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    Home » All Recipes » Drinks

    How to Make Homemade Coconut Milk with Fresh or Shredded Coconut

    Published: Jul 16, 2019 · Modified: Sep 1, 2019 by Jamie · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 27 Comments

    2.0K shares
    Jump to Recipe

    Learn how to make homemade coconut milk with fresh or shredded coconut! Easy, creamy homemade coconut milk recipe with just 2 ingredients - coconut & water!

    homemade coconut milk in a mason jar with coconut shells

    This is a super simple recipe for homemade coconut milk using fresh, mature coconut or shredded coconut flakes. If you have the time and option, I'd recommend using a fresh coconut as the flavor is soo much more intense and creamy!

    Coconut milk is one of my favorite things to drink during the summer and I love adding it to fruity drinks. It has a hint of natural sweetness, it's super creamy, and the tropical flavors go well with any fruit!

    homemade coconut milk in a mason jar with coconut shells

    If you're using pre-shredded coconut flakes, feel free to skip to the recipe at the bottom of the page as the following will be showing you how to open and peel a mature coconut.

    Use your fresh coconut milk in this Homemade Korean Strawberry Milk!

    homemade Korean strawberry milk in two glasses with strawberries

    This Homemade Korean Strawberry Milk is made with fresh coconut milk!

    How to Choose a Mature Coconut:

    • pick it up and shake it - it should feel heavy for its size and you should hear lots of water inside.
    • examine the 'eyes' - these are the three holes you see on the shell. Make sure the eyes aren't moldy or wet. This signals that there's a leak in the coconut.
    • examine the shell for cracks or leaks - if there's any cracks or leaks, chances are the coconut meat and water inside has gone bad.

    How to Open a Mature Coconut

    1.Drain the coconut water by poking holes through the 'eyes' and tilt the coconut water into a glass. Make sure the liquid inside hasn't gone bad. It should smell sweet without smelling sour. The color should be a little translucent but mostly clear.

    2. Wrap the coconut in a towel and hit it with a hammer or in my case, a meat tenderizer. You can also take the back of a cleaver and strike it across the 'equator' of the coconut. This didn't work for me but it might if your coconut already has a pre-carved line along the middle.

    Metal hammer and cracked open fresh coconut
    Mature coconut cracked open
    Fresh coconut cracked open on a wooden board

    3. Once it's broken into pieces, take a butter knife or straight edge spatula and wedge it between the coconut meat and the outer shell. Carefully rock it back and forth until the meat separates from the tough outer shell. The meat should pop right out and will have a thin brown skin on it.

    Fresh coconut cracked open with shell removed
    Fresh coconut meat from a coconut shell
    Fresh coconut meat from a coconut shell

    4.  Optional step: Using a peeler, peel away the thin brown skin from the coconut meat. I only recommend this if you plan on using the leftover coconut meal. It won't affect the taste of the coconut milk if the thin brown skin is left on since we'll be straining it. Tip: if you dry the leftover coconut meal, you end up with homemade coconut flour!

    I didn't plan to use all of the leftover coconut meal so left most of it unpeeled. I decided to peeled a few pieces to make dog treats. Millie absolutely loves coconut just like her mom! 🙂

    Peeling the shell off of fresh coconut meat

    How to Make Homemade Coconut Milk with Fresh Coconut

    coconut meat in a blender for fresh homemade coconut milk
    homemade coconut milk in a blender
    homemade coconut milk poured from a blender into cheesecloth

    If using fresh coconut, cut your coconut meat into small pieces and add it to a high speed blender. Otherwise add your shredded coconut flakes to the blender. Add your hot water and blend on high for 1 to 3 minutes until you end up with a smooth consistency. Although it's not necessary to use a high speed blender, I strongly recommend it as you'll be able to extract more flavor from the coconut meat. Instead of adding hot water, you can definitely use the coconut water that came from the shell.

    homemade coconut milk in a bowl with cheesecloth

    Pour the coconut milk into a strainer, nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or kitchen towel and give it a good squeeze. Ring out all of that creamy homemade coconut milk!

    squeezing out homemade coconut milk in a cheesecloth into a glass bowl

    You'll end up with a rich, creamy, and super flavorful coconut milk. I didn't want to add too much water to the coconut milk because I like it better rich and creamy and it's easy to dilute the coconut milk with more water if needed. If you like your homemade coconut milk on the thinner side, feel free to add more water.

    homemade coconut milk in a bowl with cheesecloth and coconut shells

    I think this is the perfect consistency for homemade coconut milk. Not too thick and not too thin. The flavor is slightly sweet since coconut is naturally sweet and there's a fresh coconut flavor that you don't get from store bought coconut milk. In fact, I can barely taste the coconut in most store bought coconut milk. With this homemade coconut milk, you'll get an intense, unmistakable coconut flavor!

    homemade coconut milk in a bowl with cheesecloth and coconut shells

    Serve this immediately over ice with your preferred sweetener if you so choose, or you can refrigerator to chill. homemade coconut milk in a mason jar with coconut shells

