Fresh Strawberry Panna Cotta looks fancy but is truly easy to make. No baking and practically no cooking is required. Make this treat when you have an abundance of seasonal strawberries.

Panna Cotta is one of those dishes that seems super-fancy and hard to make, but it really couldn’t be simpler. Although the name means “cooked cream” in Italian, there’s very little cooking involved.

At it’s most basic, a Panna Cotta is a flavorful cream base that is warmed just enough to melt the gelatin. The cream is poured into a mold and chilled. There’s about 5 minutes of actual cooking involved.

For this recipe, we’re using fresh strawberry puree to flavor the cream.

I was working with beautiful and flavorful local strawberries. Honestly, they were so good I probably didn’t need to use strawberry powder for extra flavor.

But I did include freeze dried strawberries in the recipe to ensure that your panna cotta will have a full berry flavor, even if you’re working with less than ideal berries.

Scroll through the process photos to see how to make fresh Strawberry Panna Cotta:

a tray lined with paper towels and empty wine glasses. — Line a sheet pan with paper towels and arrange glass serving dishes on the tray. Alternately, you can use ramekins coated with baking spray as a mold.

A food processor with dried strawberries in the bowl and a bowl of dried strawberry powder. — Process freeze dried strawberries to make a strawberry powder.

A bowl of bloomed gelatin. — Bloom the gelatin in rose wine. Use water for an alcohol-free panna cotta.

a food processor with pureed strawberries and a closeup of strawberry puree in a strainer. — Puree and strain the fresh strawberries.

bowls of bloomed gelatin, strawberry puree, scalded cream and strawberry powder. — All the components for making fresh strawberry panna cotta.

strawberry powder being added to strawberry puree and bloomed gelatin being added to warm cream. — Add the strawberry powder to the puree and add the bloomed gelatin to the hot cream.

Cream being poured into strawberry puree and two photos showing the mixing process — Add the cream to the puree and stir to combine.

Pouring strawberry panna cotta mix into a wine glass. Glasses of panna cotta in the refrigerator and ramekins with panna cotta. — Pour the Panna Cotta mix into the serving glasses and chill. Alternatively, you can mold the panna cotta in ramekins.

A paring knife scraping the sides of a ramekin with panna cotta. Hands flipping a ramekin onto a small plate. — If using ramekins as a mold, scrape the sides with a paring knife and flip the panna cotta onto a dessert plate to serve.

a bowl of diced strawberries with juice. — Combine diced strawberries and sugar for topping the panna cottas.

Tips for making flavorful fresh strawberry panna cotta:

The strawberry powder is in the recipe to ensure a full strawberry flavor, even if you’re using super market berries. If you can’t find freeze dried strawberries, you can make the panna cotta without them.
You can make this recipe with frozen strawberries. Defrost, then puree the berries. If you can’t find local, seasonal berries, frozen strawberries would be preferable to super-market berries.
The rose wine is a flavor compliment to the berries. You can eliminate the wine all for an alcohol-free dessert. Use an equal amount of cool water to bloom the gelatin.
You can present the panna cotta in one of two ways. Pour the custard into a mold to set, then turn it out onto a serving plate. Alternatively, you can pour the custard into a glass dish (I use wine glasses) and serve it in the dish.
The Panna Cotta can be made 2-3 days ahead and chilled until ready to serve.

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4.80 from 5 reviews

Strawberry Panna Cotta Recipe

By: Eileen Gray

Strawberry Panna Cotta looks fancy but is truly easy to make. No baking, and practically no cooking is required. Make this treat when you have an abundance of seasonal strawberries.

Prep Time30

Chilling Time6

Total Time6 30

6 servings

Save Recipe

Ingredients

1 oz freeze dried strawberries (1.5 cups)
4 oz rose wine (1/2 cup (or use water))
1 Packet unflavored gelatin powder (2 1/2 tsp, 7g)
16 oz fresh strawberries (hulled and chopped)
12 oz heavy cream (1 1/2 cups)
5 oz granulated sugar (2/3 cup)

Topping

8 oz fresh strawberries (hulled and chopped into small dice)
1 oz granulated sugar (2 tablespoons)

Instructions

Set 6 stemless wine glasses or ramekins coated with pan spray on a sheet pan lined with a paper towels (this will keep them from sliding around).
Use a food processor to grind the freeze dried strawberries into a powder. Transfer the powder to a small bowl and set aside. In a small bowl sprinkle the gelatin over the rose wine (or water) and leave it to bloom.
1 oz freeze dried strawberries, 4 oz rose wine, 1 Packet unflavored gelatin powder
Puree and strain the fresh strawberries. You should get 2 cups of puree. Stir the strawberry powder into the puree.
16 oz fresh strawberries
Heat the cream and sugar over low heat until the cream is scalding hot and the sugar is melted. Do not allow the cream to come to a full boil.
12 oz heavy cream, 5 oz granulated sugar
Immediately stir the bloomed gelatin into the hot cream. Stir for about a minute until the gelatin is melted. Pour the cream into the strawberry puree and mix to combine.
Divide the mixture evenly between the glasses or ramekins. Place the sheet pan in the refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours or over night. The Panna Cotta can be made 2-3 days ahead.
For the topping, combine the diced strawberries and the sugar. Set aside for 15-30 minutes. If you're serving in a glass, divide the topping over the set panna cottas and serve. If you used ramekins, run a paring knife around the sides of each panna cotta and flip each onto a small dessert plate. Top with chopped strawberries and serve.
8 oz fresh strawberries, 1 oz granulated sugar