This mango custard recipe takes just a few minutes to make and uses just a few ingredients. The light flavor and few calories make this perfect for a summer dessert.
This is the perfect quick and easy dessert for any mango lover. Whenever I have lots of mango on hand – fresh or frozen – I make this and my mango lassi as often as possible.
As the weather heats up, I don’t want to turn on my oven, but I still want a delicious dessert. That’s when I turn to no bake desserts that tend to be cooling like this mango custard.
My kids love peach ice cream, but sometimes it’s so hot I need something that doesn’t melt, especially when serving guests.
Some links in this article are affiliate links that may earn me a commission if you purchase through them.

Better yet, this mango custard dessert just so happens to be under 100 calories per serving and gluten free. How can you not fall in love with this?
My kids beg me to make this all the time, and as easy as it is, why not?

The mango custard lasts two to three days in the fridge, so this makes the perfect make ahead dessert for any summer BBQs or other entertaining you happen to do. Just pull them from the fridge and add chopped kiwi and a little lime juice, and you’re set!

Pair this with some Instant Pot baked beans and a cherry pie salad plus a simple fun salad like my favorite goat cheese dried cherry salad and your burgers or brats or ribs. Then make sure you invite me because that sounds like heaven!
Homemade mango custard is my kind of dessert. It’s light and has a sweet fruit flavor without being overly sweet.
Asian desserts tend to be my favorite, as they’re generally lighter and have depth of flavor other desserts don’t always. Indian and Indonesian desserts are some of my favorites, like carrot halwa and nastar cookies.
Can I use frozen mango?
Yes, you absolutely can! In fact, I often use frozen mango to make this mango custard recipe.
Fresh mango tastes amazing, but you want perfectly ripe mango, which can be a challenge sometimes. And you have to peel and remove it from the pit and cut it.
If you use frozen mango, use about 5 cups frozen to get 3 1/2 cups mango pulp, and let it thaw to just about room temperature. You can microwave it gently to speed the process, but I often just put the measuring cup in my fridge the night before I plan to make this instead.
Do not, however, use store bought canned mango puree. This has added sugars and ingredients, and it won’t give you the right texture or flavor at the end.
Is this mango custard or mango pudding?
So technically this is neither a custard nor a pudding, but it’s closest to a firm custard texture.
A custard is milk or cream based and usually needs to be baked in a water bath. Check on the milk based, but this is a no bake dessert.
Puddings are milk or cream based that get thickened with a gelatinized thickener and cooked on the stove. So check with the milk and thickener, but again no cooking on the stove. Plus, this is far thicker than a pudding.
Regardless of what you want to call this delicious dessert, it tastes amazing.
Can I use regular milk or cream?
So yes, this will work with cold milk or heavy cream, but you don’t need to use it. That almost makes it too rich, in my opinion.
This homemade mango custard recipe uses evaporated milk, which is NOT the same as sweetened condensed milk, so don’t get them confused.
Evaporated milk is the right texture for this, and it’s also a reason this is a fairly low calorie dessert. It’s worth picking up a can to have the right ingredients.
Can I make this dairy free?
You can. The only dairy is the evaporated milk.
While you could use a straight substitute of your favorite non-dairy milk – rice or coconut or soy or almond milk, it works best if you thicken it.
Did you know that evaporated milk is just thickened milk? It simmers until the volume is reduced by half, and that’s it.
You want to do the same with your non-dairy milk. Add 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups coconut milk (or your favorite substitute) to a heavy pot, and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes until it reduces by half.
Do not let it boil. You want it warm and steaming, but that’s it.
Can I make this vegan?
This is the tough part. While you can remove the dairy, this homemade mango custard also includes gelatin.
That said, there are vegan gelatin substitutes.
Vegan Jel is the easiest, as you add it and use it the same way you use gelatin in this recipe. It’s flavorless and works much the same as gelatin, but you need to use 50% more Vegan Jel.
Agar agar powder is one of the most popular, but you need to heat it for it to dissolve. To use this, you substitute the gelatin one for one.
Add it to the evaporated milk and gently heat it until it dissolves. Let the mixture cool five to ten minutes before you work with the rest of the recipe.
Can I make this mango custard recipe ahead of time?
Yes, you absolutely can. This delicious mango dessert needs to chill for 3 hours to set up before you serve it no matter what.
That said, you can make it a day or even two days in advance if you need to. Make sure that you cover the ramekins tightly with plastic wrap if you plan to keep them in the fridge for more than five or six hours.
You can also prep your mango pulp ahead of time. Either peel and chunk your fresh mango ahead of time or let your frozen mango thaw a bit, then puree them.
Place the puree into a tightly sealed container, and store it in the fridge until you wish to make the custard. You can do this two to three days in advance, as well.
How to Make Homemade Mango Custard
Peel mangos and cut into large chunks (essentially large enough to fit in your blender). This is what you’ll use to make the mango pulp for the fruit custard.
Put mango chunks into your blender, along with the evaporated milk. Blend until you have a smooth mango puree, then pour into a large bowl.
While the mango purees, heat your water. Add gelatin and sugar to the hot water and stir, stir, stir until they’re totally dissolved.
This will take 2-3 minutes. Make sure you start stirring as you add the gelatin. If you add the gelatin and then let it sit for a minute, it will turn into a hard clump and take way longer to dissolve.
Add ice cubes to mango mixture, then pour gelatin mixture into it and stir until fully dissolved. Again, this will take a minute or so.
Pour mixture into individual ramekins and chill for at least 3 hours. You can heat the ramekins by dipping into a bowl of hot water (don’t let it touch the pudding), then use a knife to loosen and invert on a plate or serve in the ramekins.
I garnish the mango custard with a diced kiwi, the leftover mango that I then dice and squeeze of lime juice. This makes ~12-14 small ramekins. They’re good the day of and up to 2-3 days after.
Have you ever tried mango custard? What’s your go to summer dessert?
Side note on the mangoes: You can buy pureed mango, but beware what else is in it. I prefer to buy 3 or 4 mangoes and puree them myself or use frozen mango chunks.
It takes between 2 and 3 large mangoes to get the 3 1/2 c pureed mango. Peel them, cut into large chunks and add slowly to your blender to get the puree.
If you accidentally cut into the pit, you may want to strain the puree (or you can pick out individual pieces if you’re patient enough). Reserve the remaining mango and dice to use for garnish.

