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Staples

How to Make Coconut Butter

February 8, 2021 by Alexandra Daum
An easy one (or two) ingredient recipe for homemade coconut butter - all you need is unsweetened coconut and a food processor.
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Finished coconut butter being moved with a spatula in the mixer.

Coconut butter is a lovely vegan alternative to dairy butter, and can be used in such a variety of recipes – but it’s very, very expensive to buy. Homemade is cheap, easy, and well worth trying!

I usually make a batch when I want to make these chocolate coconut bars, but coconut butter also makes a great icing for cookies (or cakes and cupcakes, when mixed with some other ingredients). It solidifies at room temperature and holds things together nicely, much like coconut oil, but rather more flavourful.

If you’re a fan of coconut, it’s delicious on toast, especially with a bit of raspberry jam. You can blend cocoa powder into the butter for chocolate coconut butter, or add spices like vanilla, cardamom, and cinnamon. It’s flexible and can easily be adapted however you like.

Coconut butter being drizzled from a spoon.

Scroll to the bottom of the post or click “skip to recipe” above to see the recipe card with full ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

Just the one – coconut! You may want to add some coconut oil, see Tips for more on that.

Shredded coconut in a glass jar.

Method

Add the coconut to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Blend on high speed for a few minutes, until the coconut starts to break down.

  • Coconut added to the food processor.
  • Coconut after blending for a couple minutes, still shredded.
  • Coconut butter after 5 minutes of blending, starting to come together.

Once the oil begins to release from the coconut, it’ll start to move up the sides of the blender and stick slightly. Scrape down the sides with a spatula or butterknife as frequently as needed. This is what it’ll look like after about five minutes.

Scraping down the sides of the food processor.

If you find that the coconut seems very dry at this point, now is the time to add some coconut oil. About a tablespoon will do it.

Continue blending, leaving the small opening of the food processor open to allow any steam to escape. After about ten minutes in total, you should have a smooth coconut butter that drizzles easily.

Pour the finished butter in a jar or other airtight container and store at room temperature for up to two weeks, or longer in a cooler house.

Finished coconut butter on a spatula.

Tips and Notes

Different types of coconut all blend a little differently, and some can be a touch dry for coconut butter. To make up for this, you can add a tablespoon or so of coconut oil. It should go in at about the 5-minute mark, once the butter is heating up and the oil will melt – but only add it if things seem dry and very crumbly, and you’re not seeing much oil release from the coconut.

Just about any food processor can be used for this recipe. I have the cheapest full-sized version on the market and it works fine, if a bit slowly. I’m not sure about other types of mixers or blenders, like a bullet blender, but it might be possible to use another tool.

Please not that coconut butter does solidify at room temperature, and may need to be softened or melted before use. I place the jar over a radiator before using, but you can zap it in the microwave briefly, or heat carefully in a dish of warm water.

Don’t try to reduce the recipe! Any less and it won’t blend in a standard food processor. You can add more coconut to make a large batch, but not less. It only makes about a cup in the end anyway, not that much.

You can use any size of shredded or flake coconut to make coconut butter, as long as it’s unsweetened and raw.

More Coconut Recipes

  • Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars (made with coconut butter)
  • Three Ingredient Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
  • Coconut Panna Cotta
  • Blueberry Almond Muffins
  • Rainbow Veggie Coconut Dal
Finished coconut butter in a jar.

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Yield: 16

How to Make Coconut Butter

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
4.50 from 2 votes

Ingredients

Metric – American
  • 255 grams unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil optional

Instructions

  • Add the coconut to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Blend on high speed for a few minutes, until the coconut starts to break down.
    255 grams unsweetened shredded coconut
  • Once the oil begins to release from the coconut, it’ll start to move up the sides of the blender and stick slightly. Scrape down the sides with a spatula or butterknife as frequently as needed.
  • If you find that the coconut seems very dry at this point, now is the time to add some coconut oil. About a tablespoon will do it.
    1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • Continue blending, leaving the small opening of the food processor open to allow any steam to escape. After about ten minutes in total, you should have a smooth coconut butter that drizzles easily.
  • Pour the finished butter in a jar or other airtight container and store at room temperature for up to two weeks, or longer in a cooler house.
  • Have the coconut butter as is, with toast or bread, try it on pancakes, waffles, with raw chocolate, or add it as a filling to pastries or sweet breads.

Notes

• Coconut oil can be added if the coconut seems very dry and isn’t releasing enough oil during blending.

* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.


Nutrition

Serving: 1 Calories: 113kcal Carbohydrates: 4g Protein: 1g Fat: 11g Saturated Fat: 10g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Sodium: 6mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 1g

Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.

© Alexandra Daum
Course: Staples
Cuisine: American
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