Coconut ladoo are traditional Indian sweet balls made with coconut, cardamom powder, a sweetener & milk (optional). There are 3 different ways of making coconut ladoos & I have shared all of them in this post. We make these for most festivals and occasions as they taste delicious and are easy to make. These also make an amazing gift to share with friends.
Traditionally coconut ladoos were made with fresh grated coconut and jaggery as it was the most common sweetener used in traditional Indian cooking. These were made across India mostly in the coastal regions where fresh coconuts were grown in abundance.
However these delicious ladoos can be made using fresh coconut, frozen coconut or even desiccated coconut. To sweeten the balls you can use sugar, jaggery or condensed milk to suit your taste buds.
As I mentioned I have 3 recipes on this post. Choose the recipe depending on the ingredients you have.
- Recipe 1 uses coconut (fresh, frozen or desiccated), sugar & milk.
- Recipe 2 uses desiccated coconut & condensed milk.
- Last one – Recipe 3 uses fresh or frozen coconut & jaggery.
Step-by-step photos
Preparation coconut ladoo – recipe 1
1. Add 2 cups coconut, ¾ cup sugar and 1 cup milk to a pan. I used desiccated coconut so I used 1 cup milk. If using fresh coconut, you can reduce to half cup.
2. Mix well and leave aside for about 15 minutes.
How to make coconut ladoo
3. Begin to cook, stirring often to prevent burning. The mixture becomes gooey when the sugar begins to melt.
4. Cook till the mixture gets cooked well and all the moisture evaporates. It turns thick as seen in the picture. The mixture should be moist but not soggy else they will not get a good shape when rolled. Add roasted nuts, cardamom powder and stir well. Set aside till the temperature comes down.
5. When the temperature comes down to warm, take small portions of the mixture to your palms and press down with your fingers to form round balls. You can also roll them in desiccated coconut if you prefer. To roll the balls in coconut make sure the balls are still warm and moist.
Store coconut ladoo in an airtight jar. Refrigerate and use with in 5 to 7 days.
Recipe 2
Coconut laddu with condensed milk
1. Pour the half cup + 2 tablespoons condensed milk in a pan.
2. Next add the 1½ cups desiccated coconut. If it is not fine, then process it in a grinder or food processor.
3. Mix both of them together well. Taste test and check if it the sweetness is okay. If you like it more sweet add more condensed milk. Then begin to cook on a low flame.
4. Cook stirring continuously until the entire mixture turns to a mass. It must still be moist. Do not overcook otherwise the ladoos will turn hard. Then turn off the stove and add cardamom powder and 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios or any nuts. Cool down.
5. When the mixture is still warm, take small portions of this mixture to your palm and press down gently to shape them to balls.
6. Roll them in coconut for garnishing. You can also skip this.
Store the coconut laddu in a air tight jar and refrigerate. Use within a week.
Recipe 3 with jaggery
1. Add 2 cups fresh or frozen coconut to a pan. You can take ¾ to 1 cup jaggery. Read my recipe notes in the recipe card.
2. Mix well and begin to cook on a low heat. Jaggery will melt and the mixture turns gooey. Taste test at this stage and add more jaggery if needed.
3.Cook the mixture until most of the moisture evaporates. It must still be moist. Then add cardamom powder and turn off. Cool down the mixture.
4. When it is still warm, take small portions of the mixture to your hand and press down with your fingers to give them a round ball shape. Cool them completely and store in air tight jar.
Tips to make coconut ladoo
Choosing coconut: Fresh coconut tastes best to make these balls. But you can also use frozen coconut or desiccated coconut. If you prefer to use frozen coconut make sure it is raw coconut and not steamed.
If using desiccated coconut then use the fine shreds and not large ones. You can also use copra and make these no cook copra ladoos
Sweetener : You can use sugar, jaggery, palm jaggery or condensed milk to sweeten the balls. The coconut ladoos made with jaggery are the best and have a depth of flavor.
If your jaggery has debris then you will need to dissolve it first and then use. You can find the detailed step by step photos here on kobbari jaggery laddu.
Flavoring : Traditionally cardamoms are used to flavor the coconut ladoos. However during winters some people also use dried ginger powder & nutmeg.
Vegan : For a vegan version just replace the milk in the recipe with coconut milk or make them with jaggery. Jaggery has lot more moisture in it than sugar so the recipe works well without milk.
