Creamy, homemade coconut milk made with 2 ingredients in 10 minutes! Let me show you how.
How to Make Coconut Milk
A quick, 2-ingredient recipe for homemade coconut milk! Creamy, naturally sweet, and the perfect dairy-free alternative to milk!
Servings 6 (1/2-cup servings)
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
- 3-4 cups water (use less water for thicker, creamier milk!)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 whole date or 1 Tbsp (15 ml) maple syrup for sweetness (optional)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 2 Tbsp cocoa or cacao powder for chocolate "milk" or 1/4 cup fresh berries for berry "milk" (optional)
Instructions
- Add coconut, 3 cups (720 ml) water, salt, and any additional add-ins (optional) to a high-speed blender. Top with lid and cover with a towel to ensure it doesn’t splash. Blend for about 2 minutes or until the mixture seems well combined.
- Scoop out a small sample with a spoon to test flavor/sweetness. Add more dates, salt, or vanilla as needed. Add remaining 1 cup (240 ml) water if too thick.
- Pour the mixture over a large mixing bowl or pitcher covered with a nut milk bag, a very thin towel, or a clean T-shirt. In my experience, it benefits from a single strain either through a very thin towel or nut milk bag. You can save pulp for baked goods or to add to oatmeal, smoothies, or energy bites.
- Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate. Will keep in the refrigerator up to 5 days (sometimes more). Enjoy cold or hot and shake before use, as it can separate in the refrigerator (due to no preservatives!). Can be used in smoothies, with granola, for golden milk, for matcha lattes, or for baked goods.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 of 6 (1/2 cup) servings calculated with 3 cups of water and the leftover coconut pulp nutritional content subtracted.
Nutrition (1 of 6 servings)
Serving: 1 half-cup servings Calories: 53 Carbohydrates: 2.3 g Protein: 0.5 g Fat: 5 g Saturated Fat: 4.4 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 7 mg Fiber: 1.4 g Sugar: 0.9 g
Liked this recipe? Check out our Guide to Dairy Free Milk for 5 more dairy-free milk recipes!
David says
Please could you advise how you calculated the calories. Raw coconut is ~351Kcal per 100g. Hence 160g =~ 561 calories. I realise that you throw away some pulp but nearly all the fat [calories] are squeezed out prior to it being discarded. Your calculation of 53 Kcal x 6 = 318 Kcal seems too few.
Best Regards
Hi David, The nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 of 6 (1/2 cup) servings calculated with 3 cups of water and the leftover coconut pulp nutritional content subtracted. We estimated that about two-thirds of the nutritional content is removed in the pulp, but that’s really a rough estimate as we don’t have a way of knowing the precise amount!
Dana says
Hey there. I always love your recipes 😍
I was wondering with the pulp from the shredded coconut can you make coconut flour?
Hi Dana, we haven’t tried that, but think it might work! We’d recommend using this method. Let us know if you try it!
Willow says
OMG. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
xoxo!
Mary says
Would this make the same type of coconut milk that is used in Curries? Also store brand coconut milk is varied in fat content. Would this be closer to a “lite” store bought brand? or Full Fat? Thank you
Hi Mary, the coconut milk used in curries is thicker/richer than this one. This more closely resembles the kind you would get in a carton in the refrigerated section. If making this recipe for a curry, we’d suggest using less water (maybe 1 1/2 – 2 cups water total). That would likely be similar to light canned coconut milk. Hope that helps!
Jordan says
I don’t think this is a coconut milk recipe. I believe this is coconut cream. The milk and cream are sometimes used interchangeably in recipes but there’s a difference between the two. Three, if you consider cream of coconut.
Hi Jordan, hmm, in our experience coconut cream is much thicker than what this recipe yields.
Sean says
Can you sub out the Blender for a Food Processor?
We find with our food processor, liquids splash out the sides too much and it doesn’t break down the coconut quite as well. Different brands/models may vary though!