Okay, so by now many of you know my recent obsession with raw coconut butter. The thing is, while it’s amazingly delicious and amazingly nutritious, it’s also amazingly expensive.
So, what’s a girl to do?
Why, make her own, of course! 🙂
I’ve spent the past few weeks experimenting with several methods of making my own coconut butter. Many of the methods gave me the desired finished product (i.e. smooth, nommy coconut butter), but some were much more of a headache than others.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
- My blender just can’t cut it. I end up with some grainy coconut at the bottom of the blender and untouched coconut on the top. Now, if you are fortunate enough to own a super amazing MONSTER blender (e.g. Vitamix), you should do just fine.
- UPDATE! (5/20/12) For those who don’t have a food processor, I did find a way to make it work with just a blender! **Applause!!** This happened out of sheer desperation when my food processing attachment bit the dust. The key is to start with your coconut oil (about 3 T) and a small amount of shredded coconut (around 1/2 cup). Blend this together, while slowly increasing the speed, until liquefied. Then, add more coconut a bit at at time and continue to blend until liquefied. Stir the mixture as needed in order to get the ingredients from the top to the bottom. You also can add a bit more oil if your butter isn’t as smooth as you’d like. As long as you add a scoop or two of coconut at a time, your blender won’t get overwhelmed. In fact, I found that I was able to make an even BIGGER batch with my blender, than with my food processor! This means even more coconut butter to feed my addiction! Yayyyyy!!! 🙂
Homemade Coconut Butter
Ingredients:
- Unsweetened dried coconut flakes
- Virgin coconut oil (If you have a super powerful blender or processor, you may not even need this!)
Seriously, that’s it!
Simply add about two cups of coconut flakes to your food processor. Be careful not to overload your processor. (You don’t need anything super expensive or fancy. I simply used the processor attachment on my 12-speed Oster.)
I like to start on low and then slowly increase the blending speed up to the “liquefy” setting. Blend until the coconut reaches a grainy/meal consistency.
Now, if you’re an experimental chef like me, there are endless variations you can try with your coconut butter.
Here are just a few:
- Add a few teaspoons of cinnamon and/or pure vanilla extract
- Add a bit of raw honey or pure maple syrup
- Process with mashed banana and vanilla extract for a nommy icing (or chill it to make vanilla fudge!)
- Process with mashed pumpkin, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Mix with a bit of your favorite nut butter (almond, peanut, cashew!)
- Melt dark chocolate and mix it in…om nom nom nom nom!!!
That being said, if you do want to get a little adventurous and move beyond just the spoon, here are some excellent ways to get started:
Warm Berry Syrup
Cinnamon Bun Baked Oatmeal
Five Minute Coconut Flour Chocolate Muffin
Watermelon Layer Cake
Have you tried coconut butter before? What’s your favorite way to devour it??
This recipe was featured on Frugally Sustainable’s blog hop. Check it out!
Special Price! - Virgin Coconut Oil, Gold Label - 2 pints - Buy 1 Get 1 FREE!
Could I possibly use these photos (the coconut butter) if I link back to your blog and give you the credit for them? Thanks:)
Hi there! I’m so flattered that you’d like to use my pictures! You most certainly can as long as you link back to this blog and give me credit for them, as you said. Have you tried the recipe?? I hope you like it! I’m pretty much addicted to coconut butter these days. 🙂
Gave this a try a while back with raw fresh coconut… and I do NOT recommend it. It simply never smoothed out into a creamy consistency, it just stayed choppy (also I hadn’t put the rubber washer in correctly and all the coconut oil was leaking out the bottom, I was NOT pleased).
So second try with unsweetened flaked coconut and it turned out beautifully! It really came together without even using any coconut oil. 🙂
Hurrah!
Thanks for the post!
Yay!!! I’m so happy it worked for you! 🙂 Aren’t you addicted to this stuff?? I seriously can’t get enough!
I’ve never tried it with fresh coconut; now I know not to waste my time! Thanks so much for passing along the info. 🙂
What a great idea! I’ll have to try this some time. I’ve never used coconut butter, but I have a lot of coconut oil.
I love your baked oatmeal recipes!
Oh, you are going to FALL IN LOVE! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of it!! I’m exploring your blog as we speak; I love your pictures!
So happy to have found this! I love coconut butter but the cost is ridiculous! I’m lucky in that I have a Vitamix blender so I’m sure I can whip this up in no time, so excited to make a batch. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I’m happy to help, Ashley! Do you love your Vitamix? I dream of having one SOON! With the power of your Vitamix, you may not even need the coconut oil. Although I love the consistency it adds to the coconut butter, so you might want to add just a bit anyway, just because! 🙂
Let me know how your first batch turns out!
I love my Vitamix, I have yet to utilize it to its fullest potential though, I’m super excited to use it for the coconut butter. I highly recommend getting one if possible. I’m lucky, mine was a gift from my boss after I mentioned how fabulous I thought it was and how much use I would get out of it. She uses hers all the time and felt I should have one too!
I’m totally going to use the oil – I use it daily in general and I think it would absolutely help the consistency, plus it’s so good for you! I will definitely let you know how it turns out, just ordered my coconut flakes through Amazon so once they arrive I will make a batch and get back to you!
