While spending a day in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, during our last cruise, we visited the famous Barrachina Restaurant. Not only is it the birthplace of the pina colada, but they also make other Puerto Rican treats including tostones, sweet plantains, croquets, and coconut flan.
Coconut is one of my favorite tropical fruits. So, dreaming of that creamy coconut flan, I texted my mom to see if she’d share her recipe as she used to make it when I was a kid. My step father is from Puerto Rico, and my mom’s family is French Canadian, so we always had delicious variety of treats at home. To my surprise, my mom texted me back a photo of some ready-made store bought flan. She’s a funny one!
I eventually got the coconut flan recipe from her and included it below! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Scroll through for some extra tips and tricks, or hit the “jump to recipe” button if you’re ready to get started.
What Is Coconut Flan Made Of?
Coconut flan is made with eggs, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut milk. It is really simple to make, especially if you have a flan pan. Here is a list of ingredients to gather from your pantry or pick up at the grocery store.
Coconut Flan Ingredients
- sugar
- eggs
- sweetened condensed milk
- coconut milk
- dried coconut or shredded coconut (for garnish)
- pinch of salt
TIP: While you can use the coconut milk found in the dairy free section of milk at your local grocer, I find that canned coconut milk is more rich and adds more coconut flavor.
Coconut Flan Recipe (Step-By-Step)
Heat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Add sugar to a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring the sugar continuously to keep it from burning and sticking to the pan.
It will start off grainy, then sticky, and then eventually turn into a liquid. Be sure to keep it on low heat so it doesn’t boil or burn. When the caramelized sugar is done (after about 10 minutes), the sugar will be completely melted and caramel-colored.
Carefully … CAREFULLY … pour melted sugar into flan pan. Use the spatula to make sure it coats the bottom of the pan as this helps the coconut flan not stick.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and salt until well blended.
Pour coconut flan batter into flan pan, and then set flan pan into larger baking pan. Fill larger pan with 1 inch of hot tap water.
Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
While flan is baking, add shredded coconut to a dry skillet and cook on medium heat until the edges are toasted and starting to brown. Set aside as garnish.
Once coconut flan is done baking, carefully remove from the oven and let it cool. Chill the flan in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge of the coconut flan to loosen it from the sides. Invert the pan onto a serving plate.
Garnish with toasted coconut and serve!
You can also make flan in individual custard cups, or you can make a large one like I have pictured. Look for a stainless steel flan pan at your local grocer or kitchen supply store. They’re just the right size and shape and typically come with a lid that makes it easy to store in the refrigerator when cooling. You can also use a round cake pan.
For the holidays, spice it up a bit and make a pumpkin flan instead! There are so many delicious variations. Hope you enjoy!
Coconut Flan
An EASY coconut flan recipe for a delciously creamy tropical dessert.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut (for garnish)
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees
- Add sugar to a medium saucepan and cook over low-medium heat, stirring continuously to keep it from burning and sticking to the pan. When it’s done (about 10 minutes), it will be melted and caramel-colored.
- Carefully pour melted sugar into flan pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and salt until well blended.
- Pour into flan pan, and then set flan pan into larger baking pan. Fill larger pan with 1 inch of hot tap water.
- Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- While flan is baking, add shredded coconut to a dry skillet and cook on medium heat until the edges are toasted and starting to brown. Set aside as garnish.
- Carefully remove from the coconut flan from the oven and let it cool.
- Chill the flan in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge of the coconut flan to loosen it from the sides. Invert the pan onto a serving plate. Garnish with toasted coconut and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 271Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 103mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 31gProtein: 6g
Originally Posted Feb 24, 2016, Updated 2023
My mom’s original coconut flan …
Cannot wait to try this, looks delicious. Can you tell me size of the pan pls? Thanks.
Hey! It’s a standard flan mold. About 1.5 quarts, and measuring mine, it is a little over 8 inches in width. Our local grocer carries the molds, but if you can’t find one, they’re also on Amazon. Enjoy!
Hi
Can you add shredded coconut to the egg mixture to give more of a coconut flavor? Or would it ruin the texture?
I’ve never tried it that way, only used shredded coconut as garnish. It does have a pretty intense coconut flavor with the coconut milk. Make sure to use the canned coconut milk for better coconut flavor, not the coconut milk in the plant-based part of the dairy section. That is usually watered down.
💕 make flan I am good at it have you ever made flan out of ginger fresh it’s pretty trickey ok did it first time long ago need to weight 24hours or more to eat to regain its real taste bi good luck 🤞
I haven’t made it out of ginger. That sounds good!
Omg!!! I’ve been making this recipe for years now, and every time I make it, it tastes better. It has become my signature dessert for all the parties I host and all the ones I go to. This is by far THE BEST coconut flan I’ve ever had.
Thank you so much!