Coconut Ladoo, popularly known as Nariyal Ke Laddu, is a quick & easy to make, soft & melt-in-mouth instant Indian sweet prepared using three simple ingredients from your kitchen in less than 15 minutes. These laddus or coconut balls are gluten-free and can be easily made vegan.
Don't forget to check our popular list of traditional Indian sweets and desserts, Diwali sweets and mithai, authentic Ganesh Chaturthi recipes, and Navratri recipes for nine days.
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About the recipe
Coconut ladoo is a bite-size dessert ball, or melt-in-mouth treat made from coconut, sugar, and milk or condensed milk. Ladoo is a round-shaped Indian dessert with many variations made using flours or nuts like besan ladoo with chickpea flour, rava ladoo with suji, badam laddu with almond, dry fruit laddu with a mixture of dry fruits and no sugar added, whole wheat flour or atta ladoo, etc. Coconut ladoo, motichoor ladoo, and besan ladoo are popular among laddus and are prepared during Indian festivals and occasions.
Make this traditional coconut ladoo for Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi), Independence day, Janmashtami, Navratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Varamahalakshmi vrat, or any special occasion at any time of the year. It is very simple and easy to make and loved by all.
Did you know coconut ladoo or nariyal ke laddu is also offered to God/Deity in the form of naivedyam for pooja (puja) during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri or special occasions in the temple and then distributed to people in the form of prasadam? Yes, it is popular all over India.
Coconut ladoo or Nariyal Ladoo can be prepared in multiple ways with
- milk and sugar
- condensed milk or milkmaid
- sugar syrup
- coconut ladoo with jaggery (gur, gud)
- coconut laddu with dulce de leche
What are the benefits of eating coconut?
Coconuts are low in carbs, high in fiber and fat. If you are on a gluten-free, vegan, low-carb, and paleo diet, coconut is one of the best choices to add to your daily meals. It contains antioxidants and helps to control blood sugar.
I have a Mangalorean, Konkani root, and we use coconut almost on a daily basis in our cooking. You can check out some of the best coconut recipes, both sweet and savory, on our blog.
Check out spicy potato curry, five chutney recipes with coconut, white coconut barfi, and more.
Ingredients
Coconut: Use freshly grated coconut (kachche nariyal), dry-desiccated coconut (sukhe nariyal), frozen grated coconut, or coarse coconut powder.
Milk: I have used regular whole milk. If you are looking for coconut ladoo with condensed milk or milkmaid, check a similar version where I have made coconut ladoo with dulce de leche for all caramel lovers.
Sugar: Use as a sweetener.
Cardamom powder: For flavor.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-step instructions
I have taken the pictures of stepwise photos from the video. You can check the making of the best and easy traditional coconut ladoo recipe.
Step 1: In a wide pan, add coconut, sugar, and milk. Mix and continue to cook on medium flame, stirring continuously to prevent it from burning at the bottom.
Step 2: In the beginning, if you feel the mixture is dry, do not worry. The sugar is going to release moisture while cooking.
Step 3: Continue cooking until everything comes together and the excess moisture evaporates. That is, the mixture must be moist but not soggy.
Step 4: You take a small portion of the mixture and see if you can form the ball easily without breaking. Switch off the flame.
Step 5: Add cardamom powder and mix. Keep the mixture aside for 5 minutes so that it cools down a bit.
Step 6: Then, take a portion of the mixture and form round balls. I was able to create 25 laddus. This may vary depending on the size of ladoos you make.
Tips
- See that fresh frozen or desiccated coconut does not have large gratings. This will make it difficult for you to bind and shape laddus. Suppose you have coarsely grated coconut with uneven large coconut chunks. In that case, you can grind them in a mixer, blender, or food processor for a few seconds to obtain uniform-sized coconut powder.
- You can make the laddus more rich and flavorful by adding nuts like cashews and pistachios toasted in a tablespoon of ghee.