Thanks again! : )
Wow!! Talk about having an awesome boss! What a blessing!
I also use coconut oil daily, and completely agree with you on the amazing health benefits! I just can’t get enough of it! I also use it as a deep conditioner about once a week for my hair, and daily on my skin. We keep a bottle in the pantry and a bottle in the bathroom vanity at all times! 🙂
Totally awesome boss, very very blessed!
I made my first batch today – delicious! It was so easy, took about maybe 7 minutes in the VM. I did add the coconut oil because even in the VM it was a tad dry, so that helped smooth everything out. I now have a big container of it to last me for a few weeks. Amazing, tastes just like the one I was buying for 17 bucks a jar yet cost a fraction of that – love it!
Coconut oil is the best! I got turned onto it when one of my dogs was diagnosed with cancer, I started giving it to him daily as I read it had cancer fighting properties. Through all my research I found what a wonderful and beneficial oil it really is so I started using it all the time – even the dogs love it!
Yayyyyyy! I am thrilled to hear your first batch turned out so well!! Like you, I’m always sure to make a monster batch, and I STILL can’t get over how easy it is!!
I had never heard about how great it is for dogs, too! It’s just amazing stuff, isn’t it??
I am pretty addicted to both coconut oil and coconut butter, so I use them in recipes constantly. Feel free to wander around the site and explore the recipes. 🙂
Hi Tonya! I’m going to try this recipe and was wondering if you store it in the fridge?
Hi France! Prepare yourself to fall in love with this stuff! 😉 You won’t want to refrigerate it; it is best enjoyed warm and melty! I store mine in my pantry. It may harden in cooler weather. When that happens, you can simply heat it to make it a bit melty again. Let me know if you have any other questions! I’ve used it in tons of recipes you can check out!
I can’t way to try this! Thanks for the directions. I found your post on Frugally Sustainable. I’m going to have a look through your other recipes now.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Lyza! I was so happy to be a part of Frugally Sustainable’s share.
I hope you find tons of recipes to enjoy! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think about the coconut butter. I use it all the time, so you’ll find plenty of recipes to get you started with using it…of course, it’s delicious right off the spoon, too! 🙂
Do you have an Asian or Hispanic market nearby? I get creamed coconut – same thing as coconut butter – there for $1.50. It’s only 6 oz, but I think it’s still cheaper than what coconut butter is marketed for.
I’ve heard a few others mention that too, Anne. And you’re right, that price is WAY better than more popular coconut butters that are for sale out there. I’ll have to keep an eye out! Although, I love making a huge batch at home, so I doubt I’ll ever go back to store-bought! 🙂 Thanks for the tip, and for stopping by!
I made this for me and my 15 year old daughter and she thought they would be gross but she loved them! I couldn’t get my cheap blender to get the coconut to coconut butter so I tried my mixer which is also cheap and well just finally gave up and I did add some wonderful organic unrefined coconut oil..but I did put it on top and they were great! Thanks! I plan on getting a very nice blender at some point..maybe Christmas??? 🙂
I’m so glad you and your daughter liked the coconut butter, Amy!! I am right there with you on wanting a nice blender! My $40 Oster is doing the trick for now, but I cannot WAIT to get a Vitamix!! 🙂
omg I can’t wait to try it! Coconut butter is my latest obsession. SO good.
Prepare to fall in love, Canadagirl!! 🙂
Hi,
I was thinking of make some coconut butter and pack it as a gift. Does it have the right consistency to be used on skin? Is it possible that it could get too messy?
Hi, Claudia! Thanks so much for stopping by! Coconut butter would make an awesome gift for eating, but it’s not for use as a skin treatment. However, coconut oil is an AWESOME moisturizer for your skin and hair! Hope that helps!
Thank you for your super fast answer. I will keep this in mind!
Happy to help! 🙂
I’ve never thought of coconut butter… THIS IS GENIUS! 😀
I can’t wait to try this, I just need to get a good food processor first..
Prepare to fall in LOVE, KayCe!!! I’ve made it several times in a $40 blender; it still works great as long as you add some coconut oil to the mixture. 🙂
Unfortunately, I think this would kill my blender. But, I want to try it so badly! It looks super yummy, and would be a perfect way to increase my daily coconut oil intake while also meeting my sweet cravings. Yum!
I’ve made it in a $40 Oster before, Rachel — so I bet your blender could handle it! 🙂 Just be sure to add an ample amount of oil to keep things moving. Let me know how it turns out!
This looks so yummy!!! Can it be made with unsweetened shredded coconut as well? Or does it have to be the flakes?
Thanks so much for stopping by, Micah! Coconut butter is one of my FAVORITE yummy treats! 🙂 I think you should be able to make it with shredded coconut as well. Let me know how it turns out for you!
This is great! I can’t wait to try it. I use coconut butter to make little “white chocolates” and I am obsessed with them. I am on the SCD diet and it can get expensive. This may help some.
I’m SO happy to hear this will be of help to you, Rebecca!! I can definitely relate to the obsessive quality of coconut butter! 😉
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