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When I set out to write this post, it was really only going to focus on how to turn a coconut into coconut milk, from a reader request.
But, in the process of figuring out how to do this request, I discovered that the coconut is much more diverse than I had planned! By the time I was done with my little project, I had amassed 16 ounces of coconut water, 4-5 cups of shredded coconut, 3 cups of coconut milk, and about 1/4 cup of coconut oil.
That is a lot of bang for the $2.99 I invested in a single coconut!
Since I set out to do an instructional, let’s start from the start, shall we?
Procure your coconut. Steer clear of coconuts with black spots, and shake it to make sure there is still water inside.
1. Drain the Coconut.
For this step, use a very sharp knife and cut into the smallest “eye” of the coconut. You should be able to carve a decent enough opening for the water to drain out of this eye (it doesn’t have to be big.) Once you have a hole through to the flesh, drain the water.
You may get little bits of shell in the water, this is okay – just run the coconut water through a sieve to get it nice and clean and store in an airtight container to drink later.
2. Open the Coconut.
I recommend doing this outside as it requires a hammer. Place the coconut on a clean dishtowel and hit it a couple of times with the hammer. It should split right open!
Be sure you have your helper handy!
After two whacks with the hammer, you will probably have the coconut open.
3. Remove coconut from the shell.
Take the coconut inside and pry the coconut meat out of the shell. It should come out fairly cleanly, but if you get pieces that still have parts of the shell on them, be sure to cut that off.
4. Wash the coconut pieces.
Get them nice and clean, because what’s on the coconut will be in your milk and shredded coconut flakes. I washed them individually and make sure each piece was clean before putting into the blender.
5. Add to Ninja Blender with enough water to cover the top of the coconut.
5. Blend on 3 for about one minute, until everything is well combined.
If you look closely in this picture you can see two oddly-shaped blobs on the blender jar. That is coconut oil sticking to the jar!
6. Strain.
Really push out all the liquid with a spoon, or, better yet, use a nut milk bag to really squeeze out all the liquid.
You’ll likely find a bit of coconut oil stuck to the side of the blender jar when you pour out the contents – just scrape this out with a spatula and save it for cooking, or, even a lotion for dry skin. I had about three tablespoons worth of oil.
And that’s really it to make the coconut milk! I got about three cups worth from one coconut.
If you want to make dried shredded coconut, you can bake it in a single layer in a cake pan or cookie sheet (a large one) at 350 for about 20 minutes (stir once half way through), which will really dry it out and also toast the coconut.
In all, this was a pretty good yield! I didn’t add the coconut oil to the picture, but one $2.99 coconut provided all this, which I think is fairly incredible, as oftentimes the coconut water alone can be $2.99.
What do you think? Will you make your own coconut milk now?
View Comments (30)
Holy moly, wow, this post really explains all the detail in DIY coconut! I love the photos, they are so helpful.
I’m going to have to try this, yeah, yeah, I know I say that for every one of your posts, but this one looks really neat. I want to make some coconut macaroon cookies, and fresh coconut would be wonderful.
You are just so creative!
HA!! You could TOTALLY do this in a food processor, Debbie. Go for it!
This is perfect! I just bought a ninja & we love coconut milk. However- I’ve heard young coconuts are best (the white ones) so I will definately give this a try with one if those!
Let me know how it works out for you!
Hello! I am really happy that people is doing coconut milk like my grandma used to make it.
Coconut water is better from young coconuts (like you said, white). But the coconut milk is made from dried coconut, like the one used here. The meat of a young coconut is not good for milk, but you can eat it, it tastes great. The water from the dried coconut is not good. Actually, we never drink that water. Believe me, I am from the Caribbean! ?
Hi Maria,
Thanks very much for the “local insight!
Angela
Oh, I need to say I LOVE your blog. I have a new Ninja and found your recipes. I have the
BL660 model. I see you have a different model and was wondering if I can do the same with mine. I have a cuisinart food processor, so I mean the recipes that use the blender. Thanks!
Hi Maria,
Thank you!
As far as blender models, yes, you can use your model with all of my recipes. As the blog matured, and more models came out, I started putting a preferred blender jar to use when making recipes, and if the single serve cup was best (if you have that). You’ll find that your Ninja is much more powerful than your food processor and you can use it for lots of things that you would have used the processor for in the past.
