These fudgy Coconut Ladoo are super simple, have just 5 ingredients and perfect for Indian Festivals like Diwali or Dussehra. Vegan and Gluten-free
Dussehra is just around the corner! As with every Indian festival, there are several stories around why it is celebrated and several ways to celebrate it depending on region as well. Read more about it here.
Every year, we try to keep up the cultural celebrations, and there is always this fear that eventually all will be forgotten. The nuances of each and every Pooja, the stories, the decorations, the customs etc tend to get lost with the generations. Also, with the change in our dietary choices, the discussions and celebrations tends to affected as well. Every year, I try to recreate vegan versions of some Indian sweets so if anyone is visiting, I have something to offer to them apart from fruits :). And we can continue to discuss the festivals, stories etc without getting into why we choose to not eat something or don’t we miss eating some name delicious sweet!
This year I add another Laddoo to the repertoire. This Coconut Ladoo is has shredded coconut, coconut milk, sugar and whole cardamom. Thats it. No oils, no long list of ingredients. They come together quickly and get eaten up quickly too. Happy Dussehra everyone!
Try some Indian sweets like Besan Laddoo, Kesar Burfi, Wheat Ladoo, Sooji Halwa and Kaju Katli from the blog!
Oct 2 is Fast Against Slaughter Day. Here is how you can join in.
“Most farmed animals are starved for hours, even days, as they are being transported to slaughter. In remembrance and solidarity with their tremendous suffering, lets join across the world in a Fast Against Slaughter on October 2nd.”
I will fast as much as I can that day. No food and my balance do not work very well together.
Read more about those 65 billion animals in the food industry here. And this article on the HuffPo about who is leading the fast against slaughter.
Coconut Ladoo
Ingredients
- 2 cups (186 ml) unsweetened shredded coconut dried
- seeds from 4 to 5 cardamom pods
- 1/3 cup (75.33 ml) full fat coconut milk
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 2/3 cup (157.73 g) ground raw sugar or jaggery use a Tbsp less for less sweeter
- a pinch of salt
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
Instructions
- Grind or blend 2 cups coconut flakes in a blender or processor to make small powdery flakes. Blend a few short cycles, move the coconut around and pulse more to avoid making coconut butter. Pound the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle to break into a coarse mixture and mix with the coconut.
- Heat the coconut milk in a small skillet at medium heat. Add oil, sugar and salt and mix in. Bring the mixture to a bubbling boil (about 4 mins). continue to boil for another 4 minutes or until the mixture can form a half thread. (220 to 225 deg F temperature). Take off heat.
- Immediately add 1.5 cups of the shredded coconut and cardamom and mix in. Add the coconut flour and mix in. If the mixture appears too wet, let it cool for a minute, Then add more shredded coconut 2 Tbsp at a time. Do not add more than 4 Tbsp else the laddoos will be dryer. The mixture becomes less wet as it cools. Let the mixture cool for 2 minutes then shape into balls by picking up 1 to 2 Tbsp of the mixture, pressing and shaping with one hand. Roll the ball in the remaining shredded coconut and serve. Cool completely before storing. Store in an airtight container on the counter for upto 3 days or refrigerated for a week.
Notes
If you are not fond of cardamom, use other flavors like cinnamon or saffron.
Use more shredded coconut if you do not have coconut flour. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Get this recipe also in my cookbook! Now available internationally!
Nadia
Is the coconut oil liquid or solid?
Vegan Richa Support
depends which climate you live in – but yuo’re heating it up – so it’s goign to melt anyway =)
Sophie Coxon
Just made these for diwali. So happy to not miss out as a vegan. Thank you!
Vegan Richa Support
Excellent !!! thank you
Kavita
This recipe was so easy to follow and short list of ingredients
It was a hit at my Diwali Party
Vegan Richa Support
celebrate good times – come on!
Ash
Love this recipe! I have done a couple variations including one with chocolate (hot cocoa powder and choc chips, left out the cardamom :))
One comment – when I use the proportions (day for 12 pieces) I get about half the ladoos. I am using a small teaspoon to measure each ladoo size. Not sure what I am doing wrong but I have to double everything up.
Vegan Richa Support
Thanks Ash! the recipe yields 8-10 balls so if you’re ending up with 6 i recommend using a slightly smaller spoon and a little less mixture for each one that you form.
Ash
This turned out delicious, Richa! Thank you. I substituted: almond meal for coconut flour (used double), regular canola oil for coconut oil. The ingredients for 20 pieces (in the calculator) resulted in about 15 pieces so I’ll probably use more next time.
Richa
Great!
Suhagi
It turned out great.
Richa
Aweesome!
