Coconut butter is super easy to make and only requires coconut and a food processor or high-speed blender! Naturally paleo, vegan, and gluten-free. With a video.
While I’ve got quite a few dessert recipes ready to post, I know that a lot of people aren’t super into baking just yet after the holidays. So here’s something a little different!
A few people have mentioned in my recipes with coconut butter that they didn’t know you could make your own. So here we go!
What is coconut butter?
Coconut butter is just the ground up dried meat of a coconut. It’s also known as coconut manna.
Is coconut butter the same as coconut oil? Coconut butter vs. coconut oil.
It’s very different than coconut oil, which is the oil that is pressed out of coconut meat. When you buy a jar of coconut butter, there’s usually a layer of coconut oil at the top that has separated.
You just warm it up and stir it back together. In the summer, it’s so warm in our kitchen that it’s liquid enough and can be just be stirred.
Coocnu*t butter is not interchangeable with coconut oil.
You have to use it in recipes that specifically call for coconut butter. Like these vegan coconut macaroons, which is probably my favorite cookie recipe of the last several years and my go-to cookie recipe (but I always dip them in chocolate and drizzle more on top!).
If you need some other recipe ideas, try this healthy vegan peanut butter and jelly fudge or this paleo vegan chocolate fudge!
Is there a coconut butter substitute?
Other articles about how to make coconut butter suggest using another nut / seed butter, coconut oil or regular butter but I’ve tried all of these subs in several recipes and can say that the results are never even similar.
I’ve made at least 50 attempts at converting several of my recipes to be nut-free / AIP-friendly using coconut butter and none of them worked. So I really don’t recommend it. They come out dry and crumbly.
What kind of coconut should I use?
Pretty much anything except fresh coconut. You can use shredded coconut like I did or coconut chips, flaked coconut, coconut flakes and desiccated coconut. All of that works.
Desiccated will just take a bit longer than the other kinds because it has less moisture in it. And make sure to use unsweetened and full-fat! None of that reduced-fat stuff.
The amount of coconut you use will depend on how big your food processor or high-speed blender is. A regular blender will not work! You have to use a Blendtec, Vitamix or something similar.
You need to fill the food processor at least halfway with coconut. You’ll have a hard time processing if it’s not at least halfway full.
Do you need to add some coconut oil?
I’ve been making homemade coconut butter for 8 years and have never needed to do that. If yours absolutely won’t come together after 10-15 minutes, you could add maybe a teaspoon of coconut oil at a time to see if that helps.
How do you store coconut butter? How long does it last?
Coconut butter stays good for ages at room temperature. I would say as long as your shredded coconut (or whatever coconut product you’re using) is good for. I’ve found hidden jars that were over a year old and they were perfectly fine.
So don’t worry about making too much! That’s just not possible once you try these coconut lime macaroons (which call for coconut butter) because you’ll want a constant supply. ;)
It hardens as it cools unless your kitchen is very warm. There’s unfortunately no way to prevent this.
I’d love to hear what you think of this homemade coconut butter!
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Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Ready in:
Yield: a little less than 1 cup coconut butter
Ingredients
1 pound (450 grams or almost 6 cups) or more full-fat unsweetened shredded coconut, coconut flakes or flaked coconut
Directions
If using a food processor: fill the food processor at least halfway with coconut flakes. You'll have a hard time processing if it's not at least halfway full. Process until very liquidy, almost like water. Stop every few minutes to scrape down the sides and let it cool a little if it feels too warm. Don't kill your food processor! Depending on your food processor, it could take 15-20 minutes.
If using a Blendtec, (you can also use a Vitamix), use the Twister Jar and start processing while twisting the top of the jar counterclockwise. I start off on 1 and work up to about medium power. Process until very liquidy, almost like water. It'll only take about a minute.
