This creamy and silky smooth 5-ingredient coconut jelly is my paleo copycat version of the popular Melo Melo coconut pudding dessert, but made without dairy and refined sugar!
What is Melo Melo?
My mom and I share a love of creamy, not-too-sweet, coconut-flavored desserts, and a few months ago she introduced me to the magic that is Melo Melo. She told me about a local Chinese market that makes home deliveries of Asian groceries in the SF Bay Area, and how one of the items that she adds to her orders to reach the $60 minimum for free delivery is a fantastic coconut jelly dessert from an Asian dessert mini-empire in Southern California called Melo Melo. Each jar of Melo Melo’s coconut dessert costs $7.99(!) but my mom assured me that it’s well worth the price. Melo Melo, she exclaimed, is super delicious.
She was right. Once I tried Melo Melo’s coconut jelly, I was completely hooked. Melo Melo’s creamy coconut water jelly has the texture of a fragile silken tofu that breaks as soon as the spoon touches the surface. Although Melo Melo sells a number of coconut jelly varieties featuring different fresh fruit purées, I like the single coconut jelly and double coconut jelly best because I can customize them by pairing them with my favorite fruit combinations.
Dairy-free and paleo Melo Melo copycat
After indulging in far too many jars of Melo Melo, I had to come up with a paleo, dairy-free version—mainly so I could save some money and reuse all the glass Melo Melo containers littering my kitchen counter. Unfortunately, the Melo Melo website is pretty coy about the ingredients—the only two components listed for its coconut jelly are “fresh coconut water and milk,” which didn’t explain how the dessert actually gels or how it’s sweetened.
But after some extensive experimentation, I came up with my own version that may even be an improvement on the original Melo Melo coconut dessert because I use just 5 wholesome ingredients and the end result is even more creamy and coconut-infused than its inspiration!
In fact, my mom shared my paleo coconut jelly puddings with some of her friends (all picky Asian moms) and they told her they preferred my version over Melo Melo’s. Considering the source, that’s high praise!
Can you make it vegan?
Perhaps! I haven’t tried it myself, but I bet you can switch out the gelatin with some agar agar (start with ⅓ to ½ the amount of gelatin) and use agave syrup in place of the honey. Please note that the agar agar will yield a stiffer, more rubbery gel than gelatin! If you have successfully substituted agar agar in this recipe, please leave your version in the comments so others can benefit from your experimentation.
Can you make it keto and low carb?
Yes! My dad has diabetes so I’ve made this coconut jelly with liquid allulose in place of honey numerous times. Because allulose is not quite as sweet as honey, I use ⅓ cup of liquid allulose in the recipe. Both my picky parents like the taste of this keto version and actually prefer it to the honey-sweetened one! I learned about allulose a few years ago from Dr. Peter Attia’s podcast and prefer allulose to other keto sweeteners because it doesn’t have a weird aftertaste.
Tips for making the best coconut jelly dessert
- Quality matters! Buy the best coconut milk and coconut water you can find because your coconut jelly will only be as creamy and coconut-y as the ones you select. I’ve shared my favorite brands in the ingredients section below.
- Don’t boil the coconut milk and water mixture! When you heat up the coconut pudding ingredients on the stovetop, just warm it enough to dissolve the honey and melt the gelatin (~body temperature or 100°F). If the coconut mixture is heated too much, it can separate. It’s natural to have a little separation at the bottom of each jar once it cools, but you should see only about a half-inch of clear gel at the most.
- Make sure you don’t use too much gelatin! One of the reasons folks love Melo Melo is because the texture is so soft and delicate—if you add too much gelatin to it, the texture will be too stiff and more like firm Jell-O than silky Melo Melo.
Ingredients
- Coconut water: Obviously, coconut water from a freshly cracked open young coconut is best but I don’t have that readily available to me. For this recipe, my favorite brand of store-bought coconut water is Taste Nirvana Real Coconut Water in the glass bottles. It has a delicious, fresh coconut flavor and it won’t turn the coconut dessert pink like Harmless Coconut Water.
- Full fat coconut milk: My favorite brand of full-fat coconut milk is Aroy-D in the green tetrapak boxes that can be found at most Asian markets. The coconut milk is super creamy and coconut-y but I just learned that it may not be 100% additive free, despite what it says on the label. Native Forest Brand Simple Organic Coconut Milk is purported to be 100% coconut milk with no additives, but it’s not quite as creamy in my opinion.
