Homemade Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconut
Now that you are all pros at cracking open coconuts, thanks to the video tutorial I posted yesterday, we can use all that beautiful creamy soft flesh to make our own Homemade Coconut Milk.
My oh my is this stuff ever good! I’m telling you, no matter how much I love my canned coconut milk, it doesn’t even come remotely close to this fresh homemade version in terms of taste.
That said, our home equipment is probably not quite as efficient at extracting all the goodness from the flesh than those commercial machines, so the texture isn’t exactly as thick and creamy. You couldn’t turn this one into whipped cream, for instance.
But still, the texture is craaaaazy creamy, pretty much like that of half and half cream. Seriously, you’ll want to just plain drink this straight from the jar… and I guess you could do that if you wanted to, there are no laws against that. You could even add a little bit more water, or coconut water, if drinking it was your intention.
But if you want to use it for cooking, or to put in your coffee, I find the consistency is just perfect!
And the taste. OMG. Did I tell you about the taste? It’s un-free-kin-buh-lee-va-ble. So fresh, so real, so fragrant… out of this world. It’s just like fresh coconut in the creamy liquid form. Really, you have to try it to understand what it is that I am talking about.
Let’s have you do just that.
Once you’ve got that coconut flesh all extracted from the hard shell and peeled and ready to go, just add it to your blender, along with the water from your coconut and an extra cup of plain filtered water.
Process that on the highest possible speed for at least 5 minutes, maybe even 10.
You really want to get the most out of that coconut flesh as you possibly can. You’ll notice, as the flesh spins around, that it will get looser and looser and will spin more freely after a while. You want to be able to see some liquid in there. A good amount of liquid!
When you feel your coconut has given all it had to give, transfer the contents of your blender to a fine mesh sieve that’s been lined with cheesecloth.
Add another half cup of plain water to your blender and give it a quick spin just to get every last bit that was left behind. Add that to the rest of the fragrant pile of coconut.
Now comes the part that I hate (remember how I looooove squeezing water out of things?). You need to squeeze the bejesus out of this. And I do mean the beeee-jeeee-zzzzus. Squeeze until your hands turn blurry, like mine did! 😉
You will be left with a whole bunch of dry, VERY dry, and pretty bland and tasteless, shredded coconut flesh. You could discard this, or hold on to it and add a few tablespoons to random dishes that you make. Honestly, though, it’s not really palatable.
I haven’t really experimented with it yet, but I get the feeling that I will have a chance to do that over the course of the next few months. If I come up with a genius idea, you can be sure that I will let you know!
Now for the interesting part! Transfer your beautiful coconut milk to a glass jar or container. Can you get a feel of how crazy creamy this is just by looking at it?
It’s insane, I tell you. Intoxicating, even!
If like me you consume A LOT of coconut milk, as in on a daily basis, this might be a little bit too much work to constantly make your own, because that would mean you’d have to whip up a fresh batch every 4-5 days or so, because this is how long you can expect this fresh milk to keep for.
But if this is something that you only use on an occasional basis, or you just want to treat yourself to an amazing drink (can you say Piña Colada?) this is VERY well worth the trouble, I swear.
Especially now that cracking those coconuts open has no secret for you!
Homemade Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconut
Ingredients
- The flesh and water from one fresh coconut
- 1 + ½ cup plain filtered water
Instructions
- Add coconut flesh, coconut water and 1 cup water to the jar of your blender
- Process on the highest possible speed for 5 to 10 minutes; you really want to get the most out of that coconut flesh as you possibly can. You'll notice, as the flesh spins around, that it will get looser and looser and will spin more freely after a while. You want to be able to see some liquid in there. A good amount of liquid!
- When you feel your coconut has given all it had to give, transfer the contents of your blender to a fine mesh sieve that's been lined with cheesecloth.
- Add another half cup of plain water to the jar of your blender and give it a quick spin just to get every last bit that was left behind. Add that to the rest of the fragrant pile of coconut.
- Now squeeze the bejesus out of your coconut. And I do mean the bejesus. Squeeze until can’t get another drop out. You will be left with a bunch of dry, VERY dry, and pretty bland and tasteless, shredded coconut. You could discard this, unless you can think of a way to use it…
- Transfer your beautiful coconut milk to an airtight glass jar or container and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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126 Comments on “Homemade Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconut”
I make Coconut flour from the left over shredded coconut after making the milk. Just put it in the bottom of the Aga for a few hours or dehydrater if you have one and it dries out. Then I just put it in to the blender and there’s my coconut flour.
