Birthday are a big deal at our house. I like to make everyone feel loved on their special day. One of the ways that I do that is by making whatever dessert they want for their birthday. My sweeties loves flan, so this year I came up with a dairy-free Coconut Flan. Not only was it beautiful to look at, it was amazingly creamy and rich as well. Happy Birthday to the most amazing partner and papa in the world. I love you.
Traditional flan is usually made with sweetened condensed milk. Since this is a highly processed milk product with lots of added refined sugars and synthetic vitamins, I decided to skip it. I made my own version of sweetened condensed milk using coconut milk (where to buy BPA and additive free coconut milk)
I think you are going to LOVE this recipe. It’s the real deal when it comes to flan. It’s made to be a treat. It knocked my socks off when I ate it. Deliciously creamy and full of flavor. The ingredients are simple. The sugar is all unrefined coconut sugar. If you want to make it a bit less sweet and more like a custardy snack, feel free to substitute honey in the condensed coconut milk and skip the syrupy topping. Either way, you taste buds will be delighted.
Coconut Flan (dairy free)
- Yield: 6 ramekins 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk (where to buy BPA and additive free coconut milk)
- 6 eggs, preferably from pastured chickens
- 1 cup coconut sugar (like this), divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS lemon zest
- 1/8 tsp celtic sea salt (like this)
- 2 TBS water
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, heat coconut milk until beginning to bubble at the sides. Add 1/2 cup of coconut sugar and whisk until completely dissolved. Allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes to reduce (will reduce by 1/3-1/2 of original volume.) Remove from heat and add salt, vanilla, and lemon zest. Mix to combine. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325’F. Fill a large baking dish 1/3 full of water and place in oven.
- In a small sauce pan or skillet, heat the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut sugar and 2 TBS of water over medium heat until completely dissolved and beginning to bubble. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent burning. Once it is syrupy, VERY CAREFULLY pour equal amounts of caramel into 6 ramekins.
- Whisk 6 eggs together in a medium bowl. Slowly, pour a gentle stream of the reduced coconut milk mixture into eggs, whisking constantly to prevent eggs from cooking. Pour mixture into caramel-lined ramekins.
- Place ramekins into hot water bath in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until custard is set. OK if center is still a bit wiggly.
- Remove from baking dish from oven and remove ramekins from baking dish. I use tongs here. Allow to cool then place into fridge for several hours.
- To serve, run a knife along side of ramekin and carefully invert onto plate, allowing caramel to flow over custard. Enjoy!!
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If you like custardy desserts, you may also enjoy Heavenly Sweet Potato Pudding, Blackberry Brulee, or Baked Pumpkin Custard.
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Eggs are most definitely dairy….
Ashley-
Eggs are not considered dairy. A dairy product is a food which comes from a milk-bearing animal, such as butter, milk, cream, or cheese. Eggs, on the other hand, do not come from cows, so they are not considered a dairy product. 🙂
Lol I love it!
Never heard of eggs being confused as a dairy product before. lol.
haha! do they come from a cow?
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Lmao! Eggs come from cows now? ???
Eggs are dairy? Actually, I thought they were poultry, but in fact they are considered an animal product if we want to get technical, dairy is anything made from cows or goats, so butter, cream, yogurt etc. But that is all a matter of interpretation I guess. For me this is the perfect alternative to real flan as I don’t digest milk well, maybe I have an allergy, but I am not vegan, although I eat very little meat.
I just made them and couldn’t wait to let it cool to try it, and it is sooooo good! Thanks for this original recipe. 🍮
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Eggs are from chickens. Not cows. Therefore they aren’t dairy……
When I make flan with milk I filter it through a cheese cloth for a smoother custard. will it improve the dessert if I do that with this recipe too?