RK
Hi Richa, Can i make this ladoo with just coconut flour ie no shredded coconut?
Richa
coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture, so you would need just a few tbsp else it would turn out too dry
Abhilasha
Could I use coconut sugar? But I reckon the taste wont be as good as with raw sugar
Richa
it will be slightly more caramel like which is a good thing in coconut laddoos 🙂
Laura
Question: how many does the recipe make? How many would I need to make for 30 people?
Richa
makes 12.probably triple or quadruple recipe for 30 people
Ranjani
Can we use almond milk instead
Richa
yes.
Elizabeth
I made these a few times already! I used vegetable oil instead of coconut since I didn’t have any, used brown sugar for a richer taste, and used powered sugar instead of coconut flour since I also didn’t have any and these turned out really well!! Always gone very quickly in my house. Might dip them in chocolate for a mounds-style candy 😊
Vegan Richa Support
yay – nice idea
Nirali
Hi Richa,
You are like my GoTo website these days…because my son is supposed to have a GFCF diet for some months atleast. I am an Indian and tried your Coconut Ladoos with Jaggery.
They were lovely and he gobbled them up very fast. Thanks for posting these recipes:).
Nirali
Hi Richa,
You are like my GoTo website these days…cos my son is supposed to have a GFCF diet for some months atleast. I am an Indian and tried your Coconut Ladoos with Jaggery. They were lovely and he gobbled them up very fast. Thanks for posting these recipes:).
Ratna Bhusal
Hi Richa,
Thanks for this recipe. can’t wait to try!
One question though, what do you mean by ‘raw sugar’? Is it just unrefined sugar?
Richa
yes, its unrefined sugar.
Surbhi
Can these be frozen?
Richa
the ladoos will stay well refrigerated for upto a week. they should work ok when froxen too. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
Stephen
Is it best to serve them warm right after making them or are they just as good the next day? If you do serve them the next day, do you serve them chilled?
Richa
You can keep them at room temperature for the day and refrigerate for upto 4 -5 days. Serve them cold from the refrigerator(they might be slightly hard), or warm in the microwave and serve
Magda
Delicious! Can’t wait to make these again!
Richa
yay!
Emily
These balls are always a hit. I make these for parties and I always come home with am empty box!
Mel
Can I use ground cardamom instead? If so, how much do you think I need?
Thank you!
Richa
1/2 to 1 tsp. Start with 1/2 as it depends on your preference of flavor and the freshness of the cardamom. If the flavor isnt strong enough, you can add more ground cardamom to the shredded coconut you will use to roll the balls in.
Nikki
But I would love to explore if you can make this without any sugar at all. I’m doing a sugar free diet, so no sugar replacers either. So I wonder if the taste can still be nice. Coconut by itself is already so flavorful. Or is it too difficult to get the consistency right.
Thanks for your suggestions 🙂
Richa
you can just blend the coconut and cardamom till it just about starts to get buttery. Then roll it up and eat it. no sugar. I am not sure how that it will taste though.
Nikki
Can you make this as well without sugar?
Richa
you can use unrefined sugar or jaggery. you can make the balls with dates, but the flavor, texture would be different. The method would also change.
Shivani
Hello Richa. Thank you so much for sharing your vegan Diwali mithai recipes. Tried to make the coconut ladoo today but couldn’t form the mixture into balls. It was v crumbly and disintegrated in my hands. Did I not boil the coconut milk & sugar for long enough? Any suggestions will be appreciated!…can I rescue the mixture I now have?
Richa
the coconut milk mixture might have gotten over cooked and the sugar might have gotten candied. or the coconut was a bit old and hence too dried. Yes you can rescue them. Boil another 1/4 cup coconut milk with 1 Tbsp sugar. Also keep the coconut ladoo mixture at low heat. When the coconut milk comes to a good boil, add half to the coconut mixture. Mix over low heat until the liquid gets absorbed and the mixture gets lumpy. Add more coconut milk if needed. Take off heat. Let it cool till warm to touch, then shape.
Shivani
Hi Richa. Thank you for your suggestion to rescue the coconut ladoos!…it worked!…& we’re now able to munch our way through the end result which is yum!…you’re right…I think the coconut I used may have been old & hence too dry. Maybe worth adding that as something to note at the end of the recipe?…thanks once again. Shivani
Richa
Yes i will add that as a note to rescue the mixture if too dry. So glad it worked out!
Jan Lee
Thank you for posting Coconut ladoo
I am looking to make ladoo this week and next week. Your coconut ladoo looks delicious.
