Instant Pot: Homemade Coconut Milk

Keep reading to learn how to make creamy, delicious, 2-ingredient homemade coconut milk!!

Subscribe for coming soon recipes that use this very coconut milk, the coconut pulp, and more. 😋

To make coconut milk all you need is organic coconut (1-ingredient) shreds and water. That’s it!

We’ve made it the traditional stovetop way and now we’re taking it to the Instant Pot.

When I went the stovetop route I was trying to use up a bulk supply of coconut shreds that I purchased all the way back when we lived in Portland. I bought them for making homemade coconut butter and while very tasty, the coconut butter was SO solid that I never wanted to use it.

Making homemade coconut milk was nice, because I used up a few more bags from the bulk supply, but there were so many left. And again there’s a ‘lazy’ factor. It wasn’t something I did more than three times.

Recently I was able to use up the rest of the old supply by making coconut milk in my Instant Pot. I made so much of it so consistently that I actually ordered another bulk supply. I’m not sure I learned my lesson. 😏

This recipe will make about 10 cups of coconut milk (5 pints) and lasts up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Instant Pot: Homemade Coconut Milk | Feed Your Skull

Start by adding one bag of Let’s Do Organic shredded coconut—2 2/3 cups • 8 oz • 227g—to your Instant Pot along with 10 cups of water. Give it a good stir.

Lock on the lid, set it to seal, press the manual button and adjust the time down to 15 minutes.

When it’s done turn it off and let the pressure release naturally if you can. You can see the coconut oil on top 😍.

Next we’ll blend it over two batches. This helps break down the coconut further. Do I blend it while it’s still hot?

Yes. So far it’s been good. The Vitamix has a thicker lid and hasn’t been a problem. With the Blendtec I would put a folded towel over the top—just in case. Same with a standard blender.

Blend for about a minute on high-speed.

This is how I set up my straining session. It’s a jelly strainer set in a 6 quart container. Local peeps: I came across the jelly strainer at Tri-State and have used it for nut milks and almond cheese!

Carefully pour it into the sieve. It’s HOT.

After quite a bit of the milk has gone through you’ll have to squeeze the rest of the liquid out manually. I first tried pressing down on the pulp/liquid with a big ladle or spoon. Then grabbed my food gloves to squeeze out the last little bit.

Empty the remaining coconut pulp (about 2 cups) into a glass container or bag. You can add this to smoothies, oatmeal, cereal, rice bowls, cookies, and more! Lasts up to 2 weeks in the fridge or longer in the freezer.

The first few times I made this I emptied it into a pitcher and stored in the fridge. The fatty portion solidifies and with a good shake it breaks up.

That’s not to say it disperses evenly, you might get a big chunk in your cereal!

But there’s a way to reduce the fat content and repurpose the coconut cream for curries, desserts, and more.

Place your container in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. The heavy coconut cream rises to the top and solidifies—much like canned!

Then use a slotted spoon or spatula to skim off the ‘cream’.

I think what comes off is about half a cup.

I added this batch of cream to sautéed onions, garlic, and spices to create a tomato curry. SO GOOD.