How To Make Coconut Cream & Milk At Home

To make your own coconut cream (or coconut milk) at home, is easier than you think.

Plus, if you use a lot of coconut cream or milk in your cooking/diet, then by switching to making your own (rather than the store bought version) you will:

Limit your exposure to chemicals from cans and packaging,
Reduce the number of nasties you’re consuming that are in the store-bought versions, and
Save money from buying pre-processed, packaged & marketed goods.

The process and ingredients required for making coconut cream vs milk are similar. Which ever recipe & instructions you’re after, it’s here below, for you.

If you have any questions about the ingredients or instructions, leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you!

How to make coconut cream

If you’ve been wondering how to make coconut cream from shredded coconut, you’re going to love this simple explanation:

Add 1 cup of water to 1 cup of shredded coconut into a blender and blitz on high, while slowly pouring in 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil (plus ½ tsp vanilla extract if you’d like it to have a slightly sweeter taste) and continue to blend until it is smooth and thick.
For a smooth texture, sieve this through a nut milk bag or muslin cloth (squeeze really hard to get all the liquid out).

How long can you keep coconut cream? This one will store in a glass jar in the fridge for 1 week.

How to make coconut milk

Add 2 cups of water to 1 cup shredded coconut into a blender and blitz on high. Add a little coconut oil if you’d like it a little thicker.
As explained in point 2 for making coconut cream, now strain through a nut milk bag or muslin cloth to give a smoother consistency. This nut milk bag gets good ratings and is durable, easy to clean and dries in no time.

Note: Adding guar gum will help the ingredients to avoid separating. If you would like to make this without the emulsifier you will just need to shake the jar well before using.

There you have it – if you perceived the coconut milk making process to be arduous, now you know it’s not! With mere water, shredded coconut and a blender, you can make coconut milk and cream. It’s your choice as to whether you add the vanilla essence, coconut oil and guar gum. Try it with and without to learn your preference.

P.S. Who do you know that would love to know how to make coconut milk or cream at home (quickly & easily)? Share this article with them now. They’ll thank you for it later!

Carly Taber says:

March 26, 2018 at 5:15 pm

Love this one Alison – I never knew the process was so simple! With the shredded coconut, should it be fresh or the dried/packaged kind? Thanks, Carly x

1. Alison Mitchell says:
  
  March 28, 2018 at 1:27 pm
  
  It’s surprisingly simple isn’t it! You could actually use either, but with the fresh coconut you might not need to add as much water.
  
Natalie M says:

March 28, 2018 at 2:00 pm

I open the fallen coconuts from the yard. Save the inner juice. Remove all the coconut flesh and peel all the brown off the back them cut chunks into the blender. It gets blended for 10 minutes with the saved inner coconut juice and an additional 1 cup of water. I squeeze through an old baby muslin cloth and freeze it in a container. Thinner than canned but I use a little more in my fish and chicken curries and it works well.

1. Carly Taber says:
  
  April 5, 2018 at 12:57 pm
  
  Ahh that’s amazing Natalie, thanks for sharing. The flesh you’re using – is it quite firm? I could use fresh coconut here in Bali, though it’s generally quite soft. Wondering if I can still achieve the same effect. Worth trying anyhow I suppose! 🙂