← All recipes · 🇵🇷 Puerto Rican
🇵🇷 Puerto Rican
Flan de Coco
⏱ 1 hr 15 min (plus 4 hr chill)
🍞 ~32g (traditional) / ~18g (reduced-sugar version)
🍽 8 servings
⭐ 5/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
Flan de coco is the dessert that ends the holiday meal. Silky, sweet, with the deep caramel sauce pooling around the base and the unmistakable taste of coconut tying it together. Every titi brings one to Navidad and there's a friendly competition over whose is best. This is a special-occasion dessert — we're giving you the carb math both ways so you can dose like a pro.
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- We're being honest: this is a dessert and dessert carbs count. The traditional version is ~32g per slice — totally doable with proper dosing for a holiday or birthday
- The reduced-sugar version uses allulose for the caramel and a 50/50 sweetener mix in the custard, cutting carbs almost in half while keeping the texture and coconut flavor intact
Ingredients
Caramel (traditional)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (~150g carbs / ~19g per serving)
- 2 tbsp water
Caramel (reduced-sugar)
- 3/4 cup allulose (~0g net carbs)
- 1 tbsp regular sugar for color (~12g carbs / ~1.5g per serving)
- 2 tbsp water
Custard
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (~165g carbs / ~21g per serving) — OR sugar-free condensed milk for reduced version (~30g carbs / ~4g per serving)
- 1 can (13.5 oz) full-fat coconut milk (~10g carbs / ~1g per serving)
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk (~30g carbs / ~4g per serving)
- 5 large eggs (~3g carbs)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (~6g carbs / ~1g per serving)
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Caramel: In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar (or allulose + sugar) and water. Swirl the pan (don't stir) as it melts.
- Cook until amber golden — about 6-8 minutes. Immediately pour into the bottom of a 9-inch round flan pan or cake pan, tilting to coat. Set aside (caramel will harden — that's fine).
- Custard: In a blender, combine condensed milk, coconut milk, evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Blend 30 seconds until smooth.
- Stir in the shredded coconut by hand.
- Pour custard over the caramel.
- Place the flan pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with hot water halfway up the sides of the flan pan (baño de María).
- Bake 55-65 minutes until the center jiggles slightly but isn't liquid.
- Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 4 hours (overnight is better).
- To unmold: run a knife around the edge, invert onto a rimmed plate. The caramel sauce will pour out over the top.
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Dash says: serve smaller slices (1/12 of the flan) for everyday — the dessert is rich enough that a small portion satisfies, and the carbs drop to ~21g
- Pair flan with a piece of pernil or any protein at the same meal — the fat and protein dramatically smooth out the dessert's spike
- For birthdays, the traditional version is the move — just pre-bolus 15-20 minutes ahead and watch the CGM (check with your endo first)