Coconut flour, really? I’d definitely have to try that when I get a dehydrator! Thanks for the tip, Maria!
I use a conventional oven with the coconut meal spread thinly on a baking sheet, baked off until dry, then re-process in food processor until as fine as you’d like…Voila! Coconut flour.
I do that also and i make banana coconut “bread” with it, smoothies, add to our dogs food, put it in a bowl with fruit and nuts and honey and eat it frozen or as a cokd “cereal”
It is too precious to discard.
Living in. Costa rica, we easily obtain this amazing fruit and consume it at every meal practically
I dry mine in the oven on the very lowest setting.
Even quicker if toasted in a good-quality non-stick skillet on the stovetop over low/medium heat.
Can anyone tell me how much coconut milk this will make
I got about 3 cups.
I did the coconut flour in the dehydrator, and I add a couple Tbsp to my smoothies. Nothing goes to waste in my house!
Wow what a great idea! I gotta admit, I’m still a little hesitant of opening another coconut after my first VERY scarring experience. A few hours, a huge mess, big cut on my thumb…
*whistles and looks away*
But your how-to post the other day might solve that whole issue. Because this DIY Coconut Milk looks like such a fun project 😀 Yous a genius
Glad to have inspired you to give it another go, Jessica! Hopefully your next experience will be a tad more pleasant than the last… Just make sure you use a very dull knife! 😉 Let me know how it went if you do give it a try!
Hi
I’ve found after numerous occasions in my childhood to open coconuts safely without cutting ones fingers off and getting ears full of parents warnings of losing my fingers is by using a flat-head screw driver. The screw driver needs to have a longish shaft, like +6 inches from head to start of grip and the diameter of it should be and at least 1/4 inch thick. The method I use is by cutting lines with the screw driver into the coconut husk, as you do in your post but as you finished with each “peel” you push the screwdriver between the husk fibres close to the nut and by using little force and leverage you pry the peel lose from the nut, the ability of the screwdriver not getting to flex/bend insures that the weakest material break, ie husk fibres. Since I use this method I haven’t cut myself, even with a blunt knife, and I find this process to be faster also.
Oh and I really appreciate this recipe found hundreds to make milk but all unfortunately are not as successful, the thing with homemade milk compared to canned or bought milk is, the bought milk contains stabilisers to increase the thickness, maybe you might know of a stabiliser to use that’s safe and easy to get??
And the flesh after the process makes a great addition in my morning shake, which is cocoa powder, banana, coconut milk, the coconut flesh and sometimes some vanilla powder and almond butter. I’ll probably choose this as my morning drink above coffee every time!
Love coconut the a true super food!
You can use the shreded coconut as a filling on pancakes by mixing some sugar and vanilla to it and letting it rest for a while to dissolve the sugar or you can make a pesto with cashew nuts/pesnuts/brazil nuts along with coriander, garlic, and chillie.
I would suggest using agave nectar or something other than sugar. Sugar kills. Why would you eat all those other ingredients and contaminate it with sugar?
agave nectar is a highly processed product. As bad as High fructose corn syrup. Try dried sugarcane juice instead .
If u have a good juicer u can skip the cheese cloth and just slowly pour the milk into the juicer and strain it that way? Works better this way and u really get to the last drop! U slowest speed.
Google cocojack…
It’s a tool to open coconuts easy.
No knifes or sharps needed.
You really must try extracting coconut cream (without water) by grating the mature coconut and passingbthis through an auger juice extractor. Ex: HUROM, JUICEPRESSO, MATSTONE, etc. Imagine PURE COCONUT CREAM!
Oooooh. If I had one, I would definitely try it. Sounds yummy! Might be worth getting a juice extractor just for that! 🙂
You can also just make coconut milk as usual, let it separate, and then skim the cream off the top! This is what we do when we want to make coconut whipped cream for desserts 🙂 yummmmy!
