­

Easy Coconut Milk Recipe (Food Storage Friendly)


Coconut Milk RecipeMaking your own plant-based milk alternatives at home is a great way to avoid unnecessary additives like carrageenan. But making nut and seed milks can be time-consuming, require special equipment (straining bags), messy, and expensive. (Hello $9 bag of almonds!) My coconut milk recipe is easy, simple, and inexpensive. 

When I say coconut milk, I’m not referring to the thick, rich coconut milk you’d put in curry, but the beverage kind of coconut milk you’d drink, pour over cereal, or bake with. 

You can choose to leave it unsweetened or have fun with it, adding sweeteners and flavors of your own to taste. I’ll share my basic coconut milk recipe and you can have fun coming up with variations you and your family like. 

The main ingredient you'll need for this easy coconut milk recipe is coconut butter. It's also called creamed coconut, or coconut cream concentrate. Coconut butter is dried coconut ground up in to a very fine powder. Because coconut has such a high fat content, the simple grinding of the dried coconut gives it a buttery consistency. Coconut butter on its own has a beautiful coconut flavor and can be eaten straight from the jar. Don't confuse coconut butter with coconut oil. Coconut oil is simply the fat from the coconut, with none of the meat. 

I like having coconut butter on hand so I can make coconut milk at any time. Maybe we ran out of milk before grocery day and needed it for a recipe. I also like knowing that in times of emergencies or food shortages I'll be able to make coconut milk. Coconut butter can be stored at room temperature for 12-18 months. 

Organic Coconut Butters: 

Artisana Coconut Butter

Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate

Nutiva Coconut Manna

Glory Bee Creamed Coconut

You can also make your own coconut butter by adding dried (desiccated) coconut shreds to a food processor and pulsing until you've made a fine paste/powder and no large chunks remain. 

=================================================

Making coconut milk from coconut butter is very simple. 

Add 1 tablespoon coconut butter to 2 cups water in a blender. Pulse on high until the butter is broken up and incorporated into the liquid.

Some of the oil will separate and create a frothy cream on the top. You can scoop off the fat and discard or separate it and store it for future use. It's great on berries!

I like to add liquid vanilla stevia to my coconut milk. The cream that separates on the top becomes slightly sweetened! 

You can also throw in dates, honey, or even sugar if you want a sweeter milk. Adjust it to what you and your family likes!

To size up the recipe to make a gallon:

Add 1/2 cup coconut butter to 1 gallon of water to a large blender. Add sweeteners to taste. Blend on high until all coconut butter is incorporated into the liquid. Remove cream from the top (or keep it on) and enjoy!

Store in the fridge for up to 1 week. 

« Blog Home

Blog: The Honey