    Homemade Coconut Cream

    You'll notice that after several hours of refrigeration, the coconut cream may separate from the rest of the milk. This is especially true if you use fresh coconut meat.

    homemade coconut milk in a mason jar with coconut shells

    This is homemade coconut cream and it's probably the best part of the coconut. It's a huge bonus if you use fresh coconut meat as you get a lot of it. It's so delicious, creamy, and rich.

    homemade coconut cream in a mason jar with a spoon and coconut shells

    Homemade coconut cream is so luscious, it just melts in your mouth. It has a wonderful silky consistency that's smooth, rich, creamy, and slightly sweet. Canned coconut cream is good too but this is so much better!

    homemade coconut cream on a spoon with mason jar and coconut shells

    You can scoop out the coconut cream and use it in desserts but as you can guess, this makes your creamy homemade coconut milk is not so creamy. Stir it to combine with the liquid before serving.

    homemade coconut milk in a mason jar with a spoon and coconut shells

    Homemade Coconut Meal, Coconut Flour

    Coconut meal is the leftover coconut meat after the coconut milk has been strained.  If you dry this coconut meal, you've just made your very own homemade coconut flour.

    What To Do With Coconut Meal - Coconut Flour

    There's so many things you can do with the leftover coconut meal. Dry it and turn it into coconut flour, and use it when baking! I recommend peeling the thin outer skin of your coconut if you plan on making something with it. 

    • cookies
    • muffins
    • pancakes
    • bread
    • dog treats (Millie loves coconut)

    homemade coconut meal or coconut flour in a bowl with cheesecloth

    You can also compost it as it's great for soil if you don't plan on eating it. Put it in a zip lock bag and stored it in the freezer. Coconut flour is quite oily so it's best to freeze your flour so the oil doesn't go rancid.

    Homemade fresh coconut meal or coconut flour in a plastic bag

    I hope you make this recipe for homemade coconut milk! Please share, rate, and comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

    Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for recipe updates and occasional kitchen tips and tricks! Also come find me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Stop by and leave me a message! I love reading your comments!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

    Jamie


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    *This post may contain affiliate links which means any purchases made through my link pay out a small commission without any extra cost to you. All opinions are my own and I only recommend products that I know, personally use, and trust. For more information, please see my Privacy Policy.

    homemade coconut milk in a mason jar with coconut shells

    Homemade Coconut Milk with Fresh Coconuts

    Learn how to make homemade coconut milk with fresh or shredded coconut! Easy, creamy homemade coconut milk recipe with just 2 ingredients - coconut & water!
    5 from 46 votes
    Pin Share Print
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course Drinks
    Cuisine American, Asian
    Servings 4

    ☑ Ingredients
     

    • 1 whole mature coconut - or 2 cups of dried shredded coconut flakes
    • 1 ¾ cup hot filtered water
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    If Using Fresh Coconut:

    • Drain the coconut water. Find the three "eyes" of the coconut and poke holes into them with a sharp knife or skewer. Pour out the coconut water into a glass and set aside for later use.
    • Wrap the coconut in a towel and hit it with a hammer or meat tenderizer along the equator. You can also use the back of a meat cleaver and strike it along the equator.
    • Take the pieces of coconut and use a butter knife or straight edge spatula to remove the coconut meat from the tough outer shell.
    • Optional: remove the outer thin brown skin from the coconut meat using a peeler. I recommend this if you plan to use the leftover coconut meal. Hint: You can dry the coconut meal to make your own homemade coconut flour.

    Making the Coconut Milk:

    • Add the fresh coconut meat (my coconut yielded about 3 cups) or the dried shredded coconut flakes to a high speed blender.
    • For rich, creamy coconut milk, add just enough water to cover the coconut meat (I added 1 ¾ cups of hot water for 3 cups of fresh coconut meat). Feel free to add more water for a thinner coconut milk. If using fresh coconut, you can also use the drained coconut water.
    • Blend on high until you get a thick and creamy consistency, about 1 - 3 minutes.
    • Pour into a strainer, nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or kitchen towel. Squeeze out the coconut milk until you're left with the dried coconut pulp. This is coconut meal, which when dried, is called coconut flour.
    • Refrigerator the coconut milk and serve chilled. If using fresh coconut especially, the coconut milk will separate into coconut water and coconut cream in the fridge. Give it a good stir to combine before serving. You can also scoop out the coconut cream for later use but this would change the coconut milk flavor if removing the cream.

    ✎ Recipe Notes

    Makes about 3 cups of coconut milk if using fresh coconut meat. Makes about 2 cups if using shredded coconut flakes. 
    Storage: It stays fresh for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 356mg | Fiber: 9g | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 2.3mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was and give it a 5 star rating! Tag @drivemehungry to show off your creations! I love seeing your photos!

    *Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.

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    2.0K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lynn

      June 29, 2021 at 10:35 pm

      thanks for the useful information.
      I intend to used fresh coconut to make the milk. Do u think it is considered unsweetened coconut milk since no added sweetener?