I will so have to do this. I happen to have 3 coconuts sitting on the counter and I wasn’t too sure as to what to use them for. Now I know! 🙂
I’ve made coconut milk before in cooking classes in Asia but never at home, will have to try this your way!
I live and work in Venezuela where it is really hard to find coconut milk (go figure since coconut trees are EVERYWHERE), so I’ve learned to make my own. I go through about the same process. I wish I had seen your article earlier!
I’m crazy about this recipe! I don’t seem to digest the canned coconut milks very well because of the omnipresent guar gum, so this is perfect for me. Thanks so much for the idea! 🙂
So super thrilled to hear, Lauren! Enjoy! 🙂
That does look fantastic Sonia. I got someone to comment on the use of the almond pulp when I made almond milk that you can use the remains to bake. So I’m thinking you might be able to use the coconut pulp for something like that too? Not sure but worth checking out maybe…
I will definitely have to try that. Maybe dry it in the oven or something. Have nothing to lose trying! 🙂
Don’t even bother to dry it unless you’re not going to make anything with the pulp right away. The recipes I use coconut flour to make usually call for oil and eggs to add moisture. Since all the liquid has been removed, probably, leaving out an egg and maybe 1/6 of the oil would probably yield the same results.
Hey!
Made this recently. I dried it in the oven (low temperature, like 180, 2hours until quite dry) and put it in a food processor – coconut flour! I liked it very much, it’s usually so expensive 🙂
Good to know, Avela. Thanks for the tip, I will definitely give it a try!
If you are making nut milk regularly, it’s worth investing in a cheese press; not a fancy one. Your hands will thank you. Cheers!
Darn! 2 cups…that’s it? I am doing SO Delicious Organic Unsweetened Coconut Milk but would LOVE to make my own. Unfortunately, I go through about 6 cups a day with my protein shakes and with my own homemade protein bars. Buying all those coconuts would probably break the bank. Too bad you can’t get more out of it.
You could try making your own coconut milk out of dried coconut, Cory. I haven’t yet tried personally, but I know there are countless recipes / methods available on the Internet. A quick search will probably yield several very interesting results for ya…
That is a lot of saturated fat to have every day. Yes I know it is considered a healthier version however everything in moderation is better.
I have been buying coconut milk for over a year now. I would be addicted to the stuff except for the price. I used to be allergic to dairy and this makes a perfect substitution. It was on my grocery list but I am picking up a coconut now thanks to your video. I cannot wait to try the coconut milk ala Sonia.
In fact, I am a newbie to paleo and your site. ALL of your recipes look incredible and I am a self trained 30 year restaurant pro with a huge talent for creating recipes. Way to go girl!
OMG, thank you so much for your incredibly kind words, Beth, that is so unbelievably nice of you to say. WOW! You just totally made my day! 😀
Hope you have fun making coconut milk, and mostly, enjoy using it afterward! 🙂
I am so motivated about the Paleo diet benefits and excited to try your recipes. I made mayo yesterday (even went out and bought an immersion blender), am making mustard today (I am a label reader so I was shocked to see sugar and sulfites on my favorite mustard label, guess I missed one) and planning on making the cauliflower fritters and coconut and shrimp patties yet this week.
Yesterday I took all of the “unapproved” foods to my kids rather than throw them out. They are not ready for the Paleo way of life.
Oh yeah, thank you for your reply.
I know, right! I couldn’t believe it myself. “Approved” mustard is so hard to find, it’s crazy the amount of bad stuff that goes into it! Good on you for trying your hand at making your own. And please, please, do let me know how the fritters turn out for you. It’s always such a pleasure for me to get feedback on my recipes. 🙂
What about mixing your own from Coleman’s Dry Mustard powder, there is also wasabi powder.
There must be different ways to make the Coleman’s up too. Like with water, or different vinegar.
This was super yummy and rich! I made it into a Thai curry, and it turned out amazing with fresh keffir lime leaves. I have a bad reaction to canned coconut milks, but now I’m glad because I’ve discovered this recipe! It’s actually less expensive to make this recipe than buying organic coconut milk. I’m definitely planning to move somewhere soon where coconuts grow in abundance!
Yeah, I know. I have had a food blog since last November and I am starving for comments. I know it takes a while to get a following. I am up to a solid 20-25 each day without paying for any advertising. Know I just have to figure out how to make all the recipes paleo. Your recipes have proven to me though that eating paleo can be fun, interesting and really good.
