozen fruit or if the first part of the sauce isn’t cooked until syrupy before adding in the fresh berries. The fruit syrup preserves the fresher berries and keeps the color more vibrant. I still think the topping looks the prettiest the same day it’s made because it can tint the top part of the panna cotta. I hope that helps!
yeh I used fresh fruits (not frozen) and cooked until syrupy before adding the additional fresh fruits. Made Panna cotta 3 times within 3 weeks and each time, the color looked faded. 🙁
I think it’s best to add fruit the same day it’s served – it looks prettiest for parties but I don’t recall it looking faded so I’m not sure why else that would be. One thought – in my experiments with strawberry sauce recently, I did find that blending the strawberry sauce ahead of time resulted in a dull and non-glossy appearance to the sauce. Not sure if that is the issue, but hope that helps!
Hi Natasha,
Do you have any tips for me if I want to remove the set panna cotta from ramekins/moulds instead of serving in a glass?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Zay, you would need ramekins with walls that go outwards rather than inwards. Dip the bottom of each ramekin (working with 1 at a time) into very hot water for about 3 seconds then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a small plate.
Thanks – looking forward to giving it a go this weekend!
My pleasure, glad to help!
Hi Natasha, So after you make these and place in fridge to use before eatting, Do you individully cover each one with plastic wrap? Or If I make em the day before, best to wrap em in plastic wrap?
have you tried these with frozen fruits?
Hi Olga, The easiest way to do it is to put all of them on a rimmed baking sheet and cover all of them at once with plastic wrap – they transfer in and out of the fridge super easy. Also, one of my readers wrote in with the following: “For the berry syrup I used frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) I let them thaw then made the syrup and it turned out great.”