This Rosemary Lemon Panna Cotta recipe brings fragrant rosemary and vibrant lemon flavors together for an over the top taste!
I’ll never get over how easy it is to make Panna Cotta. This is an easy Panna Cotta recipe.
I mean, really, it doesn’t get much easier than fifteen minutes of stirring then four hours of chilling in the fridge.
While vanilla panna cotta is delicious as it is, this Rosemary and Lemon version really pushes it over the top. The fragrant rosemary gives a spa-like quality to the taste, while the lemon zest brightens it up and adds a bit of fresh acidity.
Did you know that panna cotta is Italian for “cooked cream”?
Panna cotta is also the name of this Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin, flavored with various ingredients and then chilled.
I made this for two of my girlfriends the same night I made the Baked Greek Chicken, but the three of us ate all six servings before I could even snap a picture.
I made sure not to tell anyone when I made it this time so I could make sure to have a few leftover for photos.
Of course, I ended up eating almost all of this rosemary panna cotta by myself and making myself sick. Which then reminded me of how I felt as a child the day after Halloween. I felt bad, but I had no regrets.
Okay, friends – be brave and whip up a batch! You’ll be amazed at how easy it really is.
If you have trouble finding plain gelatin at the store, here’s a link to the brand I buy on Amazon.
Here’s the Recipe!
Rosemary Lemon Panna Cotta Recipe
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS
Ingredients
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin - about 1 tablespoon
- 2 Tbsp. cold water
- 2 c. heavy cream
- 1 c. half-and-half or whole milk
- 1/3 c. sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- Zest of 1 large lemon
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand for 1 minute. Turn the heat to low and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Combine the heavy cream, rosemary sprigs, and lemon zest in a large saucepan. Set the heat to medium-low and let simmer for five minutes. Strain out the rosemary and lemon zest and discard. Stir in the sugar and half-and-half or whole milk. Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a very low boil, stirring continuously.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture and vanilla extract. Pour into 8 wine glasses or other decorative containers.
- Chill, covered, at least 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with a curl of lemon peel.
Nutrition

Please note that this recipe is often misspelled as Rosemary Lemon Pannacotta recipe, Rosemary Lemon Pana Cotta recipe, and Rosemary Lemon Panacotta recipe.
One tablespoon of gelatine is quite a lot. It completely clumped up for me. There was no dissolving. Is that measurement correct?
Hi QC,
Sorry that it clumped up for you. The one packet / one tablespoon of gelatin is correct.
This can happen if the gelatin is not completely dissolved, which is what happened to you here.
You have to heat it for a longer time to completely dissolve the gelatin and sometimes when you think it is done, it needs a little more time.
I hope you try it again sometime and get success with this delicious recipe.
You can find some other tips for working with gelatin here: https://www.knoxgelatine.com/basics.htm
– Linda
How many days in advance can I make this? I need to make several desserts for a baby shower and this seemed like it would sit well for a bit?
Hi Anthea,
I recommend making this no more than 2 days in advance. Keep it covered in plastic wrap and chilled in the refrigerator.
– Linda