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I am determined to reduce the amount of packaging in the foods that I buy. I want to create less waste for the environment, and I also want to have less exposure to harmful plastics. Packaged foods also contain many additives that are not necessarily healthy, like carrageenan and synthetic Vitamin A and Vitamin D2. I was buying coconut milk in the box cartons until I realized how much crap is added it. So I decided to make my own. I use my high speed blender
, and it turns out great. A nut milk bag makes it super easy, but straining through unbleached cheesecloth
works as well. Would love to hear how this does in a regular blender, so comment if you try it please. This coconut milk is good for only 5 days in the fridge, so I usually make a quart at a time. I use it for any recipe that calls for milk. I don’t usually sweeten it, but a tiny bit of honey or maple syrup can be added if you desire. YUM!!!
This recipe makes a nice, creamy, drinkable coconut milk. If you want a little thicker coconut milk for baking or custards, try changing the ratio of shredded coconut to water to 1 to 2 (meaning add 1 cup of coconut shreds to 2 cups of water.)
You are not going to believe how easy it is to make your own coconut milk!
TIP: Coconut milk tends to separate when chilled in the fridge, leaving a hard layer of coconut cream on top. To prevent this separation, let the coconut milk come to room temperature before placing it in fridge. Give it a few good shakes while it cools. Works like a charm! I still get the occasional hard coconut cream chunk, but no more hard layers!
If you like to make your own dairy-free milks, check out my Homemade Nut Milk recipe as well
PrintHomemade Coconut Milk
- Yield: 1 quart
Instructions
- Heat water in tea pot or cooking pot to just below a boil
- Place coconut shreds in a large glass bowl and pour water over them
- Cover with clean dish towel and walk away
- When mixture has cooled, process in high speed blender for 1 minute (add sweetener and salt, if desired)
- Strain through nut milk bag into quart sized glass jar, gently squeezing out all of the milk
- Store in fridge in sealed glass container for 3-4 days.
Notes
This recipe makes a nice, creamy, drinkable coconut milk. If you want a little thicker coconut milk for baking or custards, try changing the ratio of shredded coconut to water to 1 to 2 (meaning add 1 cup of coconut shreds to 2 cups of water.)
TIP: Coconut milk tends to separate when chilled in the fridge, leaving a hard layer of coconut cream on top. To prevent this separation, let the coconut milk come to room temperature before placing it in fridge. Give it a few good shakes while it cools. Once you place it in the fridge, shake it once or twice more while it chills (this will mix the fat back into the milk.) Works like a charm! I still get the occasional hard coconut cream chunk, but no more hard layers!
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Have you ever made your own coconut milk?
photo credits: depositphotos.com / springfield
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I make this in a regular blender ($35 Oster from Costco) and it works great. I have dried the pulp that’s left over to use as coconut flour but I have to tweak it a little because the pancakes I made with it were more runny than usual.
I am always telling myself that I will use the pulp but never get around to it. How was the taste of the coconut pancakes?
Hi!
LOVE your site!!! THANKS for your time and efforts (and thanks to my friend Rachel Wachs for recommending it!! 🙂 I’m going to share it with my daughter!!
I was excited to read about your coconut pops!! 🙂 THANKS also for the recipe to make coconut milk!! I checked the link for the coconut milk you recommend and you might want to read the 1 – 3 star comments. The recent ones reference additive and freshness issues similar to comments from 2010.
Take care!
Deena
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback. And thanks for passing my blog on to others. I read the reviews for the coconut milk. Looks like Amazon had a different batch of this brand that had additives in it. It is such a bummer that it is getting so hard to find foods without all the CRAP in it. I recently ordered a case of this coconut milk and it was the real deal. Hopefully they have resolved the issue. 🙂
I must have done something wrong, mine turned hard in the freeze and couldn’t stir, pour or anything. Threw it out eventually.
Meant, it turned hard in the fridge!!
Hi! I wanted to ask – what does hearing the water and letig that soak the coconut do? I was wondering if it helped with the coconut oil from separating out and getting hard, but the previous comment makes me thing no? I always want to make this, but I never have a reason to use so much milk at once since it’s such a pain to try to use after it’s been refrigerated. I’d love to know if the hot water trick is supposed to help with that. Thanks!
Oh, and dehydrating coconut milk pulp makes great coconut flour!
I heat the water in order to extract all the goodness from the dried coconut. Coconut milk tends to separate when chilled in the fridge, leaving a hard layer of coconut cream on top. To prevent this separation, let the coconut milk come to room temperature before placing it in fridge. Give it a few good shakes while it cools. Once you place it in the fridge, shake it once or twice more while it chills (this will mix the fat back into the milk.) Works like a charm! I still get the occasional hard coconut cream chunk, but no more hard layers! 🙂
I always mean to do something with the leftover coconut pulp, but never get around to it… I don’t have a dehydrator 🙁 So, now I give the shredded coconut a whiz in my coffee grinder before adding to the water, and I find that I don’t even have to strain it. Of course you can still strain it, but if you do, there is much less pulp leftover 🙂
★★★★★
My husband and I recently visited a coconut farm in Hawaii and they taught us how to make coconut milk with a real adult coconut which you can find in most grocery stores. It’s a nice alternative if you don’t want to use the packaged shredded coconut which is still processed. All you have to do is crack the coconut, get out the meat which you can buy a special tool for, and throw it in the blender with enough water to cover the coconut and blend it. Then you just strain it like you said. It’s a bit more work, but if you’re tryig to eat more Whole Foods with less processing it’s a great alrernative.
Thanks, Becky, for that! That milk sounds so creamy and fresh. The only question I have is that I have heard that those coconuts are heavily fumigated before they are shipped. Do you know anything about that? I tend to avoid them for that reason. I would love to know more as this milk recipe is totally up my alley – as long as I can get those coconuts open. 😉