Skinny yogurt panna cotta with honey and oranges. I think this was the highlight of yesterday's wonderful Easter dinner for me.
The meal was great. We had mint glazed slow cooked lamb, turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a roasted vegetable medley of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, brussels sprouts and mushrooms.
But dessert was spectacular - smooth, creamy and refreshing. And a lot lighter and lower in calories than most panna cotta since it was made with nonfat evaporated milk and plain nonfat Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream.
What is panna cotta?
If you've never had it, you are in for a treat, especially if you're a fan of creamy desserts.
Panna cotta, which means "cooked cream" in Italian, is a silky custard that uses gelatin, instead of eggs for setting/binding, so it's a lot quicker and easier to make. All you need to do is warm the milk enough to melt the gelatin and dissolve the sugar.
And then pour the mixture it into custard cups, ramekins or glasses and refrigerate for a few hours until it's set. Then you can eat it right from the dish, or for a fancier presentation, invert it onto a dessert plate.
Most panna cotta recipes call for heavy cream, which is high in fat and calories, and sometimes totally worth the splurge.
But if you can make a version that is just as delicious with fewer calories and a lot less fat, why not?
This recipe for Lighter Panna Cotta comes from Camilla Saulsbury, author of Panna Cotta: Italy's Elegant Custard Made Easy (affiliate link), a cookbook with 100 recipes for panna cotta.
Made with plain yogurt and fat-free evaporated milk, it's simple yet special with a touch of ground coriander and orange blossom water (affiliate link).
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Panna Cotta Dessert?
According to my calculations, each serving has just 172 calories and:
5 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
4 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
It's creamy and satisfying served with orange sections and a sprig of mint. Enjoy!
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Yogurt Panna Cotta with Honey & Orange
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- ¼ cup honey
- ⅔ cup canned fat-free evaporated milk
- 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt or plain low fat yogurt
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom water (affiliate link)
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- Two large navel oranges, peeled and cut into segments
- 4 fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl (affiliate link), add the water and then sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let stand 5 minutes until dissolved.
- In a medium saucepan stir together the honey and evaporated milk and heat until the mixture is hot, but not boiling.
- Add the gelatin and stir until it is completely dissolved.
- Remove pan from the heat and whisk in the yogurt, orange blossom water (affiliate link), and coriander until smooth.
- Divide the mixture evenly among 4 individual custard cups OR decorative glasses.
- Cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours until set.
- To serve, immerse the bottom half of each custard cup in hot water for about 15 seconds. Then run a clean small knife around edge to loosen.
- Invert onto dessert plate (Note: if you are using glasses, no unmolding is required).
- Serve with oranges and their juices. Garnish with mint if desired
Recipe Notes
Source: Panna Cotta: Italy's Elegant Custard Made Easy (affiliate link) by Camilla Saulsbury
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Do you like to watch cooking videos? Here's a great video of British food writer, chef, and Cook Yourself Thin television personality, Gizzi Erskine demonstrating how to make yogurt panna cotta with roasted rhubarb & ginger. (She uses leaf gelatin, but the powdered kind that is so readily available at the grocery store works just as well.)
If you like this easy panna cotta recipe, you might also like:
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Jo Brice
Can marsala wine be substituted for orang blossom water in panna cotta
Martha McKinnon
Hi Jo, I haven't tried it. If you do would love to have you let us know how it turns out!