There is a huge craze with coconut milk recently. Have you been using it in your recipes? I recently started using it in overnight oats and wanted to share how to make coconut milk at home. It is super easy, extremely delicious, and saves a lot of money. Those are three of my favorite things!
If you have coconut flakes and a sturdy blender, there is really no reason for you to not try this! It is so fresh and delicious!
This recipe only takes about 15 minutes in total to make and that includes gathering everything and clean up.
Start off by adding the coconut and water to a high speed blender. Add a sweetener like agave or honey with vanilla extract. Learn how to make vanilla extract yourself.
Blend for two minutes.
After the two minutes are over, pour the coconut mixture into a nut milk bag over a large bowl. It will flow through bag very quickly. If you tried the How to Make Almond Milk recipe, you know that the liquid was very slow coming through the fabric. The coconut is a much finer consistency and it will flow through much more quickly. Be prepared.
Squeeze out all of the fluid several times with your hands.
Pour the new coconut milk into a jar and store in the refrigerator for three or four days.
How Long Does Coconut Milk Last in the Refrigerator?
You can keep this in the refrigerator for three to four days. There are no preservatives in this homemade coconut milk, so I would toss it out after that time period if you haven’t used it.
Can I Double or Reduce the Recipe?
Absolutely. It is easy to cut the recipe in half. We did. There are just the two of us drinking it and we just will waste the excess if we had made a full batch.
The Differences Between Sweetened and Unsweetened Coconut Milk
You can simply change the taste of your coconut milk just by using sweetened coconut flakes vs the unsweetened. I know you are thinking “isn’t it all the same?”
Sweetened coconut can be found in the baking aisle of your grocery store. You will rarely find the unsweetened there, however. Check your whole foods/organic area of the grocery store for the unsweetened. You can even order unsweetened coconut flakes online if you can’t locate it locally.
If you choose to go the sweetened route, omit any additional sweeteners as it is extremely sweet already. I used sweetened coconut flakes as a test for this post and it was delicious as a creamer for my coffee. I felt it was too sweet to use it in recipes and everyday milk substitute.
On the flip side, we used the pulp from the sweetened coconut milk in our smoothies and it was incredible!!!
Can Coconut Milk be used as a Dairy Milk Substitute?
Absolutely! You will notice there is a difference in the taste, but it is excellent. I love using it in my coffee as a substitute for half and half. I now prefer it over the heavy half and half. Jason still prefers the almond milk in his coffee.
Let us know how you liked it! Feel free to reach out to us via comments/email or social media!
How to Make Coconut Milk
Learn the few, easy steps to make healthy coconut milk at home. This is so easy and very frugal.
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened coconut
- 4 cups water
- 2 tsp agave syrup can substitute honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a sturdy blender and blend well for 1-2 minutes. Make sure to keep watching it as you will notice it change colors and all of the milk become fully combined.
Place a nut milk bag in a large bowl and pour the coconut milk into it to strain away the milk. Keep squeezing until there is just coconut pulp left.
Recipe Notes
Keep the coconut pulp that is left over for smoothies, granola bars, overnight oats or energy balls/bars.
I used 1 tsp of coconut pulp in each smoothie to make very strong tropical smoothie with mangos and strawberries.
To use in overnight oats, add 1 tsp to overnight oats when stirring together.
