Recipe Notes

Fresh berries sit on top of a deliciously creamy and smooth custard flecked with vanilla beans.

This is a delightfully easy dessert to make but it does require chill time in the fridge. 

Ingredients

Heavy Cream- As the main ingredient, a high-quality heavy cream goes a long way here. But get what you can afford! If you can, look for a heavy cream where the only ingredient is cream and doesn’t contain any thickeners like carrageenan or xanthan gum. Some nice to haves are: in a glass jar instead of plastic, organic, grass-fed, and humanely treated.

Gelatin – This is a type of collagen and it makes this a great-for-you dessert. It is what gives your panna cotta the correct texture.  The main thing to look for is that your gelatin powder is JUST gelatin and doesn’t include sugar or fillers. Nice to haves: grass-fed, organic, humanely raised. 

Vanilla – I prefer using Vanilla Bean Powder because it packs more of a vanilla taste into the dish than vanilla extract. It also gives it lovely vanilla bean flecks you’re used to seeing in high end vanilla dishes. However, if you’re in a rush and only have extract it will also work, just double the amount.

Sweetener – Sweetness is really a personal thing, and the further you are in the keto journey the less you tend to need. I prefer not to use any additional sweetener as the berries in this dish provide enough for me. But if you need this dish sweeter I would recommend using monk fruit drops (the fruity aftertaste will be hidden with the berries in this dish) or a granular sweetener like erythritol (will have a cooling effect).

Toppings – Strawberries are just my favorite to pair with this, but you could try raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or your favorite keto fruit. You could even top it with a keto chocolate syrup from Enlightened or a keto caramel sauce from Choczero. 

Equipment

• 2 Cup Glass Pyrex Measuring Cup — This is what I use, but you just want something microwave safe. Glass is better than plastic, as plastic can release estrogen-mimicking chemicals that aren’t great for your health.
• Microwave – For heating the heavy cream.
• 3-Cup Pyrex containers — I like these containers for my meal prep in general because they’re a good size for most meals and stack easily in the fridge. Unlike the latch-side air-tight containers these lids don’t get stuck if you put something hot in them. The air-tight containers actually end up creating a bit of a vacuum LOL. This is what I use, but you just want something microwave safe. Glass is better than plastic, as plastic can release estrogen-mimicking chemicals that aren’t great for your health.
• Cute Mini Jars – (Optional) If you want a cute alternative that’s good for prepping ahead or serving to guests these jars are great plastic-free storage for your panna cotta.

Pair With

• Italian – Panna cotta is an italian dish so it’d go well after something like a microwave keto lasagna.

Keto Microwave Panna Cotta (No Sweetener)

• 1 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1 teaspoon gelatin
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/8th teaspoon vanilla bean powder
• about 5 Fresh strawberries, washed, tops cut off, and diced (optional)

1. In a large shallow dish, pour in 1 tablespoon of warm water. Evenly sprinkle the 1 teaspoon of gelatin over the top of the water and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. It will turn into a gel.
2. Heat 1/4th cup of heavy cream in your pyrex glass measuring cup for 30 seconds in the microwave. 
3. Pour the hot heavy cream into the dish with the gelatin and stir well for 1 minute, making sure there are no clumps. If the clumps won’t come out then microwave it for an additional 10 seconds and stir. Repeat until the clumps are gone.
4. Pour in the rest of the cold heavy cream (3/4th cup).
5. Add the 1/8th teaspoon vanilla powder and stir.
6. Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours, until the panna cotta is solid.
7. Top with diced strawberries