Pandan Beyond Cocktails: 8 Sweet and Savory Recipes Using Pandan Leaf

Stuck in a weeknight rut? Let pandan pull you out.

If you love Southeast Asian floral flavors but don’t have hours to experiment, this guide is for you. In 2026 the culinary conversation has shifted: home cooks and restaurants alike are turning to heritage ingredients—like pandan—for fast, memorable dishes that travel well between sweet and savory. Below you’ll find eight tested recipes (from pantry-ready pandan syrup to a pandan negroni) plus practical techniques, sourcing tips and 2026 trends that make pandan one of the most useful leaves in your kitchen.

The evolution of pandan in 2026: why it matters now

Over the last 18 months chefs and beverage directors have leaned into botanicals and heritage flavors. Pandan—long a Southeast Asian staple—has emerged in global menus as a signal of authenticity that pairs effortlessly with coconut, citrus and toasted grains. Bartenders are making pandan-infused spirits; pastry chefs are swapping vanilla for pandan’s green, floral lift; and home cooks are finding pandan simplifies flavor-building without long lists of spices.

What changed in late 2025–early 2026? Consumers want plant-forward, low-food-waste cooking and cultural storytelling on their plates. Restaurants have answered by exploring regional pantry anchors (turmeric, tamarind, pandan) and suppliers have improved access: frozen pandan, powdered pandan and pandan pastes are now widely available from specialty grocers and online retailers. That accessibility makes pandan a high-impact, low-effort upgrade for weeknights and special occasions.

Quick pandan primer — how to get the most flavor

Use the green part of fresh leaves; avoid the tough base. There are three common ways to extract pandan aroma:

• Pandan juice/paste: Rough-chop leaves, blitz with a little water in a blender, then squeeze through a fine sieve or muslin. Concentrated and bright—use in batters, ice creams and drinks.
• Pandan infusion: Bruise or blend leaves and steep in warm liquids (coconut milk, gin, or simple syrup) for 15–30 minutes. Strain. Great for rice, panna cotta and cocktails.
• Dry forms: Powder or paste from stores offers shelf-stable convenience; start with less and build to taste.

Pro tips: Freeze fresh pandan paste in ice-cube trays for 1–2 months. When substituting pandan extract or powder, reduce the quantity—these are concentrated.

Pantry essentials and sourcing (fast wins)

• Fresh pandan leaves: Asian grocery or frozen section of big supermarkets.
• Pandan paste or powder: For baking or when fresh leaves aren’t available.
• Coconut milk (full-fat & light): For rice, desserts and syrups.
• Rice varieties: Jasmine for fragrant pandan rice; glutinous rice for sticky desserts.
• Neutral gin or specialty rice gin for pandan cocktails.

How to use these recipes

Start with the pandan syrup — it unlocks drinks, pancakes and glazes. For savory recipes, keep pandan subtle: a leaf or two tied into the pot is enough to scent rice without overwhelming the dish. For sweets, use pandan paste or juice for the clearest color and aroma.

Recipe 1 — Pandan-Infused Rice (savory base)

Yield: 4 servings • Prep 5 min • Cook 20–25 min

• 1½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed until water runs clear
• 1 cup coconut milk (full-fat)
• 1¼ cups water
• 2 fresh pandan leaves, knotted
• ½ tsp salt

1. Place rinsed rice, coconut milk, water and salt in a saucepan.
2. Add knotted pandan leaves (tie into a bundle so they’re easy to fish out).
3. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low and cook 15–18 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
4. Turn off heat, remove pandan, let rest 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Serve as a fragrant base for grilled fish, curries or sambal-glazed vegetables. Scaling: maintain 1:1 ratio of coconut milk to water for larger batches.

