Petit Pot Alternatives: Vegan Pot de Creme and Pudding Cups

If you buy refrigerated dessert in a glass jar, you have almost certainly picked up a Petit Pot. It is the best known name in the category and it is genuinely good. It is also mostly a dairy product, which is why so many people search for the vegan version specifically.

Here is the honest comparison, using what each brand puts on its own site.

What Petit Pot actually sells

Petit Pot makes French style pot de creme, rice pudding and creme brulee in glass jars, and describes itself as organic and shipped nationwide. The core lineup is dairy: dark chocolate, vanilla bean, pistachio, creme brulee, vanilla rice pudding.

Their plant based line is smaller. It is built on oat milk, and covers a chocolate pot de creme and a vanilla rice pudding. So if you are dairy free, you are choosing between two flavors rather than the full shelf.

What KOKONUT sells

Nine flavors, and every single one is plant based. There is no dairy line and no vegan sub-line, because the base is coconut rather than cream.

Coconut Cloud Whip, plain coconut
The Dark Side of Sweet, stone ground black sesame
We are a Match-a, ceremonial grade matcha from Uji
Depresso? Espresso, Vietnamese coffee
Taro-ble to Resist, real steamed taro
Mango-nificent, cut mango
Peach-a-Boo, diced orchard peach
Astro-Berry Drift, hand cut strawberry
Golden Jelly Elixir, peach gum jelly, limited edition

Shop bundles or browse single jars.

The differences that actually matter

Base

Petit Pot’s plant based jars are oat milk. Ours are coconut water and coconut milk. Oat gives you a softer, more neutral, more custard-like result. Coconut gives you a cleaner, more tropical one. Neither is better, they are different desserts.

Setting agent

This is the bigger difference and it is the one people notice on the first spoonful. Classic pot de creme is a baked custard set with egg. Ours is set with agar agar, which comes from seaweed. Agar sets firmer and cleaner, so the texture lands closer to the meat of a young coconut than to custard. If you like a wobble, that is the point. If you want dense and creamy, pot de creme is what you want.

Flavor direction

Petit Pot is French. Chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, creme brulee. We are Asian. Black sesame, matcha, taro, Vietnamese coffee, peach gum. If you are bored of chocolate and vanilla, that is the reason to switch.

Diet coverage

Every KOKONUT flavor is plant based, dairy free, gluten free and soy free, and none use gelatin. With Petit Pot you need to check each jar, because most of the range contains dairy and egg.

Is pot de creme vegan?

Traditionally, no. A classic pot de creme is cream, egg yolk and sugar baked in a water bath, so it is neither vegan nor egg free. Vegan versions replace the cream with a plant milk and the egg with starch, agar or silken tofu. If a menu or a jar does not say plant based explicitly, assume it has both.

What is in a KOKONUT jar

Coconut water, coconut milk, filtered water, organic coconut sugar, agar agar, sea salt, and whatever the flavor is. That is the list. 11 oz, sealed, keep refrigerated, never frozen.

Questions people ask

Is Petit Pot vegan?

Only the plant based line is. The main range is dairy based, so check the specific jar.

What is a good vegan alternative to Petit Pot?

Coconut pudding, if you want the same refrigerated glass jar format with a wider plant based flavor range. The texture is firmer and cleaner than a custard.

Which has more flavors for dairy free eaters?

KOKONUT has nine, all plant based. Petit Pot’s plant based line is two.

Do either need freezing?

No. Both are refrigerated desserts, which is the main advantage over vegan ice cream.