Appreciate for your great vegan recipes and Have a Happpy Diwali
Megha
Hi Richa
Thats an awesome recipe. Can I substitute blackstrap molasses for jaggery? If yes, what should be the quantity?
Thanks
Megha
Richa
you can use molasses instead of the jaggery syrup. Use less molasses and more coconut, add a tbsp molasses at a time, mix well, add more, mix, till the coconut mixture comes together. it will taste very molassey and the balls will be sticky. So coat them well in more coconut.
Jamie
Thank you for the recipe!
Can I use leftover coconut milk pulp to sub for the shredded coconut?
Thanks!
Richa
you can try it, make sure that it has the least moisture as possible and use half pulp and half dried coconut. once the balls are made, store in the refrigerator.
Jenn
These are soo so good! I didn’t think i would love cardamom so much, but the fresh cardamom + coconut . oh my!
anu
Hi Richa,
Your recipie sounds yummmmm!!!
What is grounded raw sugar? Is it the same as white sugar ?
Richa
you can use white sugar. White sugar is refined sugar, which is generally refined using animal bone char, so vegans try to avoid that. raw sugar is granulated sugar that is not as refined. it tastes somewhere between jaggery and white sugar. since it comes in granulated cyrstals form, i grind it is to use wherever the texture needed is that of white sugar or powdered sugar.
Mary V
So Richa, if I’m subbing for the jaggery, which is better: white sugar or powdered sugar?
Richa
Either will work
Eliza Lanphear
these are really yummy and super easy and fun to make! Perfect for a party!
Sukhy
Hello,
I am so thrilled to have stumbled onto your sites looking for healthy vegan recipes.
What brand coconut milk & where to buy from??
Thanks again
Richa
I am not sure where you are. there are several brands available in the US. I usually use canned coconut milk. You can also make your own coconut milk from fresh coconut.
Sonal
So glad to see veganized Indian desserts. Diwali is going to be a yummy treat for me this time. Thanks for doing this!
Monika @ MY FOOD AND HAPPINESS
This is an absolute coconut bomb! It sounds so delicious, I could probably eat all of them. Great recipe!
rk
This looks simple and delicious. May I ask where you get “coconut flour”? I have lots of dessicated coconut powder but never heard of the flour. Thanks.
Richa
its flour of defatted coconut. https://www.amazon.com/Nutiva-Organic-Coconut-Flour-Pound/dp/B008RJMXPQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412722153&sr=8-1&keywords=coconut+flour
Dessicated or shredded coconut is dried coconut. the coconut that has most of its oil removed is made into a flour. you can just use more dessicated coconut.
Sakshi
Can I use some other kind of flour instead of coconut flour? Wheat flour or oat meal? I can’t wait to make these for this Rakhi. Thanks for such a delicious looking recipe! 😊
Richa
yes toasted wheat flour will work. Oat can have a bitter after flavor. You can also add more shredded coconut to absorb the moisture.
Shaheen
If you are still looking for testers, I would love to offer. I love south asian food, and am based in the u k, let me know. Thanks
Leigh
I’m making this, this week and have 2 other tests on my menu. Looking forward to it!
AP
Hi Richa – these look great! Do you think it would work as well with dessicated coconut? Thanks.
Richa
the dried shredded coconut is desiccated coconut, just a different name. since the coconut shred sizes are different depending on what you buy, pulse it a few times to make very small shreds.
abc
Hi Richa,
Planning to make this for Dasara.
When you boil the coconut milk, sugar mixture, is it on medium heat?
If I want to add saffron, should I add to boiling mixture?
Thanks
Richa
yes its at medium heat all through. yes add the saffron to the coconut milk + sugar
Shenita
Wouldn’t the coconut milk curdle if boiled? Last time I tried making coconut milk kheer, it was quite a disaster taste wise. Also, can you sub coconut oil with another vegetable oil? Thanks 🙂
Richa
Coconut milk shouldn’t curdle. if it curdles, then there is lemon or other ingredients in your pan or spatula or something. If you make coconut kheer, taste wise it would taste like coconut milk. yes you can use other oil instead of coconut oil.
Kelli B
How much cinnamon would you use in place of the cardamom? Im dying to try this recipe.
Richa
1/4 tsp , add more after tasting if needed
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen
Need to make these Richa! Love how simple and easy they are to make! Yum!
Kyra
I love learning about Indian festivals from your blog posts! And that is super exciting about putting together a print cookbook – that has been a dream of mine for years (not quite there yet though!). Can’t wait to try your coconut ladoo, I hope I have enough shredded coconut in the cupboard to make it today, it’s making my mouth water already!!
sharanya
that looks amazing !!
Caitlin
yummmmm coconut. i could eat about a million of these babies.