Place in a jar and stir every hour or so until firm and solid (this may take up to 6-8 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is. If it's very warm in your kitchen, it might not become solid. If you're in a hurry, refrigerate). Store at room temperature. To soften, place the jar in hot water or microwave (provided it's in a microwave-safe jar) at 50% power for 15 seconds at a time.
You can buy coconut butter in the stores or make Homemade Coconut Butter. 2 store brands I like are the Nutiva and Maranatha brands. You can use it for vegan baked desserts or no-bake desserts or simply spread it on some fresh toast or even pancakes, it will melt immediately and taste amazing.
They're two distinct products, used for different purposes, so they can't really be substituted for one another. Coconut oil is best used for sautéting and roasting foods, and even baking.Coconut butter, on the other hand, is best used with foods that are already cooked.
Every now and then, you might encounter a bag of coconut that just doesn't want to turn into smooth coconut butter. If that happens, I've found adding a few tablespoons of coconut oil to the blender fixes the issue. Coconut butter is solid at room temperature but will turn to butter again when gently heated.
Coconut butter is a rich source of medium-chain fatty acids. Unlike long-chain fatty acids, the burning of this fat supports energy generation inside the body making it a metabolism booster. It increases calorie burn and energy levels at the same time.
How long will the coconut butter keep? Although we don't have any preservatives, coconut butter is naturally very stable and has a shelf life of a year or more, although we've never met anyone who was able to keep it around that long!
A good rule of thumb is to replace about 3/4 of the butter in a recipe with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ¾ cup oil.) You can use a 1:1 ratio when it comes to coconut oil.
Tired of using butter? Try coconut oil instead! Keep in mind, though, that both butter and coconut do contain saturated fat and are considered “solid” fats. For baked goods that require solid fats, either choice will work, it really just depends on the flavor you desire.
Baking. Because unrefined coconut oil has a strong coconut taste and scent, refined coconut oil may be a better choice for baking. If you use refined coconut oil, the resulting baked good will be free of a coconut taste and smell that could otherwise clash with its flavors.
Creamed coconut is also made from ground dehydrated coconut flesh, and then compressed into a block. It is similar in form to coconut butter but is very dense and is most commonly mixed with water to make coconut milk or added to soups or stews.
Coconut butter burns easily and isn't your best bet for stovetop cooking over anything higher than very low heat for a brief time. It's perfect for making fudge and candies and may be substituted for butter or oil. It will add a strong, sweet, coconut flavor to your recipes.
That is because it is rich in good fat (polyunsaturated fat) and low in bad fat (saturated fat). Coconut oil contains 80 to 90 percent saturated fat. According to the experts, a tablespoon of coconut oil contains about six times as much saturated fat as olive oil.
Coconut oil can replace butter in baking at a 1:1 ratio, though it may slightly change the flavor, with some types of coconut oil affecting taste more than others. Unrefined coconut oil tends to taste more like coconut than refined varieties. It works great for recipes that require tropical or rich chocolate flavors.
Since coconut flour doesn't contain gluten proteins that bind and create structure, eggs are usually used to hold the product together without crumbling. Using coconut flour in egg-free baking can be tricky but not impossible! Flax eggs, bananas, and apple sauce can also be used to bind and add structure.
Creamed coconut, also known as coconut butter, is a coconut product made from the unsweetened dehydrated fresh pulp of a mature coconut, ground to a semi-solid white creamy paste. It is sold in the form of a hard white block which can be stored at room temperature.
It will become very hard during storage. To use again, you will need to warm it first, so that it becomes a liquid again. To do this, heat the glass container for 15-30 seconds just until it is soft enough to stir it around. Stir until it becomes soft and chunky.
If you are looking for creamy and rich butters that have textures similar to Shea butter, you can try Sal butter and Mango butter. These two butters are super moisturizing and relatively soft like Shea butter. In addition, they have beneficial qualities that compare relatively well to Shea butter.
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Introduction: My name is Msgr. Benton Quitzon, I am a comfortable, charming, thankful, happy, adventurous, handsome, precious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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