- You can slightly reduce the milk in the recipe when using fresh coconut. Else you will have to cook for a little longer for moisture to evaporate. I have used desiccated coconut, and thus, I have used 1 cup of milk.
- The best part about the coconut ladoo is that you don't have to worry about the string consistency of sugar syrup. Also, no ghee or butter is used in the recipe.
- For white laddu, make sure you add only the white part of the coconut if grating the fresh ones.
- To make this laddu vegan, add coconut milk instead of milk.
How long can I store coconut ladoo?
Since milk is added, you can keep it at room temperature for a day and in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Why am I unable to shape my ladoos?
Taking the mixture from the pan too early while it is still soft, wet, and soggy is one of the reasons laddus don't retain their shape and fall apart. When the mixture is cooked for a long time, it may become dry and thus becomes difficult to shape the laddo. Take a small portion of the mixture and try to form a ball. If you are able to do it, switch off the flame.
How to make coconut laddu with jaggery?
While making coconut ladoo with jaggery (gur, gud), do not use milk. The moisture content in jaggery is sufficient for binding. So you just have to use only two ingredients. Coconut and jaggery. Depending on the type of jaggery you are using, the color and the amount may vary. You can check the steps here for making coconut burfi with jaggery.
How to make coconut ladoo or nariyal ke laddoo without fire?
If you want a no-fire or no-cook version:
- Use coconut and condensed milk to make coconut laddus. You can check the caramel coconut ladoo recipe.
- Add both ingredients to a bowl, mix, and shape them into ladoos.
- Adjust the amount of condensed milk depending on the desired sweetness.
More coconut sweets
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Recipe card
Coconut Ladoo | Nariyal Laddu | Easy Ladoo Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups Coconut (Fresh, frozen, desiccated)
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 1 cup Milk
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder (optional)
Instructions
- In a wide pan, add coconut, sugar, and milk. Mix and continue to cook on medium flame, stirring continuously to prevent it from burning at the bottom.2 cups Coconut, ¾ cup Sugar, 1 cup Milk
- In the beginning, if you feel the mixture is dry, do not worry. The sugar is going to release the moisture while cooking.
- Continue cooking until everything comes together and the excess moisture evaporates. That is, the mixture must be moist but not soggy. You take a small portion of the mixture and see if you can form the ball easily without breaking. Switch off the flame.
- Add cardamom powder and mix. Keep the mixture aside for 5 minutes so that it cools down a bit.½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- Store it in an airtight container. Use it as needed.
Video
Notes
- See that fresh frozen or desiccated coconut does not have large gratings. This will make it difficult for you to bind and shape laddus. Suppose you have coarsely grated coconut with uneven large coconut chunks. In that case, you can grind them in a mixer, blender, or food processor for a few seconds to obtain uniform-sized coconut powder.
- You can make the laddus more rich and flavorful by adding nuts like cashews and pistachios toasted in a tablespoon of ghee.
- You can slightly reduce the milk in the recipe when using fresh coconut. Else you will have to cook for a little longer for moisture to evaporate. I have used desiccated coconut, and thus, I have used 1 cup of milk.
- The best part about the coconut ladoo is that you don't have to worry about the string consistency of sugar syrup. Also, no ghee or butter is used in the recipe.
- For white laddu, make sure you add only the white part of the coconut if grating the fresh ones.
- To make this laddu vegan, add coconut milk instead of milk.
Nutrition
Note: We originally posted this recipe in Aug 2022. It has now been modified in Aug 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Connie
Wow! I love having this quick and easy gf dessert in my arsenal. Delicious. Brilliant!
Elis
Can’t wait to try this recipe! The video is very helpful. One question I didn’t see answered (forgive me if I missed that): how long can these be kept fresh in the fridge? If I make them 2 or 3 days ahead will they still be nice? Thank you 🙂
Kushi
Yes. You can keep it in refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. Do let us know how it turns out 🙂