How to make your own coconut milk

If you're a fan of coconut milk in your morning smoothie, coffee, or breakfast cereal, or you love baking healthy treats with this healthy, dairy free alternative, you'd be forgiven for being put off by the absorbent price, considering the average cost for a litre of coconut or other nut milks comes in at around $6- 8 a litre - a little steep considering the main ingredient is water!

A quick and inexpensive alternative to buying coconut milk, is of course to make your own! At a total of ten minutes to make and a 1/4 of the price, it's well worth the minimal effort if you ask me, and you can also ensure you're not being hit with any unwanted ingredients, typically found in many commercial brands, including emulsifiers, thickeners, added sugar, or rice milk. You can read more about the truth behind commercial brands of coconut milk in a post I wrote here.

Ingredients

4 cups water
1½-2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
Natural vanilla essence - optional

How to Make

Heat water until hot, but avoid boiling.
Add the shredded coconut to a blender (I use a nutribullet) and add the hot water, or add in batches if you cannot fit all the water in your blender at once.
Blend on high until thick and creamy.
Take a large mixing bowel and place a nut milk bag, really thin tea towel, or cheesecloth over the top and pour the liquid from your blender into the nut milk bag and wring it tightly over the bowel to extract all the liquid.
If you had to split the water into batches, add any coconut that you strained into the nut milk bag, back in the blender, and add the remaining water, and repeat.
Store in a clean glass bottle and store in the refrigerator for a maximum of 3-4 days. But shake well before using to combine the cream of the coconut milk, as it will often separate when left to sit.

Add to your favourite smoothie, over a grain free granola, or as a delicious healthy alternative to cow's milk in your coffee.

Looking for more dairy free recipes like this? Check out my book, Love Your Gut for 106 dairy, gluten and low sugar recipes, plus meals plans and a comprehensive 28 day gut repair program.