- Gelatin: My preferred brand of unflavored powdered gelatin is Great Lakes beef gelatin. Make sure you don’t use collagen peptides instead because your desserts won’t gel.
- Honey: Use a light colored honey to keep the coconut jelly as white as possible.
- Vanilla extract: The coconut flavor is accentuated with vanilla extract!
- Fresh fruit: You can just eat these coconut desserts unadorned, but I love to top them with fruit, like fresh berries or canned tangerine segments packed in 100% juice.
How to make coconut jelly
Bloom the gelatin
Pour ¼ cup of the coconut water into a small bowl. Add the gelatin and whisk until well-incorporated. Set aside to let the gelatin bloom and rehydrate.
Heat up the coconut mixture
In a small saucepan, combine the remaining coconut water, coconut milk, and honey.
Heat the coconut mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently until the honey is dissolved and the coconut milk is hot but not boiling.
Add the gelatin and vanilla
Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the reserved hydrated gelatin and vanilla, making sure there are no lumps.
Strain the coconut mixture
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a liquid measuring cup to catch any unmelted lumps of gelatin or honey.
Skim off any bubbles on the surface with a fine mesh strainer.
Pour into jars
Then, evenly divide the coconut milk mixture into 6 small (6-ounce) glass jars.
Refrigerate the coconut jelly
Chill the jars in the fridge for 1 hour uncovered and then add the lids and chill until solid, about 4 hours.
Adorn with fruit
When you are ready to serve, top with fresh fruit if desired!
Eat it up as a snack or dessert!
How do you store the coconut jelly?
If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, these coconut jelly desserts can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. This simple fact also means that you can make these delectable treats ahead of time and serve when needed!
Looking for more Asian-inspired paleo desserts?
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Coconut Jelly Dessert (Dairy-Free Melo Melo Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut water divided (I like Taste Nirvana brand in the glass bottle)
- 2½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin powder
- 2½ cups full-fat coconut milk I like Aroy-D brand in the tetrapak or Native Forest Simple Organic coconut milk
- ¼ cup honey light colored (or use ⅓ cup liquid allulose to make it keto)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups sliced fresh fruit optional
Instructions
- Pour ¼ cup of the coconut water into a small bowl. Add the gelatin and whisk until well-incorporated. Set aside to let the gelatin bloom and rehydrate.
- In a small saucepan, combine the remaining coconut water, coconut milk, and honey. Heat the coconut mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently until the honey is dissolved and the coconut milk is hot but not boiling.
- Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the reserved hydrated gelatin and vanilla, making sure there are no lumps.
- Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a liquid measuring cup to catch any unmelted lumps of gelatin or honey. Skim off any bubbles on the surface with a fine mesh strainer.
- Then, evenly divide the coconut milk mixture into 6 small (6-ounce) glass jars.
- Chill the jars in the fridge for 1 hour uncovered and then add the lids and chill until solid, about 4 hours. When you are ready to serve, top with fresh fruit if desired!
- Store the coconut jelly in sealed containers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- Quality matters! Buy the best coconut milk and coconut water you can find because your coconut jelly will only be as creamy and coconut-y as ones you select. I’ve shared my favorite brands in the ingredients section.
- Don’t boil the coconut milk and water mixture! When you heat up the coconut pudding ingredients on the stovetop, just warm it enough to dissolve the honey and melt the gelatin (~body temperature or 100°F). If the coconut mixture is heated too much, it can separate. It’s natural to have a little separation at the bottom of each jar once it cools, but you should see only about a half-inch of clear gel at the most.
- Make sure you don’t use too much gelatin! One of the reasons folks love Melo Melo is because the texture is so soft and delicate—if you add too much gelatin to it, the texture will be too stiff and more like firm Jell-O than silky Melo Melo.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you know why the oil separated from the pudding after being refrigerated?
Do you mean the oil from the Coconut Milk? Here’s what Michelle said:
Don’t boil the coconut milk and water mixture! When you heat up the coconut pudding ingredients on the stovetop, just warm it enough to dissolve the honey and melt the gelatin (~body temperature or 100°F). If the coconut mixture is heated too much, it can separate. It’s natural to have a little separation at the bottom of each jar once it cools, but you should see only about a half-inch of clear gel at the most.
