Homemade Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 drops stevia
Instructions
- Soak coconut in water for 1-2 hours (do not discard water)
- In a vitamix, combine coconut and water, along with vanilla and stevia
- Process on high speed for 60 seconds
- Strain liquid through a nut milk bag, discarding solids
- Serve
I first came upon the idea of making homemade coconut milk from shredded coconut when I was flipping through Sarma Melngailis’ book.
Coconut Milk is easier to make than some of my other homemade dairy-free milk recipes. With this Coconut Milk recipe there is no need to change out the soaking water. You simply blend it into the dried coconut. This is different than my Almond Milk recipe. Almonds contain phytic acid. Soaking the almonds releases their phytic acid into the water. I rinse the almonds thoroughly and discard their soaking water to get rid of the phytic acid because it’s an enzyme inhibitor that can interfere with digestion. That’s why some folks soak all of their nuts and nut products (I do not find it necessary to do so for myself and my family).
With this coconut milk, there is no need to discard the soaking water because, as far as I’ve been taught, coconut does not contain enzyme inhibitors. This recipe only takes a few minutes to make. It’s much easier than cracking open a fresh coconut and scooping out the coconut to make milk. Making fresh coconut milk also helps avoid canned products.
Here are some of my other incredible dairy-free milk recipes:
Judy says
Is there a good recipe for rice cakes…like the crispy kind found in the chips isle? Or health food section. I love them with peanut butter and honey but would like to make my own. That way I know more of what’s in them. I guess they don’t really have to be crispy. I just enjoy the crunch when I bite into them.
Thanks, Judy
JB says
Try juicing a fresh young coconut! many more health benefits!
Aubree Cherie says
This recipe really is fantastic! I’m excited to try it soon, I do so much with coconut milk! I’ve actually added this post to my weekly top ten recipe review! :)
~Aubree Cherie
Elaine says
We used to have an Asian nanny who taught us how to make fresh coconut milk this way. From then on, we prefer to make our own coconut milk rather than buying those in cans. As there are a hundreds of uses and benefits that we get in coconut milk, the fresh version wins hands down in whatever you use it for.
Glad to see helpful blogs like this. Thanks.
Russell Eaton says
Great coconut recipe. You can get a fabulous collection of coconut milk recipes from a free ebook titled: The Incredible Coconut Book. This ebook is completely free and can be obtained by going to the-coconut.com. The recipes include coconut yogurt and coconut icecream.
bob says
Didn’t you write that ebook?
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen says
It looks so yummy! I might have to try this! :)
Erika says
I’m looking forward to trying this and some of the suggestions for using young coconut from the responses.
Purely FYI: coconut milk IS available in BPA-free cans from a company called Native Forest. My local WFM carries it for ~$2.20/can.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/7-bpa-free-canned-foods.php
Rob Wyatt says
I’ve been making my coconut milk this way for a while now. I use honey and a vanilla bean instead of extract and stevia. Very easy and one can control the richness of the milk this way too. For my morning chai, I prefer a lighter coconut milk. If I’m making my coconut milk creme anglaise, I make it richer by adding more coconut.
Not only are you avoiding BPA-lined cans, but you’re saving a lot of $$$. Canned coconut milk is mostly water. One bag of flake coconut costs a few bucks (the same as one or two cans of coconut milk), yet yields 10+ cans worth of milk. Furthermore, consider how much fuel is used to transport heavy cans of coconut milk from Asia versus light, dried flake.
Hallie says
This looks great! I’m eager to try it out. Do you think straining the milk through cheesecloth would work?
Rachel @ Rediscovering the Kitchen says
Hello! I just tried doing exactly that, and shared my experiences here;
http://rediscoverthekitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/recipe-review-diy-coconut-milk.html
I am not sure how it compares to the paint bag that Elana uses as I have never used it, but the cheesecloth worked well for me.
Jennifer says
Thank you for the beautiful website and recipes. Fresh coconut milk is an absolute dream! I want to encourage everyone to try using a young coconut and view an online video for instructions before. It’s totally do-able and I use a chef’s knife; probably something you already have. Price for each coconut ranges from $1.69 (local Asian market) to $1.99 (local WFM). Remove plastic, lightly shave off top until you see brown, whack a few spots with pointed end of knife (near handle), pry open. Blend water and scraped flesh for coconut milk. This is a base for all my smoothies and the kids love it too.
For those avoiding cans, also be aware of the frozen milk, it has preservatives.
When you can’t use a young coconut, Elana’s recipe is a sure-fire winnter.
To everyone’s health!
Beckie says
Does anyone know an easy way to get a coconut open straight from the coconut tree? We have one in our yard, but the only way we’ve been able to get them open is to crack them open with a hammer, and we usually lose the coconut water in the process.
Brandon May says
Hi Becky,
What I do to open a coconut is I pierce both of the “eyes” (the small dark circles of the coconut) with a sharp object in order to open them. I then let the coconut water fall out into a glass or container. Then I go outside on some concrete (in order to avoid making a mess inside) and throw down the coconut as hard as I can. This usually breaks it open very nicely. You might want to throw it down a couple of times.
I hope this helps!
-Brandon