Quantity of milk: For the first recipe if using fresh or frozen coconut, the amount of milk used in the recipe can be scaled down to half. Otherwise the milk is simmered till it reduces to half the quantity and then the coconut and sugar are added.
Optional ingredients
There are so many optional ingredients you can add to these coconut ladoos to make them taste rich. Khoya, milk powder, cashew nut powder & sesame seeds are some of the ingredients I use.
To make khoya coconut balls, you can check these stuffed kova ladoo recipe.
You can also check these 30 ladoo recipes
Rava laddu
Besan ladoo
Boondi ladoo
Atta ladoo
Peanut ladoo
Poha ladoo
You may like to check these 30 Coconut Recipes.
Recipe
Coconut ladoo
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Recipe – 1
- 2 cups grated coconut (fresh or fine desiccated)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 8 cashews (broken)
- 1 teaspoon ghee (or any neutral oil)
- ¾ cup sugar (adjust to taste)
- 1 cup milk (½ cup if using fresh coconut)
Recipe – 2
- 1½ cups desiccated coconut (refer notes)
- ½ cup + 2 tbsps condensed milk (200 grams or ½ of 400 grams tin)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
Recipe – 3
- 2 cups coconut (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup grated jaggery (or ¾ cup tightly packed)(refer notes)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 10 cashews (chopped)
Instructions
Recipe 1 – Preparation
- Heat 1 teaspoon ghee in a pan, add 8 broken cashew nuts.
- Fry them stirring often until they turn golden. Remove these to a plate and set aside.
- To the same pan, add grated coconut, milk and sugar.
- If using desiccated coconut set the pan aside for 15 minutes for the coconut to absorb the milk and soften.
- Mix all of the ingredients well.
- Begin to cook till the coconut ladoo mixture thickens and all the moisture evaporates completely.
- The mixture must still be moist and not dry.
How to make coconut ladoo
- Add cardamom powder and nuts. Mix well. Cool the mixture slightly.
- When it comes down to warm temperature, take small portions of this to your palm and press down with your fingers to bind the mixture. This gives the round shape coconut ladoos. (Check video)
- When they are still warm and moist you can also roll the ladoos in desiccated coconut.
- Store coconut laddu in an airtight jar and refrigerate. Use within 5 to 7 days.
Recipe 2 – Coconut ladoo with condensed milk
- To a pan, add 1½ cups desiccated coconut, ¼ tsp cardamom powder and ½ cup + 2 tablespoons condensed milk.
- Mix up all of these and cook on a low flame stirring often. Taste test and If needed add more condensed milk for more sweetness.
- Cook stirring continuously, till the mixture thickens and turns to a mass. (check step-by-step photos above for consistency)
- Turn off the stove. At this stage the coconut ladoo mixture must be still moist. If you overcook then the ladoos will turn hard.
- Cool and add chopped pistachios. When it is still warm, take small portions of this mixture to your palms and press down with your fingers to give a round shape to the coconut ladoos.
- Cool these completely. Store in a air tight box and refrigerate. Use up within a week.
Recipe 3 – Coconut ladoo with jaggery
- Heat 1 tsp ghee and fry cashews. Remove and keep them aside. In the same pan, mix together fresh coconut and grated jaggery in a pan.
- Once the jaggery melts, taste test and add more if needed. Cook until the mixture smells good , turns thick & binds together.
- Add cardamoms and fried nuts. Cool down and roll to balls.
- Store coconut laddus in a air tight jar and store at room temperature. Use up within 7 days.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
Notes
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Shikha says
I used jaggery recipe (cooked the mixture of 1.5 cup shredded coconut and 0.6-0.7 cup powdered jaggery for 5-6 minutes). Mixture was totally dry and un-bindable. Then I added half cup water and cooked for a few minutes again. Mixture tastes bitter and chewy and is of dark brown color. Is this the way it is supposed to be?
swasthi says
Hi Shikha
The moisture and sweetness in jaggery powder (prepacked) is lesser than the regular grated jaggery. If using jaggery powder then you will need to use more than regular grated jaggery. You should have added more jaggery and not water. You can check these links to know how it looks
without water – modak
with water – kobbari louz.
The mixture tastes bitter because it got overcooked.