Do you have a recipe for the melo melo double coconut?
These are phenomenal! Mine came out with a texture of silken tofu and a light and refreshing coconut flavor. I used Harmless Harvest coconut water, but the pink color didn’t come through with the end product very much at all. I was also out of vanilla (the horrors!), so I steeped a couple threads of saffron in the coconut mixture while heating and stored in 1/8 tsp each of orange blossom water and almond extract. Also, all my honey are these interesting flavor varieties picked up from a market in Paris, which wouldn’t go well in a recipe where the honey isn’t a star, but golden syrup worked quite well instead. I’m going to keep my fridge stocked with coconut water just for more of this!!! I appreciate how exacting the measurements are to get that perfect silky texture.
Michelle, I’ve been looking for a recipe that mirrors Melo Melo, and you nailed it! I’ve made other versions that were close but not quite the same. I made this yesterday, and my husband says it tastes very similar to the store bought one. The key truly is not allowing to mixture to come to a boil and using quality coconut milk.
I made this recipe and another copycat to see which was better, and this won by a mile. Amazing texture and flavor, and mine didn’t separate. I heated just until the honey was dissolved, and that amount of heat dissolved the gelatin as well. Thanks for this recipe!
Could I substitute agar agar for a vegan version? If so, is it the same amount of agar agar powder or would I need a different amount?
Hi Eileen, Michelle actually addresses this in the post. Look for the “CAN YOU MAKE IT VEGAN?” section!
I tried this recipe for the first time and i think we did something wrong. ours was too sweet and the texture wasnt jelly like, the texture was water like. Was the texture for the gelatin + coconut water mix supposed to be watery when you put it in the pot cause ours was and maybe thats why. also we didnt strain it or skim the bubbles since there were no bubbles and we didnt fewl any lumps…
The gelatin texture should have been very thick, so that is likely why it came out so watery.
Mine separated completely into a coconut water layer and a coconut milk layer – utterly separate, in just about the exact proportions of coconut water to coconut milk that went into it. Edible, I guess, but certainly not an appealing dessert. Did this not happen to other people? I followed the recipe exactly, to the best of my knowledge.
Hi Anna, here’s what Michelle wrote in her blog post that could have been the reason:
Don’t boil the coconut milk and water mixture! When you heat up the coconut pudding ingredients on the stovetop, just warm it enough to dissolve the honey and melt the gelatin (~body temperature or 100°F). If the coconut mixture is heated too much, it can separate. It’s natural to have a little separation at the bottom of each jar once it cools, but you should see only about a half-inch of clear gel at the most.
How do you prevent the coconut fat from forming a hard layer at the top of the jelly after it cools and sets?
Hi Dizzy, Michelle writes in her blog post:
Don’t boil the coconut milk and water mixture! When you heat up the coconut pudding ingredients on the stovetop, just warm it enough to dissolve the honey and melt the gelatin (~body temperature or 100°F). If the coconut mixture is heated too much, it can separate. It’s natural to have a little separation at the bottom of each jar once it cools, but you should see only about a half-inch of clear gel at the most.
I too live in the SF Bay Area and have family members who are diabetic. There is a shop (Tong Sui) with several locations up and down the Peninsula that sells something very similar to Helo Helo. Although delicious, they are equally expensive and I feel guilty splurging for them when it seems like a very simple dessert to make at home. I am so happy to find your recipe. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
On the Tong Sui website, they say no added sugar for their Signature coconut pudding and listed agar, coconut water and coconut milk as ingredients.
I have a box of sheet gelatin, would you be able to provide the conversion to gelatin powder in your recipe? I will definitely be making this and probably very often too! Perfect to make ahead for family gatherings. Thanks again 😀
Melo Melo has versions with fruit purée at the bottom of the cup. Do you have thoughts about how to get the purée on the bottom? I am guessing they cooled the coconut jelly mixture to room temp before pouring it in the cups already filled with gelatin. Has anyone tried that and been successful?
I haven’t tried adding a gelatinized fruit puree to the coconut jelly but I think your suggestion sounds correct—chill the fruit puree (with a little gelatin) in the jar and then pour the room temperature coconut jelly on top to chill until solid.