Coconut Milk is simply the white, milky extract from the tender white flesh of the mature, brown coconut fruit from the coconut tree.

Usually, whenever the question of How To Make Coconut Milk at home arises, the answer is simple. You grate the white flesh or meat of the coconut, blend it with some water and strain to get the milk.

Coconut Milk is quite the magical extract from the coconut fruit, which is a healthy and organic plant based milk alternative. Try it.

coconut milk served in a glass inside an empty coconut shell being held by hands.

Usually, whenever the question of How To Make Coconut Milk at home arises, the answer is simple. You grate the white flesh or meat of the coconut, blend it with some water and strain to get the milk.

With this procedure, you can get about 1 to 3 rich and creamy extracts of the Coconut Milk, which range from the thickest to the thinnest. Then, you can use these individually or in combination, for culinary purposes as and how a recipe demands for it.

Coconut Milk is one of the best natural by-products of a fruit, that can be used as a substitute for dairy milk. Thus, makes for an awesome vegan-friendly ingredient too.

It is usually used to thicken as well as bring in some sweetness, both in savory and sweet dishes. Homemade Coconut Milk is always better as it is free from any fillers, preservatives or additives.

Coconut Milk is one of the best natural by-products of a fruit, that can be used as a substitute for dairy milk. Thus, makes for an awesome vegan-friendly ingredient too.

Post which, you just need a blender, some water and a muslin cloth/nut milk bag/cheese cloth or a fine strainer to get your desired consistency of this vegan milk.

Step-by-Step Guide

How To Make Coconut Milk

1. Take a fresh mature coconut and break it open. Collect the water in a glass and grate the white flesh with a hand grater.

2. Take the grated coconut in a high-speed blender jar. Add 1 cup water and blend for a couple of minutes or till the coconut is ground well.

3. Pour the contents in a bowl or pan lined with a thin muslin or fine strainer. You could also use a cheese cloth or a nut milk bag to extract the milk.

4. Press with a spoon on the coconut shreds so that all the milk is strained. This way you can strain the Coconut Milk.

You could also opt to press the coconut grates with clean fingers and extract the coconut milk.

pressing the coconut shred to strain coconut milk.

5. What you get now is the thick Coconut Milk or the 1st extract.

thick coconut milk in a bowl.

6. Put back the coconut shreds in the blender. Add 1 to 1.5 cups water and blend again.

Again strain the contents in a different bowl or pan using the same strainer or muslin. Press with a spoon on the shreds again.

straining coconut shred for thin coconut milk.

7. This is the thin Coconut Milk or the 2nd extract.

8. You can stop here or continue to get the 3rd extract. Proceed in the same way as for getting the 2nd extract.

You can keep the 2nd and 3rd extracts separate or mix them. Mostly when making curries, I mix the 2nd and 3rd extracts.

So now you have your fresh homemade coconut milk ready that you can use in your everyday cooking or baking.

Another good thing is that you can add a sweetener of your choice or preferably add ginger to it.

Keep the coconut milk in the refrigerator if you don’t plan to use it straight away. When refrigerated, it keeps well for 3 to 4 days.