So happy to hear, Beth! And hang in there with your blog. It’s very nice, for sure it’ll be very successful. Just give it time. Well, basically, give it all you’ve got (pretty much literally!) 🙂
Well, you were right about one thing, the results were fantastic, so much better than canned. However, I must have had the rare stubborn coconut because not only was it a b*t*h to open it, removing the meat from the shell was equally difficult and the peeling was even worse. I started about 4:20 and finished around 6:00. I can tell you, it wasn’t worth the serious frustration. It looked sooo easy in your video.
BTW, where did you buy the cheesecloth? It actually looks like it might be a bag. The only thing I can find around here is like gauze and I hate it.
OMG! Poor you. That coconut WAS a stubborn little thing indeed. Apparently popping the coconut in the oven for a few minutes will help the flesh detach from the shell when it’s really glued tight to it. I never really needed to do it, though, so I couldn’t tell you if it works or not. I might try it next time just to see what is says. I happen to have 3 coconuts sitting on the counter that are just waiting to be cracked open… I’ll keep you posted.
As for the cheesecloth, what you need is something like this. If you want to get it locally, try a fishing / hunting supplies store. They usually carry it.
Thank you, the cheesecloth is exactly how I remember it should be and to top it off, it is unbleached. Thanks for the link.
Just warm the husk over the stove flame and then it literally pops out with one poke and a twist w/ just a butter knife.
You have coconut flour right there! Save it and maybe later you could bake up some delicious cookies 🙂
I’ll try that next time for sure, Carmen. Thanks a bunch for the tip! 🙂
I have been buying coconut and almond milk for about a year now. So when I picked up a fresh coconut and no one would eat the meat fast enough, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to experiment with making my own. It was pretty easy, but I did have a hard time with the oil/cream separating from the meat in my blender. My milk wasn’t as creamy because of this, but I saved the coconut oil for cooking with (after schmearing some of it on my skin). I wish I’d read the comments, too, because I threw the dried meat out instead of making flour. NEXT TIME, GADGET! NEXT TIME!
You managed to have the oil separate from the meat? WOW! I wish. I’ll have to try and get my food processor to do that!
We made this and it turned out so wonderfully awesome! It was so yummy. We made a lot of it (four coconuts) so we saved and froze some. I am so excited! Normally I make it another way that doesn’t yield these wonderful results. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
FOUR COCONUTS!?! Wow! You sure went all out. Glad to hear the milk making went good, Liz. Happy you like the technique. And really, you can freeze this stuff? I’ll have to try that! 😀
In Asia, coconut milk is used to make curries and ice-cream. You can also fry shredded coconut. It is crazy fragrant! Let it cool down and sprinkle some sugar in it. You can eat it straight or sprinkle it over corn. Delicious!
Can you blend this and turn it into coconut butter?
Sadly no. You must use dried coconut to make coconut butter.
Yummy, I’ve been wanting to make my own coconut milk for a while now also. I make my own nut milks, however coconuts haven’t been available in my market lately… perhaps I’ll try using frozen coconut meat in the meantime.
Frozen coconut meat? Really? I didn’t even know it existed. Interesting… I’ll have to keep an eye out for it!
I live in Puerto Rico with coco trees all over my property, about 12 of them. They produce over 200 coco’s each and produce year round. I make coco milk the same way you posted with the blender, only I use coco water from young green coco’s to process the meat instead of regular water for added goodness. I then dry the chopped up coco meat in a dehydrator and run it back through the blender to make coco flour.You can dry in an oven at 118 degrees for about 8 hours if you do not have a dehydrator. I run the raw coco chunks through a juice extractor instead of a blender to make thick coco cream. OH my heavenly goodness! I also take the raw coco meat and dry it, and then run it through the juice extractor and make my own coco oil. I process about 8 coco’s a week for all my coco needs. Love your website.
WHOA! Thanks so much for all that information, Sherri! I’ll most definitely put it to good use. And boy, how I wish I too had access to all that coconut. You live in coconut heaven! 😀
Is there a way to make coconut water from the milk by diluting with water?