Enjoy!
Angela
I’m super excited to try. How long does the milk last before throwing out or before it goes bad?
Hi Christine, the milk will last 4-5 days in the fridge…
Enjoy!
Angela
I freeze most of my fruit. Even banana, strawberries, mango, pinapple, and honeydew. It last me along long time without wasn’t money. I put coconut juice in a water bottle and freeze it.
The water I used to shred the coconut was warm so I didn’t get any oil from my coconut, but I am thrilled with the amount of water, milk and shredded coconut I got. I have been paying $2.29 for 11 oz of water and my $1.48 coconut gave me 11 oz of water!! The milk tastes so much better that what I get at the store. I’ll be buying more coconuts in the future!!
That is awesome, Joanne!! Thanks for sharing!
Angela, you did well with that coconut. We use coconut in just about everything – soups, breads, candies etc. You can actually make coconut oil from the coconut milk. Just leave it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. The cream rises to the top. Gently scoop it out with the least amount of the water which will be at the bottom. Cook it on high heat in a heavy pot. It turns to oil with a crusty residue. Just pour out the oil and bottle it.
Hi Ann,
Great idea about turning the milk into oil — thank you for sharing!
Angela
Got a ninja a stumbled upon this website. Amazing recipes. Just bought a $1.35 coconut and followed this recipe – my mind has been blown!!!! This is absolutely amazing. And a deal. Love this website.
Glad to help, Cat! I always love it when someone finds my work useful.
Hi, I would like to know if it’s possible to make ground coconut which is base for coconut chutney used in Indian cooking
Hi Roopa,
Do you want to make coconut flour? Or, some other type of ground coconut? Can you tell me how you would normally make it? If you can give me a little direction, I’ll try it out for you!
Angela
hi angela, thank you for replying so promptly !
I make coconut chutney this way:
add shredded coconut to the blender (single serve if possible), then add a little water to just wet the coconut, not covering it entirely, then grind it until it’s pulverize into smooth chutney, without itty bitty shredded coconut pieces. i also add a small piece of ginger to it and pulverize again until everything is smooth.
Hi Roopa,
You bet! I am away from my Ninja Mega with the single serve cup until this weekend, so it will be a few days until I can do this for you, but I will be happy to try it out and post the results early next week. I am confident the Ninja single serve will do a good job with this, though. The single serve does a very smooth job, even with kale, which is very fibrous. More soon!
Also, this chutney sounds delicious – I can’t wait to try it!
Angela
Hey angela
I tried the coconut chutney in mine, and it a out super fine, smooth, just the way I liked it the only thing I wish was the noise level. but I guess that is to be expected with a 2HP product….. i can’t wait to try what other magic it makes …….
Hi Roopa,
Good for you! I didn’t realize you already had the machine – glad it worked out for you!
yes, we recently purchased it two days back. … but cud only test with fruits, did not try with coconut until yesterday. … i also ground mixture of soaked pulses, rice. … it did a good job
Coconut is THE most versatile necessity for food, I use the milk for marinading chicken for a stir fry, sometimes adding smooth peanut butter and whisking with the milk, GREAT flavour when cooked. I also drill out both eyes of the coconut to make the evacuation of the water even more easier.
Very smart to drill out both eyes, Dave!
This worked out great thank you! I didn’t get no coconut oil, but that’s okay I still have a gallon and half of TT coconut oil. My coconut was 1.98 and got 13.1 ounces of shredded coconut and 27.7 ounces of coconut milk and 6.3 ounce of coconut water! lol I didn’t have no oil anywhere that I seen though. Maybe when I do the other one I’ll simply do it with colder water.
Thanks!
Hi Marie,
Glad it worked out for you! Enjoy!
Angela
Wow, blast from the past!!!
I decided today was the day to go through the hundreds of old gmail mail sitting in my inbox and found so many older comment emails from your blog. I had to stop by and read them again.
I have a vitamix now, for about 2.5 years I think. I love it. But your recipes are so helpful for ANY blender. Thanks for all your hard work writing these posts, Angela. I was always inspired by you and even now, I still feel inspired to try new things.
Aw, Debbie, thank you so much. Your note made my day!