You can make thick coconut cream from shredded coconut with just two ingredients: equal parts shredded coconut and hot water, blended and strained. The whole process takes about 15 minutes of active work, plus a few hours of chilling if you want the richest, thickest result.
What You Need
The basic ratio for coconut cream is 1:1 by volume. Four cups of dried shredded coconut to four cups of water produces a rich, thick cream. This is deliberately less water than you’d use for coconut milk, which typically calls for twice as much liquid. Less water means a higher concentration of fat, and fat is what makes cream feel like cream.
You’ll also need a high-speed blender (or a regular blender run for longer), a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth, and a bowl to catch the liquid.
Desiccated vs. Shredded Coconut
Both work, but they behave differently. Desiccated coconut is finely ground with a powder-like texture and almost no moisture, having been dried to below 3% water content. Shredded coconut is coarser, with longer strips that retain slightly more moisture. Desiccated coconut blends more easily and releases its fat faster because of the smaller particle size. Shredded coconut needs a bit more blending time but produces the same quality cream. If you’re using large coconut flakes, expect to blend longer still, and consider pulsing first to break them down before running the blender continuously.
One thing to watch for on the package: sweetened vs. unsweetened. Sweetened shredded coconut will make your cream noticeably sweet, which may or may not be what you want. For a neutral, versatile cream, go unsweetened.
Step-by-Step Process
Start by heating your water. Research on coconut fat extraction found that both cold water (80 to 86°F) and hot water (190 to 200°F) pull out similar amounts of fat. However, hot water softens dried coconut faster, which means less blending time and a smoother result. Bring your water to just below boiling, around 190 to 200°F, or simply let boiled water sit for 30 seconds.
Add the shredded coconut and hot water to your blender. Blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes. You’re looking for the mixture to turn uniformly white with no visible pieces of coconut. If your blender struggles, pause for 30 seconds to let the motor cool, then blend again. A high-speed blender will get there in about 90 seconds; a standard blender may need the full 3 minutes or a bit more.
Once blended, let the mixture sit in the blender for 5 to 10 minutes. This steeping time allows more fat to release from the coconut fibers into the liquid.
Now strain. Place a cheesecloth or nut milk bag over a bowl and pour the mixture through it. Gather the edges of the cloth and squeeze firmly to extract every bit of liquid. This squeezing step matters: a significant amount of the cream stays trapped in the pulp if you just let it drip passively. The leftover coconut pulp can be dried in a low oven and used in baking.
Getting the Thickest Cream
What you’ve strained out is already richer than most store-bought coconut milk, but if you want something closer to heavy dairy cream, there’s one more step. Transfer the liquid to a jar or container and refrigerate it for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight. As it chills, the fat rises and solidifies into a thick layer on top, with a thinner, more watery liquid settling below.
Don’t shake or stir the container before opening it. Carefully scoop the solid layer off the top. That’s your coconut cream at its richest. The liquid underneath is essentially thin coconut milk and works well in smoothies, soups, or curries.
The separation happens because coconut fat solidifies below about 76°F. Keeping your refrigerator at or below 40°F ensures a clean, firm separation.
Preventing Separation During Use
Homemade coconut cream lacks the stabilizers found in canned versions, so it will naturally separate when stored or when added to warm dishes. If you need it to stay emulsified (for a sauce, a whipped topping, or a drink), a small amount of lecithin works well. Use about 1 gram of liquid lecithin per 100 grams of cream, or roughly 0.65 grams if using powdered lecithin. Blend it in thoroughly.
Xanthan gum is another option and performs better than guar gum for this purpose. Guar gum will thicken the cream but won’t stop the fat and water from separating. A tiny pinch of xanthan gum, about 1/8 teaspoon per cup, blended in on high speed, gives the cream a more stable consistency without altering the flavor.
Storage and Shelf Life
Homemade coconut cream should be refrigerated immediately and kept at or below 40°F. It stays good for 7 to 10 days in the fridge. For longer storage, freeze it in ice cube trays or small containers for up to 8 weeks. The texture will change after thawing, becoming slightly grainy as the fat and water crystallize at different rates, but it still works well in cooked dishes, sauces, and blended drinks.
Fresh coconut cream is white with a mild, sweet coconut scent. Toss it if you notice yellowing, dark spots, or any sour, rancid, or musty smell. Some natural separation after a few days in the fridge is normal. Just stir or re-blend it. But if the liquid looks excessively curdled or watery beyond what a quick stir can fix, that’s a sign it has turned.
Adjusting Richness
The 1:1 ratio is a starting point. You can adjust it in either direction depending on what you’re making. For an ultra-thick cream closer to the solid block you’d find at the top of a chilled can, use more coconut: try 5 cups of shredded coconut to 3 cups of water. For something between cream and milk, go with 4 cups coconut to 5 or 6 cups water. The more water you add, the more you dilute the fat, and the thinner the result.
You can also do a second extraction. After squeezing out the first batch of cream, return the spent coconut pulp to the blender with fresh hot water and blend again. This second pass produces a thinner coconut milk rather than cream, but it gets more value out of the same coconut. Some people combine the two extractions for a medium-richness result.