Coconut water is the liquid that’s inside the coconut when you crack it open, Irene. Collecting that, or buying it out of a carton or can, is the only way to get it.
I use my potato ricer with a doubled cheesecloth, it gives fabulous pressure, works like a charm
Great tip! Thanks for sharing, Paul!
Will this freeze well? I use coconut milk in cooking and prefer fresh over canned.
I’ve never tried it Cleo but really wouldn’t see why not!
Have you ever tried this using a younger coconut? Green or yellow? A lady from Corn Island Nicaragua told me she blends the flesh and water together and doesn’t strain it. But maybe that only works if the flesh is young and soft?
No I haven’t, Briana… but I’ll definitely keep that in mind and give it a try next time I come across one!
Love your site, i have been making this coconut cream and milk for more than 20 years, the leftover flesh i freeze it and also pieces of pineapple, i make icecream mix everything in a blender with sugar, 1 eggwhite and one tablespoon of CocoRon let freeze again and taste what ever is missing to your taste, blend again until smooth and enjoy!
I also bake coconut Cheese chocolate cake.
Sam’s club México tasted it and wanted to buy 1500 cakes a week but wanted to pay less than $ 6 dollars a piece so just forgot about it, Mine is Gourmet too delicioso to be true.
Coconut Cheese Chocolate Cake? OMG YUM! Is there a recipe available somewhere?
I just came across your website searching for how to make coconut milk. I honestly just learned that there is a difference between the milk and water. 🙂 This is delicious! Luckily my little one doesn’t like it so more for me. 🙂 I posted it on FB and shared your recipe. Thanks so much. And now I’m off to try making coconut flour from the pulp.
I gave my dog the leftover pulp and he LOVED it!
I bet!!! 🙂
You can make coconut marmalade with the leftover coconut meat. Just add palm sugar on stove and the leftover coconut meat together and a bit of water.
Sounds yummy! Thanks for the tip!
Hi, yummy!
If the coconut water escaped into our tummy instead of into the blender, can we still try to make coconut milk from it, or do we need to open a new coconut?
Well, you do need some kind of liquid, you know… I say maybe you should save that coconut and have it join the water where it escaped and crack open another one to make the milk! 😉
Good idea! 🙂
I made some delicious coconut milk last night and put it in the fridge. When I got it out to use it this morning it had a 3/4″ layer of solidified oil on top… is that supposed to happen? Do I just remove the oil to use in cooking? Or ??
Other sites / recipes tell you that it will separate, this is normal, and to just shake it to mix it up again before pouring, but this is *solid* oil (coconut oil is solid unless you heat it up and I don’t want warm coconut milk in this instance)…???
Solid oil, really? I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before. I mean, yeah, the milk will separate and you do have to give it a good shake for it to get back together… but oil? I didn’t even think that it was possible to make your own coconut oil. Now I’m really intrigued! What tool, might I ask, did you use to make your milk?
Love your mixing bowls! What brand are they? 🙂 Can’t wait to try your coconut milk recipe!
I got them at Pier 1, but that was years ago, Mira. Not sure they still carry them…
My experience is there is different amounts of thickness of flesh, and amount of water in each coconut. I am guessing it probably has to do with when picked and/or how old the coconut is. What would be a good ratio if you packed the flesh in a cup versus liquid? (one can always hold back the liquid to keep a good proportion).
Also, have you tried this with young thai coconuts?
I don’t think that it makes that much of a difference, Janet. Only the final consistency of the milk may vary a little….
As for using young coconuts, that wouldn’t really work so well, since their flesh is quasi non-existent and super soft.
U a good juicer on slow speed to strain the milk. Works beautifully!
Easiest way to open a coconut. after the husk cracks pierce the meat and drain the water.
Bake the coconut in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until coconutcracks. Wrap the baked coconut in a towel, and tap it with a hammer all over. This loosens the meat from the shell. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape off the brown skin before grating the meat.
So, I solved the problem of having to squeeze through cheesecloth! I followed all the directions with two exceptions: (1) we used a meat tenderizer (knobby side) instead of the back of a knife to loosen the tough shell open, and (2) after pulverizing the meat in the blender for 5+ mins, we used a potato ricer to squeeze out the juice and it WORKED LIKE A CHARM!! Nothing left but dry, shredded meat. Thanks, Sonia!!
