An easy flan recipe made with only 5 simple ingredients! This creamy custard dessert is topped with rich caramel and is very popular in Mexico, Spain and Latin America. It’s a showstopper dessert that is sure to impress friends and family. Perfect for any occasion!
If you love flan, try my flan de queso (cream cheese flan) or chocoflan.
I need to shout it from the rooftops – I’m officially in love with flan! I must admit that I didn’t eat much flan growing up. Instead, my family was big on tres leches cake, conchas, and marranitos. Pretty much all the bread-y desserts found in Mexican bakeries. But flan wasn’t really on my radar until recently when my nephew kept mentioning how much he loved flan (a subtle hint he kept throwing my way). That’s when I knew I had to make it.
So I got to work, tested, tested, and finally created the richest, smoothest, and creamiest flan recipe ever! Best of all, it’s so easy to make and officially made me a flan lover!
What is flan?
Flan, or crème caramel, is a creamy custard dessert topped with caramel that’s popular in Mexico, Spain, and many Latin American countries.
It’s known for its smooth and creamy consistency that’s achieved by cooking the custard in a water bath, or a bain-marie or baño-maría. Doing so creates steam in the oven that gently and evenly cooks the flan, keeping it moist and ensuring that the eggs aren’t overcooked, curdled, or scrambled.
The flan is cooked with the caramel on the bottom of the pan and the custard mixture on top. After it’s cooked and sufficiently cooled, the flan is then inverted onto a plate to reveal a rich and golden caramel sauce that perfectly covers the top of the flan!
It truly is a magical dessert!
Ingredients in Flan
This flan is made with only 5 simple ingredients which is why I love it so much! Here’s what you need:
- eggs
- sweetened condensed milk
- whole milk
- vanilla extract
- sugar
You’ll also need a small 7-inch cake pan or a special pan called a flanera. I got my flanera here. It’s inexpensive and perfect! It has an easy-locking lid, so I don’t need to use foil to cover the top while baking.
How to make flan
Step 1: Make the caramel by pouring the sugar into a warm skillet over medium heat. Keep stirring the sugar while it heats up and begins to brown and clump together. Continue stirring until the sugar completely dissolves and melts into a beautiful golden-brown caramel!
Step 2: Carefully pour the caramel into the bottom of the flanera or cake pan as evenly as possible. Try to work quickly because the caramel will start to harden in a matter of seconds after it’s hit the bottom of the pan. Also, be sure to use a towel or oven mitts as the bottom of the pan will be very hot. Try to distribute the caramel evenly into the pan. If it hardens too quickly and you aren’t to do so, you can carefully heat the pan up by placing it directly on the stove or on the skillet. That will loosen up the hardened caramel a bit so it can flow into the areas you need it to go.
Step 3: Set the caramel aside and let it cool so it hardens a bit. While it’s cooling, whisk together the eggs, sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until everything is evenly incorporated but try not to over-whisk so you don’t get too many air bubbles in the mixture.
Step 4: Pour the custard mixture into the hardened caramel-lined pan.
Step 5: Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, or secure it with a lid if you’re using a flanera like I do in the photo below.
Step 6: Place the pan in a large baking dish and fill the baking dish with water until it reaches halfway up the flan pan. Bake the flan for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 7: Carefully remove the flan pan from the water bath, remove the lid, and let it cool to room temperature. Then place it in the refrigerator and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
Step 8: When you’re ready to eat it, remove the lid or aluminum foil from the pan and gently slide a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen it up a bit.
Step 9: Place a large plate or platter over the pan and quickly and carefully flip over the pan and the plate so that the flan is upside down. Pull up the flan pan – if the flan doesn’t slide out immediately, place the pan down and let it sit for a bit. It will slide out so don’t freak out! Give the sides of the pan a tap or some squeezes and see if that helps.
All that’s left to do is grab a slice and enjoy! I like serving it on its own with lots of caramel sauce, but you could also serve it alongside some fresh fruit.
Variations
- For a citrusy twist, add 1 teaspoon of orange zest to the custard mixture.
- For a coffee twist, add 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder to the custard mixture.
Easy Flan Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Pour the sugar into a skillet over medium heat. Stir the sugar continually until it begins to brown and clump together. Keep stirring until the sugar completely melts and dissolves into a golden-brown syrup. Remove the syrup from the heat as soon as it has dissolves as it can burn.
- Working quickly, carefully pour the caramel into a 7-inch round pan or a special flan pan (flanera) as shown in the photos in the blog post. Pour the caramel evenly into the bottom of the pan so the entire bottom is coated. If you need to, use an oven mitt or potholders to move the pan from side to side to get the caramel evenly distributed. If the caramel hardens too quickly, you can carefully reheat the pan by placing it directly on the stove or on the skillet for a few seconds.
- Set the caramel-coated pan aside to cool and harden.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and vanilla extract. Whisk together until everything is fully combined, but try not to overwhisk so that there aren't too many air bubbles in the mixture.