I don’t see why not. This flan is pretty smooth without straining it though. I will have to try it net time. 🙂
You’re the top search result for paleo flan recipe on pinterest; I see why! Question, what can I use instead of 1 cup of coconut sugar? I don’t need that much sugar pumping through my system. Can I sub in stevia? If so I imagine I use about 1 teaspoon of the powdered form of stevia for a cup of sugar.
You would have to experiment. I would love to hear how it goes. You can always leave out the sugary topping to reduce sweeteners. Thanks for coming by! And for the kind words!
Looks great! Can you tell me what the particles clinging to the sides of the flan in the picture are? Undidsolved sugar perhaps? Also, will this recipe quantity work in a pie plate instead of individual custards cups?
Hi, Diane! The particles are little fleck of coconut sugar. And I have not tried this recipe in a pie plate. I am sure it would work. I always get nervous when I flip a WHOLE flan over. That is why I like to use the custard cups. 😉
I’m not sure I can get hold of coconut sugar. Can I substitute granulated or caster sugar?
yes, you can use regular sugar as well. 🙂
I made this recipe tonight. Soooo delicious! I’ve been wanting to try a coconut flan ever since going dairy-free 3 years ago. Thank you!
How much would this recipe be in quarts? I have a flan maker that I’d like to use, which holds 1.5 quarts and I’m unsure as to whether this will all fit.
Thank you!
Hi, Cynthia! Hmmmm… well, I do know that the 2 cans of full fat coconut milk is about a quart, since a quart is about 30 ounces. After cooking down, you are left with about 2/3 to 1/2 of that. Then you have the add in the 1/2 cup of sugar and 6 eggs. The only way to know exactly is the experiment. I would love to hear if you do!
Is the lemon zest optional?
yes, you can leave it out if you wish! 🙂
I made this recipe and it came out great. Thanks!
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Can i maple syrup instead of coconut sugar
This recipe was developed using coconut sugar. I can’t guarantee that the consistency will be the same. Please let me know if you try it. 🙂
Just made this tonight! I halved the recipe and it filled 2 of my oversized ramekins. I had to add 1 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt to the caramel syrup. Next time, I will actually double the coconut sugar and add more vanilla because my boyfriend and I prefer it way richer. That’s just a preference though and the recipe is fantastic as is! Boyfriend can’t stop raving.
Could you use gelatin instead of eggs? I’m AIP and don’t do dairy or eggs…
You could totally use gelatin. The texture would be different but would still be good. Let me know if you try it.
Awesome and a big hit with guests!
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YAY! I love to hear that.
This flan is absolutely delicious! I will definitely keep this recipe as a favorite. My only question is how to firm up the consistency? I actually made my flan in one larger dish as opposed to individual ramekins, and I found that it was not as firm as I’d like it to be. Would adding a couple of egg whites or yolks help?
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HI, Michelle! I have to admit that I make flan in little ramekins because it stresses me out to try to flip a large flan upside down. You could definitely add a couple of egg yolks to this to firm it up. Also, you may need a longer bake time for a bigger flan. Hope that helps. Please report back if you try it. 🙂
These turned out delicious! I messed up a little- I used a quarter less coconut milk and it was light, not full fat. It turned out delicious anyway.
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Oh, good! I’m glad that they turned out. I love making flan. Always a bit nervous to flip them over.
This recipe is so delicious, just what I was looking for to replace the coconut flan I use to make with regular milk. Thanks!
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Yay! Glad you enjoyed it. It’s my hubby’s fav.
I’m planning to make this tomorrow.
#4 says to whisk the eggs in a bowl, then add the coconut mixture and keep stirring so that the eggs don’t cook. Since both mixtures are cool, what would cause the eggs to cook? Do I need to warm something up prior to this step or during this step?