Reenu says
Hi
I tried your recipe using desiccated coconut powder and milk. Can you tell me the cooking time on flame? Also I found them difficult to bind and dry to eat. I had used 1 cup milk with 2 cups coconut powder. Can it be because it required more milk to bind and taste moist?
swasthi says
Hi Reenu,
Is coconut powder the same as coconut flour? I mentioned about the desiccated coconut which is grated and not powdered. I feel powder requires more milk. The mixture has to reach the same consistency as with fresh coconut. You can check the step by step photos in the post. Yes add more milk and cook for some more time. If it still doesn’t work out, just blend the entire mixture. Then roll it to balls. Hope this helps.
Rita says
Can i use amul cream in the recipe
swasthi says
Hi Rita,
I haven’t tried anytime. I think it works
Shasi says
Just now I made coconut laddu and it came very well..I am so happy because I tried this very first time and kids liked this laddu very much. Diwali is going to be delicious with home made sweets😄.
Thank you very much for your perfect receipe Swasthi😊
swasthi says
Hi Shasi,
You are most welcome! Glad the ladoos came out good. Thank you!
Happy Diwali!
Aditi says
Hey..
Please tell the quantity of milk for fresh frozen coconut?
swasthi says
Hi Aditi,
You can use half cup milk.
Bhawna Sharma says
Thank you so much for sharing such a good recipe of coconut ladoos.
swasthi says
Hi Bhawna
You are welcome.
Karen Macha says
Hello! I’m enjoying your recipes. I visited India back in November and became obsessed with ladoos. I have yet to make them anywhere near as well as the ones I tasted in India.
I’ve only been experimenting with the rava ladoos but I just can’t seem to get the consistency/ texture right. Also, I’m out of cashews and wondering what you think about substituting another nut? I’m in Texas and have a great quantity of pecans. Do you think pecans might be ok with coconut ladoos?
Thanks for your input!!
swasthi says
Hi Karen
You are welcome. We Indians make so many kinds of ladoos. Not sure which one you tasted in India. Please check this collection of 35 ladoo recipes. You should be able to find something similar. For rava ladoos if you are unable to bind the mixture just add little more ghee. You will need to press down the mixture in your palms to bind well. for the coconut ladoos you can use any kind of nuts you like including pecans.
Mansee says
The receipe is lovely..laddu tastes yummy
swasthi says
Thank you so much
NP says
Dear Swasthi,
Another awesome recipe from you. I tried this yesterday. The stage at which I stopped cooking the mixture, I got moist yet chewy and firm in shape ladoos. I really enjoyed making these ladoos and loved it’s taste. Thanks for the recipe. God bless!
swasthi says
Hi NP,
You are welcome. Thanks a lot for the wishes. They mean a lot. Glad to know the ladoos turned out good.
🙂
kashish says
Ik heb de ladoos vandaag gemaakt. En ze zijn goed gelukt. Dank je wel.
swasthi says
Hi Kashish,
Thanks for the comment. Glad they turned out good.
🙂
Piyali says
Thanks for the recipe..mam I want to know how we can store this coconut laddu for 6months?what else extra I have to add?
swasthi says
Hi Piyali,
If you freeze they may stay good but don’t think they will taste good.
Heera says
Hlw, thank you so mch fr the awesome coconut laddu recipe.. i tried it.. it was so easy and wonderful.. once again thank you so mch and lov u.. frm Nepal
swasthi says
Welcome Heera
Very happy to know you liked the ladoos. Thanks for the love.
Have a good day!
🙂
Vineeta says
First time I made nariyal laddoo n it was awesome my husband like it very much
swasthi says
Hi Vineeta
Thanks for sharing the outcome. Glad you both liked them
Violet says
Hello Swasthi and thanks for your fantastic recipes !
Just a question : is there any way to make this recipe a vegan one by replacing the milk by something else like almond or coconut milk ?
swasthi says
Welcome Violet
Yes you can use any vegan milk. You can also make without using any kind of milk. You will need to use only fresh coconut & add very little water to the sugar. Just soak everything together for a while and then cook until the mixture turns a mass. You can also refer these coconut ladoos & burfi where I have not used milk.
Coconut burfi
coconut jaggery ladoo
coconut oats ladoo
Hope this helps
dhana says
Very useful for me
Indu says
Too good….will try coconut laddo….
swasthi says
Thanks Indu