- Pour the custard mixture into the caramel-coated pan. Cover the top of the pan with the lid (if using a flanera) or tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place the flan pan in a large baking dish and pour enough water in the dish until it reaches about halfway up the pan. Carefully place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the dish from the oven, and then lift the flan pan out of the water bath. Remove the lid or aluminum foil and let it cool to room temperature. The flan may still be a little jiggly, but that's okay – it will continue to cook with the residual heat.
- Once it's cooled, cover with the lid or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
- To serve, remove the lid or aluminum foil and slide a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen it up. Place a plate or platter on top of the flan, grab a hold of both the plate and the pan and quickly and securely flip it over so that the flan is now upside down. Carefully lift off the flan pan. Your flan should be sitting in the caramel on the plate, ready to enjoy!
- Carefully lift the flan pan up. The flan should be on the plate – if it's not, place the pan back down and let it sit for a few minutes. Don't freak out! It will loosen up and slide out. You could try tapping the sides of the pan a bit or even giving the sides a squeeze.
- Slice the flan and serve with the rich caramel sauce!
286 responses
The secret is, pan in pan with the water, wow amazing and spectacular recipe..
Thanks,E.D
Seemed perfect and came out of the pan easily but about half the caramel remained in the flanera. What do I need to do differently to get all the caramel sauce to be on top of the flan?
Hello! This is a common problem. Sometimes this can happen if the flan needed more time to cool. A good trick is to place the flanera in a dish of warm water (after its cooked, cooled, and ready to flip) to help melt down some of the caramel. I hope this helps!
Hey, I ran out of vanilla extract, could I use hazelnut or maple instead ?
Hi! Yes, you can. Just note that the flavor will be slightly different.
I’ve made this about 5 times exactly as you’ve directed and it is so good! Hubby asks for it again and again. I want to make two at a time, would that change the duration oven?
Hi Brenda! If you are baking them simultaneously then the baking time would stay the same!
Can i use evaporated milk instead of whole milk
Hi Carol! Yes, you can!
I cooked my sugar too long!🙁. It’s dark and pretty hard. Should I start over with the sugar? If someone can reply ASAP I’m making it now. Thank you.
Yes, I recommend starting over and trying again. It can burn so quickly, so definitely keep an eye on it!
I bought a flangers to make this rather than the glass pie pan and did everything according to your recipe but it didn’t completely set. This is the first time EVER my flan didn’t set in the direct middle. Any suggestions?
Hi Sonia! Maybe next time try a slightly longer cooking time, by increasing it in increments of five minutes and checking it so it doesn’t burn.
This recipe sounds so good, that I might want to serve it for Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie. Thank you for recipe!
Never substitute pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving! Make both! 😂
I totally agree with you, Jacob!!
It came out of the pan easy but probably half of the caramel sauce stayed on the pan as a hard crust. What should I do Duffy the next time I make it? Thanks
Hi Pal! This is a common problem that can happen. A good trick is to place the flanera in a dish of warm water ( after its been cooked, cooled, and ready to flip) to help melt down some of that caramel. I hope this helps!
This recipe was so easy to follow and delicious! I made it in 4 small ramekins and one larger one (I think 4oz and 8oz). They baked for about 50 minutes and came out beautifully. I never liked flan before as it seemed to eggy but this was great! Smooth and sweet without being overly sweet and not eggy at all!
Can i double this recipe? How long should I bake it?
Hi Elizabeth! Yes you can! We suggest separating the mix into two separate batches and cooking them separately if possible since flan can be delicate and temperamental.
Delicious! Easy to make. My husband and son thought it was fancy restaurant quality!
Ok what do I do wrong? I just took mine out of the oven and out of the water bath, upon taking the cover off- it looks like an omelette- not smooth, not jiggly, not creamy. I cooked exactly 1 hour 15 minutes. according to the directions but looks to me like I didn’t whisk enough and it looks over cooked. 🙁
Hi Joe! I agree, it sounds like it may have overcooked. Next time try reducing the cooking time!
Hi Isabel, great recipe! Flan is one of my favorite desserts. Creamy and delicious. I see you have these wool balls in your pictures. Do they help cool the caramel faster or they have other purposes?
-Thinh
Hello Thinh! Thanks! That is actually just a mat to protect the countertop from the hot pan.
So the bigger the pan the less time it should be in the oven? You used a 7 inch and the baking time is 1 hour 10min, but is the smallest pan you could find is 8 inch, you bake only l hour? My pan is bigger than 8 inches!! Yikes! I’m leaving it in for 1hr and 10min? What do you recommend? Thank you:)
Hi Brenda! Yes around the one hour mark we suggest checking it just to make sure it doesn’t over cook.
Is the aluminum foil necessary?
Hi! The foil is necessary if you’re not using a flanera.
Can I replace 2% milk for the whole milk?
Hi Monica! Yes, you can!