Hi, Carson! The coconut mixture will still be warm after 10 minutes. I just like to make sure that the flan is smooth and doesn’t have little bits of cooked egg in it as eggs can start to cook at a low temperature. I like to keep whisking whisking whisking. Smooth flan is the best! Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi! how much is 2 cans of coconut milk in oz or grams? In my supermarkets there are lots of different coconut milk cans, and since it is the main ingredient, i guess it makes a difference if I change the ratio…
Each can is 15 ounces. 🙂
I made the recipe, delicious, except that I wanted to recreate the taste of coconut flan and the lemon zest dominated. I added fine shredded coconut. Next time I will skip the zest for a full coconut flavor. To me coconut and lemon don’t mix well, all recipes with lemon have spoiled the paleo recipes to me. Thanks for this recipe!
Hi! I made this recipe last night and turned out delicious! I just noticed that I messed up with the quantity of the coconut milk. I bought 2 cans of 270ml (9,5 oz), so half what it should be, therefore, it was really small. I will try it again with the right amount. I also added a hint of rhum, to add the Venezuelan touch! Thanks for this recipe, I suggest to add the exact quantities to the recipe.
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Thank you for giving us so many options. My husband is gluten free and dairy free and I am soy free so our diet is limited especially when it comes to desserts. Great turn out for this recipe and looking to use others on your site!!!
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Yay! I’m so happy to hear that. 🙂
how much fat is in a 15oz can of full fat coconut milk…ours aren’t labeled with “full fat” so i want to pick a can with a fat content closest to what you used
Full fat means just regular coconut milk. The other option is LIGHT coconut milk, which isn’t heavy enough. So just regular old coconut milk is what I mean.
Hi, tried it and loved it, & so did my family!! Only difference I added 3 tsp custard powder. Will save this for my non dairy desserts recipe cards…thank so much for posting n sharing yr recipe Katya!! Hi from Trinidad and Tobago, in the Caribbean. Woohoo!!!
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HI, Marsha! So glad you enjoyed it. I love that you are from Trinidad. The world wide web is so cool. 🙂
Tried this recipe today, did half of everything just to try it out :]. The flan was really creamy and rich although too dense in my opinion. I thought the texture would be a lot more flan/pudding-y. Usually I make flan with almond milk and it’s really good except not as creamy as normal flan, so I thought I would give this recipe a try. Maybe I will try to do half coconut and half almond :] Or an almond/coconut milk creamer.
Also, I like to put a pinch of instant coffee into the syrup. It really enhances the syrup and makes it a little less sweet.
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What size ramekins do you use?
My ramekins are 6 ounce ramekins.
Flan has always been my favorite dessert and I’ve been wanting to try making it for years. Your recipe was my first attempt at making flan and I couldn’t be more happy with the delicious results. Thank you!
Yay! I’m so glad you are eating flan again. It’s my hubby’s fav. 🙂
Love this recipe!
I’ve made it a few times and made some minor changes for my personal preference:
1. I used 1 can coconut milk and 1 can worth of oatly barista oat milk – I find that too much full fat coconut makes my stomach hurt
2. I added some cinnamon
3. I realized that whisking adds too much air to the mixture, which made for a bubbly texture instead of a smooth custard. To combat that, I run the mixture through a sieve to get the airbubbles out. works really well.
4. I wasnt able to find coconut sugar so I used brown sugar in the mixture and brown sugar mixed with coconut syrup for the caramel. Tastes amazing!
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Yay! I’m so glad you shared your subs. I haven’t tried it with oat milk, so good to know it works.
I tried this recipe and while the flavor was amazing, some of the coconut milk or cream solidified after being chilled. So there were lots of crunchy parts which made the texture unpleasant. Im sure I must have done something wrong. I’d like to try this recipe again. Any idea on how to prevent this from happening next time?
Hi, Jamie. I haven’t had that experience before. What type of coconut milk did you use? Was it fully incorporated (mixed up) before you used it?
Absolutely fabulous!!! I reduced the amount of lemon zest based on the comments and was amazed at how wonderful this was. I have missed flan watching family eat it at gatherings & now I have my own!
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We love flan too. Glad you loved it. 🙂