      Reply
      • Jamie

        June 30, 2021 at 4:29 pm

        Hi Lynn! I would say if you didn't add any sweetener, it would be considered unsweetened coconut milk. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Audrey

      June 03, 2021 at 8:37 am

      5 stars
      I had no idea how easy this was until you posted this recipe. Trying this tonight!

      Reply
    3. Angela

      May 05, 2021 at 12:01 am

      5 stars
      I've never thought about making coconut milk at home, but this recipe is brilliant. thank you!

      Reply
    4. Rene' Dove

      April 10, 2021 at 12:16 pm

      5 stars
      Just finished making this coconut milk. I'm down in Ecuador and the coconuts from my trees were not so easy to crack open or remove the meat so I can't say it was an easy process. Although the recipe its self is super easy. I toasted the coconut meat left over after squeezing out all the milk. I'll try this in cookies and also to make coconut shrimp. Using the milk tonight to make coconut curry stir fry. I love that you end up with 2 or 3 useful products from this recipe!

      Reply
    5. Jessica Formicola

      March 03, 2021 at 8:02 am

      5 stars
      I love coconut milk, but I've never tried making it on my own! This looks so easy and I can't wait to try it!

      Reply
    6. Sonia

      January 25, 2021 at 10:56 am

      How long will this stay fresh in the fridge?

      Reply
      • Jamie

        January 25, 2021 at 6:49 pm

        Hi Sonia! It stays fresh for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

        Reply
    7. Haley

      September 21, 2020 at 6:42 pm

      5 stars
      Nothing beats homemade, and this is no exception! The flavour is so superior to anything you can buy in a can or packet! It will be my go to from now on!

      Reply
      • Jamie

        December 11, 2020 at 2:43 am

        Thanks Haley! Homemade coconut milk is definitely better than the canned version. I agree, it has such an intense, wonderful flavor. So happy you enjoyed this!

        Reply
    8. Ella

      July 24, 2020 at 10:45 pm

      5 stars
      This is absolutely brilliant and so clever! I was so excited to try this as I never knew it could be so easy to do.... it worked and I was thrilled!!!

      Reply
      • Jamie

        September 11, 2020 at 1:42 am

        Yay! I'm so glad you liked it Ella! Thanks for giving it a try. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Makimako

      June 03, 2020 at 9:10 am

      I wonder if the coconut milk had separated can we still drink it by just stir it around? And

      Reply
      • Jamie

        June 04, 2020 at 2:55 pm

        Hi Makimako! That's just the coconut fat and liquid separating, you can definitely just stir it around and drink it. Or you can scoop up the fat and use it wherever you use coconut cream. 🙂

        Reply
    10. Happiness

      June 02, 2020 at 10:08 am

      Thank u so much ...I never knw coconut milk could be this easier...am trying it today got my coconut already.

      Reply
    11. Sandy Lee

      December 19, 2019 at 1:03 pm

      Can I use the cream/milk in tropical drinks?

      Reply
      • Jamie

        December 21, 2019 at 1:27 am

        Hi Sandy! Yes absolutely you can use it in tropical drinks. The milk is fantastic in lighter drinks and the cream tastes amazing in smoothies or thicker drinks like pina coladas. You can use either interchangeably but that's how I like to use the milk and cream. Hope you enjoy! 🙂

        Reply
    12. Matt @ Plating Pixels

      July 16, 2019 at 8:50 pm

      Such an awesome resource! I had no idea you could make homemade coconut milk.

      Reply
      • Jamie

        July 19, 2019 at 8:05 pm

        Thank you Matt! Yes definitely you can make this at home and it’s so simple too!

        Reply
    13. Taylor Kiser

      July 16, 2019 at 7:56 pm

      5 stars
      Love how easy it is to make this homemade coconut milk! What a great recipe to have!!

      Reply
      • Jamie

        July 19, 2019 at 8:05 pm

        Thank you Taylor! Yes it’s super easy and so much better than store bought!

        Reply
    14. Veena Azmanov

      July 16, 2019 at 7:20 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you very much for this lovely and useful information. Many more will surely thank you for the same. It really helps...

      Reply
      • Jamie

        July 19, 2019 at 8:04 pm

        Thank you Veena! So glad you find it helpful!

        Reply
    15. Cookilicious

      July 16, 2019 at 5:35 pm

      5 stars
      Love your process shots! SO neat and clean images..easy to follow. Thanks for sharing

      Reply
      • Jamie

        July 19, 2019 at 8:03 pm

        Thank you so much! I know it always helps me when trying a recipe for the first time.

        Reply
    16. Gloria

      July 16, 2019 at 3:58 pm

      5 stars
      I have never tried this. Looks pretty easy. I know it would taste so much better than the bought stuff. I love using fresh coconut in recipes.

      Reply
      • Jamie

        July 19, 2019 at 8:03 pm

        Yes it totally tastes better than store bought! Hope you give it a try!

        Reply

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