Recipe 2 — Mango & Pandan Sticky Rice (sweet classic)

Yield: 4 servings • Prep 30 min + soak • Cook 30–40 min

• 1 cup glutinous rice, soaked 3–4 hours
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1–2 pandan leaves, knotted
• Fresh mango slices to serve

1. Steam soaked glutinous rice for 25–30 minutes with pandan leaves laid on top.
2. Heat coconut milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan with a pandan leaf until sugar dissolves. Remove pandan.
3. Fold warm coconut milk into steamed rice, cover and rest 15 minutes.
4. Serve warm with sliced mango and an extra drizzle of sweetened coconut milk.

This dessert is a crowd-pleaser and a great dish to make ahead—keep rice partially covered and gently reheat with a splash of coconut milk.

Recipe 3 — Pandan Pancakes with Coconut Syrup (brunch winner)

Yield: 8 pancakes • Prep 10 min • Cook 15 min

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup milk (dairy or plant)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp pandan juice or 1 tsp pandan paste
• 2 tbsp melted butter or oil

• ½ cup pandan-infused simple syrup (see recipe 4)
• 2 tbsp coconut cream

1. Whisk dry ingredients. In another bowl combine milk, egg, pandan juice, and melted butter. Mix until just combined.
2. Cook ¼-cup scoops on a hot griddle until bubbles form, flip and finish. Keep warm.
3. Whisk coconut cream into pandan syrup and serve warm over pancakes with toasted coconut.

Swap gluten-free flour for a grain-free option. Pandan gives pancakes a delicate floral hit without needing extra sugar.

Recipe 4 — Pandan-Infused Simple Syrup (pantry multiplier)

Yield: ~1 cup • Prep 5 min • Steep 15 min

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3–4 pandan leaves, bruised

1. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
2. Add bruised pandan leaves, remove from heat and steep 15–20 minutes. Strain and store in fridge up to 2 weeks.

This syrup is the simplest way to add pandan to drinks, desserts and glazes. For a deeper color and flavor, blend pandan with a splash of water and add to the syrup before straining.

Recipe 5 — Pandan Negroni (Bun House Disco’s influence)

Yield: 1 cocktail • Prep 10 min (plus infusion time)

“Pandan leaf brings fragrant southern Asian sweetness to a mix of rice gin, white vermouth and green chartreuse.” — Linus Leung, Bun House Disco

• 10 g fresh pandan leaf, green parts only
• 175 ml rice gin (or neutral gin)

• 25 ml pandan-infused rice gin
• 15 ml white vermouth
• 15 ml green chartreuse
• Ice and orange peel to garnish

1. Rough-chop pandan, blitz with gin in a blender for 20–30 seconds, then strain through muslin. Chill and store up to 2 weeks.
2. In a mixing glass with ice, combine pandan gin, white vermouth and green chartreuse. Stir until cold and dilute slightly.
3. Strain into a tumbler over one large ice cube and garnish with expressed orange peel.

Rice gin emphasizes pandan’s slightly grassy rice notes, but standard gin works. Note on safety: infusions with fresh plant material should be refrigerated and used within 10–14 days.

Recipe 6 — Pandan Kaya (heritage jam) with a vegan option

Yield: ~1 cup • Prep 10 min • Cook 15–20 min

• 3 eggs
• 200 ml coconut milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1–2 pandan leaves, bruised

• 200 ml coconut cream
• ½ cup aquafaba (chickpea liquid)
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch (slurry)
• 1–2 pandan leaves

1. Whisk eggs and set aside. Heat coconut milk, sugar and pandan until warm—do not boil. Remove pandan.
2. Slowly temper warm coconut milk into eggs, return to low heat and whisk constantly until thickened to jam consistency. Strain and cool.

1. Heat coconut cream with sugar and pandan to dissolve sugar. Remove pandan.
2. Add aquafaba and simmer, whisk in cornstarch slurry slowly until thickened. Cool.

Kaya is legendary on toast or as a filling in buns. The vegan version is a useful 2026 pantry adaptation for plant-forward households.

