Hello matcha lovers! I know how excited you are to see a matcha recipe and I’m happy that you clicked through to see this post. Panna cotta is Mr. JOC’s all-time favorite dessert. Okay, let me say he does have a lot of “all-time favorite” desserts, but in all seriousness, I know it will be your favorite too. To make a healthy and lighter version of the dessert, I decided to make Matcha Vegan Panna Cotta (ヴィーガン抹茶パンナコッタ). Don’t let the fancy name fools you though. It’s actually very easy to pull off, so make this dessert today!
Make Vegan-Friendly Matcha Panna Cotta
First of all, panna cotta is a chilled cream pudding made of cream, sugar, and gelatin. As you see, there is milk (and heavy cream) and gelatin made by prolonged boiling of skin, cartilage, and bones from animals. To make panna cotta vegan-friendly, I used Kikkoman® Pearl Organic Soymilk (unsweetened) and Japanese kanten powder.
1. Kikkoman® Pearl Organic Soymilk
For this recipe, I’m partnering up with Kikkoman® by using their Pearl Organic Soymilk, which is vegan, cholesterol-free, preservative-free, lactose-free, and lower in fat and calories than regular milk. The soymilk comes in rich, creamy 6 flavors! My kids like the “Chocolate” flavor, but I almost always buy the “Unsweetened” version so I can use it to make savory dishes like Vegetarian Ramen and Soy Milk Hot Pot.
2. Kanten Powder
Usually, panna cotta uses gelatin to get that silky, creamy, wobbly texture. To make this dessert vegan-friendly, we use Japanese kanten. Kanten (寒天) is a white and semi-translucent gelatinous substance obtained from algae. It is a great alternative to animal or chemical-based gelatin. Once it’s chilled the texture is on the firmer side, so we use less kanten and more liquid to re-create that gelatin-like creamy, wobbly texture. To learn more about Kanten, I have a pantry page dedicated to Kanten where you can read more about it.
Topping Choices for Matcha Vegan Panna Cotta
You can serve this dessert as it is because the green matcha color is so beautiful already. However, I’m sharing 3 versions so you can dress up the dessert a little.
1: With Elegant Gold Leaf
Have you used gold flake (gold leaf) for your food? Besides placing it on top of Matcha Vegan Panna Cotta, you can use it to decorate cupcakes, cocktails, entrees, chocolate, sweets, candies, confectionery, desserts, pastries, wedding cakes and more! There are lots of flakes in it and if you enjoy hosting parties or making desserts often, I think it’s fun to keep it around in the kitchen.
2: Make It More Japanese-y
For an extra Japanese touch, top your Matcha Vegan Panna Cotta with Shiratama Dango, Anko (red bean paste) and chestnut (in syrup). It’s quick to put together once you prepare the toppings ahead of time.
3: Fresh fruits and Chocolate Shavings
No time to buy gold leaf flakes or make it fancy with Japanese ingredients? Adorn it with fresh fruits and chocolate. Over here, I topped the panna cotta with an assortment of strawberry slices and blackberries. If you like, I think some chocolate curls or shavings will be nice too. I hope you enjoy this creamy and delicious Matcha Vegan Panna Cotta recipe. For more matcha treats, you want to check out these Must-Try Matcha Recipes at home. Sign up for the free newsletter delivered to your inbox and stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