That dry coconut after squeezing the milk out its too precious to throw away. I use it to make bread. I add some vanilla essence, a little spice, a little grated nutmeg ,little sugar yeast and a pinch of salt and make a nice bread
hi.is this ratio of fresh cocout to water for full fat milk?i want to make homemade full fat coconut milk to use in ice cream or pudding or whipped coconut cream.how much water shoudl i use and how t get the coconut cream from it to whip it?thanks
This is full fat coconut milk indeed, so you can use it to make ice creams and puddings. As for the whipped coconut cream, you would have to let it sit and separate and then refrigerate it, just as you would with canned coconut milk, so that you can collect the cream part and drain the water out.
Thank you all, have learnt new things from all of you. Anyway, I just finish making some coconut milk at home. I realise you can use a net with tiny holes to strain your blended coconut.
The leftover can be used for making coconut cake or ice-cream. I learnt the milk can be used for hair growth too… am yet to try that though.
Thanks for the recipe. I tried it and it’s delicious and so creamy.
Thanks So much for this! I’ve been using cans for a while now, gonna try fresh. Couple of questions, how much thick milk does one Coconut yields without adding too much water. 16oz? Also what do you think about freezing Coconut milk for later use?
I guess how much milk you get and how thick it’ll be widely depends on the size of your coconut and amount of water you use, Sue… and I can’t really say if it freezes well, for I haven’t tried it, but it’s certainly worth a shot!
we just made our first batch using the recipe and our auger juicer. the taste of the milk is fantastic.
thank you!
thanks it was interesting to see how to make coconut milk
What an effort. First two brown hairy coconuts I opened were moldy 🙁 But the third one was fine 🙂 Getting the water to drain out is so very easy. Cracking open the coconut with a hammer was hard. And removing the flesh from the shell was extremely difficult. Anyway got there is the end after much persistence. When I shook the coconut in the shop, it sounded like it was full of water, but it only actually contained about one cup. So had to blend with a cup of filtered water too. Then squeezed out through a nut milk bag. A huge effort but so delicious, so definitely worth the effort. I added some blueberries and blended that up into a gorgeous coconut and blueberry smoothie. I used the left over pulp as a body scrub in the shower. Kitchen a total mess! LOL.
Hahahaha! Happy kitchen cleaning, Mary!
But wait, you cracked your coconuts open with a hammer? Next time you should really try my method with the chef knife. Works like a charm and doesn’t make a mess at all! 😉
Oh! I didn’t notice that video previously. Your version certainly looks easier than a hammer 🙂 I actually saw the hammer version on YouTube a few months ago. I normally drink the Thai drinking coconuts, which are easy to open. Mainly avoided the brown hairy ones; as such a drama to use. But since the final result was so tasty, will have to endure 🙂 I was thinking of buying a metal coconut scraper too, as safer to use than a knife.
My favorite canned brand started using stabilizers… So, I went ahead and bought a coconut the last time I was at the store. Amazing! So easy. Your coconut cracking tutorial took all the guess work out if it. Thank you!
Thank YOU, Lynn. I’m just glad I could help! 🙂
Best regards from Romania!
Thank you for the lesson.
If you want tastier coconut shreddings, just do not squeeze the all the juice out of them.
And it is quite palatable. As palatable as prepacked coconut shredding.
Hello! In india people do exactly the same thing but instead of cold water they put hot water which helps getting the maximum of milk!
Really? Good tip! I’ll be sure to try it next time. Thanks for that!
I used shredded coconut to make the milk and it is amazing. I am now going to try fresh coconuts as they are inexpensive in Australia.
Thanks Sonia for your insight!!
BTW I used hot water also!
Good to know, Jen! Thanks for sharing your experience and insights! I’ll keep that in mind for when I can’t get my hands on fresh coconuts 🙂
The taste is from the natural coconut water. The blended and soaked coconut flesh merely augments the taste.
Use Thai coconut instead. The coconut water and coconut meat come in exactly the right ratio (you can even leave out some of the water) and you just blend together at high speed. No need for straining through cheesecloth–it’s smooth and creamy after a good high-speed blend. That is because the meat is much softer than regular coconut.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Coconut milk is my favorite, and homemade is so much better than store bought. And I’m making flour with the leftovers! Who knew it could be so easy to make!!