Recipe 7 — Pandan-Wrapped Chicken (savory, aromatic)

Yield: 4 servings • Prep 20 min • Cook 20 min

• 8 boneless chicken thigh pieces
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce (or hoisin for vegetarian-friendly)
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 8 pandan leaves, blanched and used to wrap, or knotted leaves to scent while cooking

1. Marinate chicken in soy, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper 30 minutes to overnight.
2. Wrap each thigh in a pandan leaf and secure with a toothpick, or thread pandan leaf underneath the chicken in a grill basket.
3. Grill or pan-sear over medium-high heat 6–8 minutes per side until charred spots appear and juices run clear.

Pandan-wrapping keeps chicken moist and imparts perfume. Serve with pandan rice and a chili-lime dipping sauce.

Recipe 8 — Pandan Chiffon Cake (light, show-stopping)

Yield: 8–10 slices • Prep 25 min • Bake 30–35 min

• 6 egg whites, room temperature
• 6 egg yolks
• ¾ cup sugar (divided)
• 1 cup cake flour
• ¼ cup pandan juice or 1½ tsp pandan paste
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cream of tartar

1. Whisk yolks, oil, pandan juice and ¼ cup sugar until smooth. Fold in sifted flour.
2. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy, add remaining sugar gradually to stiff peaks.
3. Fold whites gently into yolk mixture, pour into ungreased tube pan and bake at 170°C (340°F) for 30–35 minutes.
4. Invert pan to cool completely, then release. Light, aromatic and perfect with tea.

Pandan chiffon is a great showstopper for celebrations; the light crumb shows pandan’s scent without heavy sugar.

Advanced strategies & troubleshooting (for confident home cooks)

• Color vs flavor: Fresh pandan gives both aroma and color. If you want the color but lack fresh leaves, add a drop of natural green food dye to pandan powder preparations.
• Too bitter? Over-infusing pandan in hot water or alcohol can extract chlorophyll bitterness. Shorter steep times (10–20 minutes) are often ideal.
• Allergy and safety: Pandan is generally safe, but if you’re trying it for the first time, test a tiny amount. Infused spirits should be refrigerated and used within 10–14 days.
• AI recipe scaling: In 2026 many home cooks use kitchen AI tools to scale recipes. When scaling pandan extracts, maintain concentration ratios—don’t double liquid but double the pandan infusion time or leaf count.

Pairings, menu ideas and seasonality

Pandan plays well with coconut, lime, mango, ginger, soy and toasted sesame. For 2026 menu trends look to: plant-forward tasting menus that balance roasted vegetables with pandan-scented rice; brunch sets featuring pandan pancakes and kaya toast; and cocktail lists incorporating pandan syrups and infusions alongside botanical gins.

Where to buy pandan and recommended substitutes

Fresh leaves: local Asian markets or the frozen aisle of major grocers. Pandan paste/powder: specialty online retailers and larger supermarkets now carry reliable jars and sachets. If you can’t find pandan, use a combination of vanilla + grated lime zest to echo the floral-citrus lift—though it won’t replicate pandan’s unique green perfume.

Actionable takeaways

• Make a batch of pandan-infused simple syrup and freeze some in small jars—one syrup jar transforms pancakes, cocktails and glazes.
• Prep pandan paste into ice-cube trays so you always have concentrated flavor on hand for baking and drinks.
• Use pandan-scented coconut rice as a quick base to elevate any weeknight protein.
• Follow food-safety guidance: refrigerate infusions and use them within two weeks.

Final notes — pandan as a bridge between heritage and modern cooking

In 2026 pandan sits at an intersection: it’s a heritage ingredient with modern utility. It simplifies complex flavor profiles, helps reduce reliance on long spice lists, and gives home cooks an easy way to tell a cultural story on the plate. From an aromatic pandan rice that resets your weeknight routine to a pandan negroni that updates cocktail hour, these eight recipes show how a single leaf can do a lot of work in your kitchen.

Try it this week (call-to-action)

Pick one recipe—start with the pandan-infused simple syrup—and post a photo with #PandanAtHome. Want more? Subscribe to our weekly meal guide for seasonal pandan menus, shopping lists and quick-prep hacks. Share which recipe you tried and we’ll suggest the next one to match your pantry.

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