This Easy Blueberry Panna Cotta Recipe is made from real blueberries with heavy cream, milk and gelatin. The recipe works with frozen or fresh blueberries to flavor the creamy panna cotta base. This is one of my favorite desserts to make on a hot summer day that requires minimal effort for a refreshing payoff.
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Panna cotta is a great dessert any time, but especially so for two occasions: hosting and summer. For hosting, it's great because it's a make-ahead dessert, so it's one less thing to prep the day of your event. And it's great for summer, because it's no bake, meaning you don't have to turn on your oven! I used frozen wild blueberries to flavor mine, but any blueberries will work. The key to intense blueberry flavor is cooking down the blueberry juice. I learned this method from the Loopy Whisk. It's the easiest way to get intense natural berry flavor without the pulp.
The rich and creamy panna cotta base is adapted from my pistachio panna cotta. I also have a dairy-free panna cotta recipe if you are vegan or lactose intolerant. And you could absolutely add the blueberry sauce to that recipe to make it blueberry flavored!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- This is a great recipe to use up blueberries since you need quite a bit to flavor the panna cotta.
- Panna cotta is a great make-ahead dessert! Perfect for dinner parties or weekly meal prep.
- This easy Italian dessert is very creamy thanks to the addition of heavy cream, and not too much gelatin.
Ingredients
- Blueberries are cooked down to flavor the panna cotta. I prefer frozen wild blueberries, but any blueberries will work in this recipe.
- Gelatin sets the panna cotta. I use powdered unflavored gelatin in this recipe, but if you only have gelatin sheets, you'll need 6 sheets.
- Milk and heavy cream make up the base of the dessert. I used whole milk, but any milk will work. Heavy cream is also called whipping cream or double cream.
- Granulated sugar sweetens the panna cotta.
- Kosher salt and vanilla extract balances the sweetness and brings out the flavor.
- A touch of ground cinnamon helps the blueberry flavor shine.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here's how to customize this easy blueberry panna cotta recipe to your liking:
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- Lemon — add lemon juice (1-3 tbsp) to the blueberry sauce and rub 1 tablespoon of lemon zest or lemon peel into the granulated sugar with your fingers before adding it to the pot. Sieve out the zest, if desired, before pouring into vessels.
- Chocolate — chocolate ganache or chocolate sauce would be a really nice garnish for this. To make chocolate ganache gently warm together 100g of heavy cream with 200g of semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) in a heatproof bowl set over a small pan or pot with an inch of water. Swap for white chocolate, if desired.
- Serving glasses — I used a plethora of different glasses. You can use sundae cups, martini, coupe or wine glasses. If serving for an intimate gathering, one big panna cotta would work too. You could use a 2 quart baking dish or tart pan (just be sure it doesn't have a removable bottom).
- Agar agar — if you want to use agar agar instead of gelatin, use 10g, or roughly 1 ¼ tablespoon of agar agar powder.
- Vanilla WITH blueberry — to make vanilla panna cotta with blueberry sauce only for garnish, make the blueberry sauce as instructed, but sweeten it with some sugar after cooking and set it aside to chill in the refrigerator. Omit the blueberry sauce from the panna cotta mixture and consider replacing the vanilla extract with vanilla bean paste or seeds for even more vanilla flavor.
- Blueberry compote — top the panna cottas with blueberry compote for more flavor and texture.
This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to make Blueberry Panna Cotta Step-By-Step
Step 1: In a medium saucepan, cook the blueberries over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5-7 minutes or just until the blueberries release their juices. Pour the mixture into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve, pushing to release as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp. Return the juice to the saucepan and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the juice has thickened and reduced by half. Then set aside to cool.
Step 2: In a small bowl, combine the gelatin and 6 tablespoon (95g, 3.4oz) of cold milk. Stir to combine then let sit for 5 minutes.
Step 3: In a medium pot combine the whole milk (495g, 19oz), heavy cream, granulated sugar, kosher salt, blueberry reduction, and cinnamon. Whisk together and place over medium heat until a low simmer is achieved and the sugar dissolves. Taste for salt and sweetness. Once you are happy with the flavor, turn the heat off. Add the bloomed gelatin mixture and whisk until the gelatin is fully dissolved.
Step 4: Pour the cream mixture into the prepared molds/vessels. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to set the panna cottas. Serve in the molds or demold them.
Step 5: If unmolding, slide a thin knife, rubber spatula or offset spatula along the top edge to remove the suction and place the ramekins in a small bowl of hot water for 10-15 seconds to warm the outside and help it release. Invert the ramekin onto a plate. You may need to jiggle it quite a bit.
Step 6: Serve cold or at room temperature with fresh berries and whipped cream, if desired.
Top tips
- Be patient and gentle when unmolding. If it doesn’t come out at first, give it a bit more time in hot water and run a thin knife or offset spatula around the edge.
- Be careful not to introduce liquids that are too hot to gelatin. Gelatin loses strength at 212°F.
- Do not freeze gelatin! Once thawed, the panna cotta will be watery and broken.
More recipes you'll love
Lastly, if you make this Easy Blueberry Panna Cotta Recipe be sure to leave a comment or give it a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Easy Blueberry Panna Cotta Recipe
Ingredients
Blueberry sauce
- 3 ⅓ cups blueberries fresh or frozen, I used frozen wild blueberries
- Pinch kosher salt
Panna cotta
- .5 oz gelatin powdered (2 .25 oz pouches, scant 2 tablespoons)
- 2 cups + 6 tablespoon whole milk cold, DIVIDED: 495g + 95g
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt half if using table salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- ½ cup blueberry sauce
Garnish (optional)
- 1 cup whipped cream
- ½ cup blueberries
Instructions
Do ahead
- If unmolding, grease the ramekins (or whatever molds you’ll use) with a bit of oil. If serving in glasses, or ramekins, skip this step.
Cook the blueberries
- In a medium saucepan, cook the blueberries over medium-high heat, stirring and lightly mashing occasionally, for about 5-7 minutes or just until the blueberries release their juices. Pour the mixture into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve, pushing to release as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp. Return the juice to the saucepan and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the juice has thickened and reduced by half. Then set aside to cool.
Bloom the gelatin
- In a small bowl, combine the gelatin and 6 tablespoon (95g, 3.4oz) of cold milk. Stir to combine then let sit for 5 minutes.
Cook the mixture
- In a medium pot combine the whole milk (495g, 19oz), heavy cream, granulated sugar, kosher salt, vanilla, cinnamon and blueberry sauce reduction. Whisk together and heat to a low simmer. Taste for salt and sweetness.
- Once you are happy with the flavor, turn the heat off. Add the bloomed gelatin mixture and whisk until the gelatin is fully dissolved.
- Pour into the prepared molds/vessels. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to set the panna cottas. Serve in the molds or demold them (see instructions below.)
Demold (optional)
- Slide a thin knife, rubber spatula or offset spatula along the top edge to remove the suction and place the ramekins in a small bowl of hot water for 10-15 seconds to warm the outside and help it release. Invert the ramekin onto a plate. You may need to jiggle it quite a bit.
Garnish
- Serve with more blueberries and whipped cream, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published 7/16/2026.