Hi can you use heavy whipping cream instead of filtered water? Have you tried it and if so what was the difference? Thanks!
Hi, can I use this homemade coconut milk to make homemade coconut yogurt in a yogurt machine? In my country, full fat coconut milk cans are not sold anywhere. Thank you
I wish I could help Diana but unfortunately, I have no idea… I have no experience whatsoever with yogurt making. Might be worth a try, though!
Our family is managing Celiac Disease, Eosinophilic Esophagitis, Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth, Fructose Malabsorption, over 25 food allergies combined and many food intolerances as well.
I used to NEVER cook ANYTHING, but now I cook nearly everything from scratch. I am just learning to do water kefir (which was a HUGE stretch for me), but the alternative milks I had already regarded as too difficult for me and was sure I would ruin it somehow. I told myself it just wasn’t worth my effort and considered it “off limits”. I knew it would be a waste of money because I would miss some crucial, complicated step and just ruin it.
I was seriously afraid to even try. My ASD son is also anaphylactic to Carrageenan, among tree nuts, soy, and many other things, and intolerant to dairy. My two daughters have multiple GI conditions and can’t digest fructose. Two of us are Celiac and nutrient deficient as well. We’re a mess, I know! (We’re doing GAPS).
My son is not getting enough healthy food options like smoothies, because I couldn’t figure out what to do about this milk issue and the rest of us are getting things we don’t need in our coconut milk and not getting the things we do.
Your post has given me the confidence and encouragement I need to take this final plunge. Thanks so much for a wonderful, positive, truthful, you-can-do-this post!
OMG. This recipe is so exquisite. I used young coconut flesh with just the water from the same coconut. Only, I did not add any filtered water of any sort. I ended up with a fluffy creamy and flavorful concoction that blew me away.
It was a great drink. Prepare for my family too
This is NOT milk but water with coconut pulp
great it tastes delicious!
Loved the instructions! Can’t wait to make another batch.
Question: I know this goes against ‘healthy”, but I enjoy the sweetness that canned coconut milk offers in curry recipes or in coffee, but wouldn’t even have to be as sweet as that. If you were to add sugar to this recipe, how much would you add? My thoughts are that sugar could be disoved in a small amount of warm filtered water?
Canned coconut milk does not contain sugar, so it shouldn’t be sweeter than this homemade version. But if you feel you want to add sugar to it, that’s totally a personal preference; you can add as much, or as little as you want! You’ll need to experiment to find what works for you.
I love this !!
I especially love using coconut milk in my bath. It’s most economical of course to use powdered coconut milk, so that’s what I add to my special baths.
I think it would be cool to set aside a bit for a bath, although not if one strictly wants to drink it only .
I was thinking about perhaps using the remainder of the coconut water from the blender in a special bath (within the narrow shelf life) but I realize that needs to be squeezed in to make the ideal texture & taste.
I love this and I’m inspired to get a coconut and go to your directions about how to open one. 💕🥥
i have a question every time i make coconut milk when i refrigerate it after the fat solidifies into a big clump at the top.. any way to avoid the his from happening?
You show that you’re using a blender, but at the end you say “add another 1/2 cup of water to your Food Processor”.
Ian there an reason NOT to use a food processor rather than a blender?
Sorry Jeff, that was a typo… I wouldn’t use a food processor for this as it wouldn’t be able to break the coconut flesh in fine enough particles. A blender will do a much better job. Ideally, a high-speed blender!
Tanks! In the end I did use the blender. I can see what you mean. Tasted great, but 1 coconut didn’t yield enough for me. Next time 2-3 so it will last more than i glass…
Also, my coconuts were hard as rocks. No way I wa going to break the shell with the back of my cleaver.
But another reader suggested using a corkscrew to open a couple of the top indentations, drained the juice, then went out my back door to the sidewalk.1 hit with the hammer did the trick. Well 3-4 hits total, but it cracked in half on the 1st!
Easy peasy….
I also had some 100% coconut water from Costco & used that instead of plain water. Really good. Have to do water next time to compare.
All the information about carton and canned coconut milk was excellent and the recipe having the pictures, really really helpful.
Yes u could flavour and. Make coconut ice