Mexican Flan (2024)

Mexican flan is a creamy and light dessert recipe that’s super easy to make. It’s rich in flavor, covered with a delicious caramel sauce it makes the perfect dessert for any occasion.

Mexican Flan is a beautiful dessert, easy and will have your tastebuds throwing a fiesta party in no time. I’ve been making this recipe for years ,once I tried my friend Galia’s recipe who is from Mexico City I have never looked back.

This is how she has always made it ever since she learned how, and this is pretty much the only recipe that we use and never stray because it is absolutely perfect.

I can’t get enough of this flan, the decadent caramel sauce on top is soooo delicious and really makes the dessert even more special. Anything made in a bundt cake pan is always fantastic.

The only hard part about this Mexican Flan is waiting for it to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. If someone could speed up that chilling time without changing the texture of the dessert, that’d be awesome, thanks!

Like I always say though when it comes to desserts especially is that it is WORTH the wait. Once this is ready to eat, you will be happy that you did!

Some of our other favorite Mexican inspired recipes we have on our site include: Slow Cooker Street Tacos, Mexican Street Corn and Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

• This flan recipe looks fancy and may seem intimidating, but it’s quite simple to make.
• Easy dessert to add to your Taco Tuesday menu.
• Minimal ingredients help this come together easily.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):

Sweetened condensed milk
Evaporated milk
Eggs
Vanilla
Cream cheese
Cajeta

HOW TO MAKE MEXICAN FLAN, STEP BY STEP:

1. To make the flan mixture, combine all the ingredients in a blender leaving out ½ cup of cajeta. Mix until completely combined.
2. Grab a bundt pan, spray it with non-stick spray and drizzle the ½ cup of remaining cajeta on the bottom of the mold. Spread it out to line the bottom of pan.
3. Pour the flan mixture on top of the layer of cajeta inside the pan.
4. Cover with aluminum foil until fully sealed.
5. Place the pan in a large pan or pot, making sure the bundt pan fits sitting down inside the pan. Pour about 1 inch of very hot water in.
6. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour making sure there is still water in the bottom of the pan. If you see that it is evaporating completely add a bit more.
7. Let cool completely for at least two hours.
8. Turn over on a platter and serve.

WHAT IS FLAN?

Mexican flan is a classic dessert recipe. It has a sweet sauce on top and a custard-like base that gets covered with the sweet caramel sauce.

Flan isn’t actually from Mexico, but it is extremely popular there and is a very common dessert. I actually got this recipe from my friend, Galia, who lives in Mexico City and this is the traditional way to make Mexican Flan according to her.

WHAT IS MEXICAN FLAN MADE OF?

This delicious dessert uses simple, everyday ingredients and is made with sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cream cheese, vanilla, evaporated milk, and cajeta.

Cajeta is a caramel sauce that you can find at your local grocer, we are able to find it at Walmart, or you can get it on Amazon as well.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPANISH FLAN AND MEXICAN FLAN?

In traditional Mexican Flan recipes like this one, it uses whole eggs. Spanish flan typically uses just the egg yolks. Also, Mexican flan uses vanilla where regular flan doesn’t usually have vanilla in it.

That’s another one of the distinguishing features that really blows this recipe out of the water. Did you know that vanilla is from Mexico? Little fun fact of the day for ya!

HOW TO STORE:

You should store your Mexican Flan in the refrigerator to help it keep it’s wonderful texture.

When you’re done serving it, immediately put it back in the refrigerator on the serving plate. You should cover it tightly with plastic as it may be difficult to store in an airtight container with the sauce. It should keep for up to a week.

You can freeze your flan but it will most likely change texture due to the ingredients when it’s thawed. If freezing, wrap the flan in plastic wrap tightly and then store in an airtight container where it will keep for up to a month.

To defrost, remove it from the freezer to let it partially thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then remove it from the refrigerator and let it finish thawing on the counter at room temperature. This will help the caramel sauce return to a liquid state.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

• You can use Dulce de leche instead of cajeta. All you have to do is, heat it up so it’s a bit more liquid-like and less thick to be able to drizzle into the mold.
• If you want the flan to taste more like cajeta you can add ¾ cup to the mixture instead of half and use half for the bundt cake.
• You can replace the bundt cake mold for a round, non-stick mold that is 9 or 10 inches that is at least 2 ½ inches tall.
• When flipping your flan out of the mold, use a serving plate that is large than your mold. This also gives the caramel sauce a place to dribble off the flan.
• This can be frozen, see my tips above.

Grab these simple ingredients to make the best Mexican Flan you’ve ever had. Such an easy and decadent dessert to serve, you will want to make it over and over.

IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

• Conchas
• Glazed Sopapilla Bites
• Chocoflan

If you’ve tried this MEXICAN FLAN or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!