Mango Custard
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups mango puree
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup ice cubes
- 2 kiwi
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
- Peel mangoes and cut into large chunks or use frozen mango.
- Place mango chunks into blender, along with the evaporated milk. Puree until smooth, then pour into a large bowl..3 1/2 cups mango puree, 1 cup evaporated milk
- While the mango purees, heat water. Add gelatin and sugar to hot water and stir 2-3 minutes until dissolved.1 cup hot water, 1/3 cup sugar
- Add ice cubes to mango mixture, then pour in gelatin mixture and stir until fully dissolved.1/2 cup ice cubes, 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
- Pour mixture into individual ramekins and chill for at least 3 hours.
- To serve, heat the ramekins by dipping into a bowl of hot water (don’t let it touch the pudding), then use a knife to loosen and invert on a plate or serve in the ramekins.
- Optional: garnish mango custard with a diced kiwi, leftover diced mango and squeeze of lime juice.2 kiwi, 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Store in fridge 2-3 days.
Notes
- Use approximately 5 cups of mango chunks to get 3 1/2 cups mango puree.
- For fresh mango, it takes 2-3 mangoes to get 3 1/2 cups mango pulp, depending on their size.
- For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.
Nutrition
This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
You are missing when to put in gelatin in recipe?
You are right. It looks like a word somehow got deleted when I changed recipe card providers. I have updated it. Gelatin gets mixed in with the hot water and sugar so it dissolves. I have updated it to add the word back in – thank you for letting me know!
[…] Mango custard […]
I’m confused with the hot water. You say to pour the gelatin and sugar in the hot water but you don’t say what to do with it. Do I pour the hot water into the mongo puree and then add ice cubes and then the 2nd packet of gelatin? I’d like to try this but would like more clarification. Thanks.
Hi Dan, the hot water with the gelatin, etc gets poured into the mango puree after everything gets fully dissolved in the water. All the gelatin has to go into the hot water in that step, not just one envelope. Gelatin will only dissolve in hot water with a lot of stirring.
So puree your mango and evaporated milk. Then make the gelatin mixture. Add the ice cubes to the mango puree, THEN pour the water/gelatin/sugar mixture into the mango puree with the ice cubes already in it and stir until everything comes together and the ice has melted.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
[…] visit. Why? They know I always have dessert, whether it’s something simple and healthy like a mango custard or I make a copycat Girl Scout S’mores cookies recipe that needs some veggies to balance it […]
Can I substitute cocunut milk for the evaporated milk?
I have never tried, but if you do it, I would use the canned coconut milk. It will definitely be richer if you do so. And the flavor combo of coconut and mango sound delicious. It’s worth a try – and let me know if it works!