How to make Coconut Milk. This dairy free coconut milk recipe is creamy and sweet, super easy to make only 2 ingredients and a great dairy free alternative.
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Why you will love this recipe
- Super Easy: This homemade oat milk could not be any easier, literally coconut (flakes or shredded, unsweetened) and water in a blender, strain and then add flavors if you desire.
- Dairy Free: This recipe for How to make Coconut Milk gives you a great vegan and dairy free alternative to dairy milks.
For more homemade milk recipes be sure to check out my Homemade Oat milk, Homemade Cashew Milk and my Homemade Almond Milk I know you will love them all!
If you would like to check out more "how-to's" and simple cooking methods check out my "Back to Basics" category where I am adding everything that's not really a "recipe" but things that are more like a tutorial or how to do/make something.
Ingredients
Be sure to check out the recipe card below for instructions and quantities for making this Homemade Coconut Milk.
- Shredded or Flaked Coconut: Make sure you use unsweetened coconut, don't use the sweetened kind it will not taste very good. Use organic when possible.
- Water: Use as clean of water as possible, if you have filtered water that would be best.
- Salt, Maple Syrup and Cocoa Powder: These are optional additional added flavors.
Variations
- How to flavor homemade dairy free Milks: I like to blend the coconut and water first by themselves and strain through a nut milk bag then after that you can simply add it back to the blender and blend for about 15 seconds with a pinch of salt and vanilla for a nice plain unsweetened version or if you feel like getting a little fancy you can add a sweetener such as pure maple syrup or vegan cane sugar.
- Chocolate Coconut Milk: For other flavors such as chocolate you can add plain unsweetened powder but make sure you don't skip the sweetener if you choose to make it chocolate. Cocoa powdered un-sweetened will taste very bitter! A good rule of thumb is to start out small because you can always add more, I would start with 1 tablespoon sweetener and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder per 16 ounces of coconut milk, then adjust and add more if desired.
How to make Homemade Coconut Milk
Coconut milk is just like making Oat, Cashew or Almond Milk, check out the simple steps below.
Step 1: Add coconut and water to high speed blender and blend for about 30-60 seconds.
Blended homemade coconut milk.
Step 2: Pour into nut milk bag over a large bowl and squeeze/strain the milk out.
If you want to make a flavored option simply add the coconut milk back to the bender with desired sweetener/flavors and blend for about 15 seconds.
Expert Tips
- Shake Before Enjoying: Make sure you store this homemade coconut milk in a container that will allow you to shake well before enjoying, separation will always occur (even in store bought milks) when it's been sitting.
- Use a Nut Milk Bag: For the smoothest texture be sure to use a nut milk bag, a mesh strainer will work but it honestly won't be as smooth as a nut milk bag.
- Storage: Store in the fridge for 3 days, some people will say 5 days but for me personally I like 3 days.
Recipe FAQs
I personally only keep it 3 days in the fridge and since homemade milks do not contain any stabilizers natural separation will occur so just shake well before consuming.
Personally I will say yes to that, I tried it myself with a fine mesh sieve/strainer and it just didn't do as well as a nut milk bag, there was too much texture left behind for my liking.
Shredded plain unsweetened coconut or coconut flakes.
No soaking required for this coconut milk recipe.
More Homemade Milk Recipes
How to Make Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups plain unsweetened shredded coconut
- 5 cups water
Optional - added after the initial blending and straining:
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or vegan cane sugar or 1-2 pitted medjool dates)
- 1 tablespoon plain unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add coconut and water to high speed blender and blend for about 30-60 seconds.
- Pour into nut milk bag over a large bowl and squeeze/strain the milk out.
- If you want to make a flavored option simply add the coconut milk back to the bender with desired sweetener/flavors and blend for about 15 seconds.
- Store in fridge, shake well before consuming and enjoy within 3 days.
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